I have recently had a small holiday in Greece. It was my first time travelling there and I was really impressed by it. Not sure if impressed is the right word but I enjoyed it so much! I had rather high expectations of Greece and it actually managed to exceed them. Which was rather great.

I spent most of the time in Santorini and a few days in Poros (wedding #1 this summer).

As with any weddings there wasn’t much time to ‘explore’ and Poros being very small, I ended up going to the same restaurant/ cafe for the little time we were there.

Thankfully Santorini was the holiday part and it was a real chill out zone. The views are absolutely spectacular anywhere you positioned yourself on the island, from beach, poolside to little towns on edge of the cliffs somewhere (I would lie if I didn’t say my main and prime focus was location no 2). I stayed in Villa Maria which was a brilliant choice and I would hardly recommend it. It’s not fancy, it’s not for party people but it was everything I was looking for. Tranquil, simple and beautiful. I really hope I’ll be back there as it was the sort of place I think I was looking for in Europe for a long time. I had some amazing holidays in Asia and America over the last few years but somehow felt that I need to find one of those places (somewhere you look back on and feel nothing but peace and happiness) in Europe and I think I got it now.
There’s very little in terms of shopping in Santorini, you can get yourself a nice souvenir and definitely some nice jewellery but that’s about it.

Food was one of the things I was looking forward to most and it didn’t disappoint (most of the time). It’s an easy place to stay healthy-ish with salad galore all around you and Greek yoghurt with fruit being the breakfast of choice. I have to take this opportunity to recommend Raki though which was the only restaurant I went back to a few times. From nondisruptive, friendly service to fresh, simple, good food and the atmosphere that leaves you feeling you’ve been there for hours and totally belong (which btw may be the case as they will try to stretch your stay with free local spirits and homemade desserts!). Raki leaves a fantastic impression and a very happy full belly (garlic pasta and local cheese baked in honey & sesame seeds are a must try).

Some snaps of my trip below, I already miss you Santorini.