Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

I want to go everywhere I haven't been, and back to everywhere I have been.

Monday, April 16, 2018

TRAVEL THROWBACK: SCENES OF SANTORINI



Breathtaking Santorini should be on everyone's bucket list | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes



Is there a place you've been to that holds a special place in your heart?
I have a bunch of them -- what can I tell you, I've got an enormous heart!
The island of Santorini is one such place.
My heart goes a-flutter whenever I think about it. 
Santorini was at the top of my bucket list for such a long time.
The many pictures I'd seen of white-washed buildings with turquoise trim,
the purple bougainvillea, the deep blue sea.......
I was itching to go to Greece so badly, I could taste it.
And by taste it, I meant that literally, especially the baklava. 

In June of 2007, I got my chance.
Mr. GS, Junior GS (who was not quite eight years old), 
 Aunt GS and I hopped across the pond.
We started in Athens (read about that here), and then flew to Santorini.

One of the first glimpses of Santorini's breathtaking beauty 
was when we rounded a corner and came upon this view.
The town of Fira is built into the cliffs of a crescent-shaped caldera.

It stole my heart right then and there.

Breathtaking Santorini should be on everyone's bucket list | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


I didn't think I could be more in love...........until dusk fell.

Breathtaking Santorini should be on everyone's bucket list | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes



 Looking over the cliff, the view was a different kind of spectacular.

Breathtaking Santorini should be on everyone's bucket list | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


I didn't know a thing about Greek food growing up.
My culinary education in that regard began in college when my friend, Chris, 
who is Greek, shared her mom's care packages of home-cooked meals.
(I told you about her here).

The food in Greece exceeded my every expectation.......
Mousaka, pastichio, dolmades, Oh My!  
The Greek salads, with sweet, ripe, red tomatoes
were as satisfying as a piece of galaktoboureko.
Okay, that's not really true, but they were delicious in their own right.
And I'll take a Greek pastry over Italian or French any day.

Breathtaking Santorini should be on everyone's bucket list | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes



The ambiance at every restaurant we went to was picture perfect.
When I'm in Europe, I wish that my stomach was a bottomless pit,
so I could go from restaurant to restaurant all day long, 
to soak up the atmosphere, and enjoy the food.........
without gaining a pound, of course.

Breathtaking Santorini should be on everyone's bucket list | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


For dessert, Santorini serves up eye-candy in the form of bougainvillea,
which grows like crazy all over the island.
I don't think I'd ever go indoors if I lived in one of these houses.

Breathtaking Santorini should be on everyone's bucket list | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Breathtaking Santorini should be on everyone's bucket list | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Breathtaking Santorini should be on everyone's bucket list | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Breathtaking Santorini should be on everyone's bucket list | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


One thing I love about Europe is that you never know what you'll find around each corner.
Sometimes it's ancient ruins, sometimes it's.......
Oh, hello, Donkey-Hotey!

Breathtaking Santorini should be on everyone's bucket list | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


As charming as Fira was, there was a lot more to see on Santorini.
We drove up to the top of a mountain
for a fabulous view of the famed black sand beach, Kamari. 

Breathtaking Santorini should be on everyone's bucket list | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Breathtaking Santorini should be on everyone's bucket list | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


We had some company up there on the mountain top.

Breathtaking Santorini should be on everyone's bucket list | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


After viewing it from afar, we had to go down to "see level."

Breathtaking Santorini should be on everyone's bucket list | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


 We unknowingly saved the best for last........
On our last night, we went to the town of Oia.
 It is forever etched into my mind how spectacularly beautiful it is.
How is it that some people get to live there........
and I get to live in New Jersey?

Breathtaking Santorini should be on everyone's bucket list | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes
\
I love going on throwback vacations..........
Half the fun of traveling is looking at pictures and re-living the trips.
But that always makes me want to go back for real.




LINKING WITH:
Take Me Away



9 comments:

  1. Greece is most definitely a special place, and at the top of my bucket list. I’m going to have to live to be 150 if I’m gonna make a dent in that list ��. The flowers are spectacular aren’t they!? Too bad that gorgeous country is in financial ruin. Such a shame!

    xxx

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  2. OH wow! That is just beautiful!! I can see why it stole your heart.

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  3. I absolutely love this post! Santorini is one of my favorite places too. My grandmother lived there when she was a teenager, and I got to see the lighthouse my great-grandfather was in charge of when he was a captain in the Greek navy when I visited a few years ago. You are so right about the food! I'm Greek so I grew up on it, but it just tastes so much better and fresh in Greece for some reason. Love Oia, too!

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  4. Your pictures are just gorgeous and hard to imagine being right there to see it all in person. I have wanted to go to Greece ever since Poppy of Poppy View has posted pictures of her beautiful country on her blog and Instagram. I thought I wanted to go to back to Italy, but given the chance, I'd run to Greece!

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  5. Amy, so beautiful, I can see why you love it. The owner of my hair salon is from Greece. He's there now. His garden is amazing. He's bringing me olive oil they make themselves. I can't wait. He said I will never like another.

    Cindy

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  6. Wow is all I can say!!! Such beauty.

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  7. Stunning! I can see why Santorini holds such a special place in your heart. I have never been there but it is definitely on my list. Those colors! Just breathtaking! Thanks again for sharing at Take Me Away again!
    Shelley

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  8. Amy your photos and commentary make me homesick but as much as I love Greece I am happy to be right here in New York. That economic crisis will just not take a hint and go away. It is the best place to retire but for young people just getting started it is a very difficult road indeed.

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  9. I loved your photos of Santorini. It is literally breathtaking just like you said. I definitely need to visit if I ever get a chance to travel to Greece!

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