Honeymoon {Santorini, Greece)

So I said that the honeymoon felt {surprisingly} really long all due to those aforementioned Segments. By the time we reached Santorini we felt like we'd had a whole honeymoon already. And that honeymoon was superbly chill and tourist-free. We skipped off the boat alongside what felt like hundreds of other people and were immediately herded into a stressful line for a coach bus taking us from the ferry port to the town of Fira. It was strange to land in a place so far away and free from stress and then have the unspoken words of a crowd make me immediately feel pressure to GET ON A BUS! Everyone was just rushing and pushing and nervous. The Santorini situation was really a shock to the system after our first week in Greece. Cruise ships were dumping people off and tour buses were everywhere. I hadn't even heard an American accent until now. And we were told that September was THE time to go because hell, if you went in August you would be shoulder to shoulder with people and unable to move. Apparently September is dreamy comparatively. Which, is hard for me to even imagine an August-like scene. Why? Why on earth would anyone want to come and do that?!

In any case, we eventually found our way past the town of Fira and over to the very end of the island to the town Oia. We hadn't booked a place to stay yet on account of the fact that September was supposed to be golden, but with all those cruise ships I was getting nervous. We sat down at a little restaurant, ordered a beer, and then I set off to find something while Tyson watched the bags. And found something I did! Our gnome closet! This gal had one room left and it just happened to be a room with a giant castle-like wooden door that opened to a teeny-tiny kitchenette, couch and bathroom. Up a ladder you went to get to the bedroom, and then scurry up another little ladder to pop out onto the private little balcony looking out over the entire caldera. Cost: I think because the ladders weren't really suited for all types of travelers it was actually reasonably priced. We'll take it!

After the initial shock of Santorini's tourism, I came down from my ledge of impatience and was able to understand why on earth it is such a busy place. Santorini is breathtakingly beautiful. And unique and like no place I've ever been. I get it. I see why people go. We spent three days zipping around on another scooter and checking out beaches. But we also just sat. On our incredible gnome balcony. We sat a lot and drank wine and listened to music and played rounds and rounds of cribbage. It was perfectly dreamy and one of my favorite memories of the trip. I'll never forget that balcony.

Off to Rome! <<<<<< My final honeymoon post.
THANK YOU to all of you who helped make our honeymoon happen! We will never, ever forget these places. Love you!