February 20, 2018

One Year Anniversary Trip | Santorini Off Season Vacation

To celebrate our 1 year anniversary Jeff and I took off for Santorini and Athens, Greece! When we booked the trip for February we weren’t aware that it was considered Low or Off Season for Greece. I began trying to book different activities in Santorini and found out that more than 50% of the island was shut down and under construction to prepare for the summer season. I researched everywhere online for a glimmer of hope that there was enough to do and all of the forums and blogs online were really discouraging. We decided that we still wanted to go regardless of the main city of Oia being shut down.

But man oh man where those forums wrong!!! Yes a lot of stuff was closed for the winter season and we may have been the only tourists on the island, but it was the most incredible experience! There was plenty of options for restaurants to choose from, there was plenty to do, and since the tourism was so low it felt like we had the whole island to ourselves!

We stayed at the Blue Dolphins Apartments in Fira, it was the cutest bed and breakfast with the most stunning view! The care takers of the bed and breakfast were so incredibly kind and helpful on recommendations.

There was so many cats and puppy dogs, we just wanted to snuggle them all!

I am just so in love with all of the architecture, all of the white, the marble, every door and every building is completely different. Jeff was laughing at me for how many pictures I took of the different doors!

Skizza Cafe was the only restaurant in the city of Oia, Santorini that we could find that was open. BUT OMG it was the most amazing food, so much so that we went there twice during our trip. Jeff fell in love with their pistachio ice cream!

One day we took a trip and drove around the southern tip of the island and explored the beaches. We absolutley enjoyed Perissa Beach, the Black Sand Beach. It was filled with so much charm, bars, restaurants, and palapas. We came across Delimar Bar and Restaurant on the beach and it was a fun little spot with upbeat music playing in the background with such a beautiful view!

Of course, we had to go wine tasting! Wine is one of the ways to my heart, ha! And Santo Wines did not disappoint. They had an 18 flight of tastings, ahhhhh so amazing!

See all the beautiful doors <3 

The biggest discovery Jeff made on our trip was how much he enjoyed the local cuisine. Everything we had was so incredibly fresh and full of different flavors. But don’t let that fool you the first thing we both wanted when we got home was Mexican food 😉

More Doors 🙂 

The most amazing part of the trip was walking into one of the Catholic churches, having the whole church to ourselves, and watching my husband partake in lighting a votive candle and praying. This was hands down my favorite memory of the trip, it was such a beautiful and intimate moment for the two of us. Que the tears, I truly am blessed to be his Wife. 

We were able to ride the cable cars down to the main port in Fira and enjoy a drink on the water. The owner literally waived us down when we walked off the cable cars to come over and have a drink! 

That Famous Santorini Sunset, so breath taking!

Please take me back to where the main streets are paved with marble!

Around the entire island on the side of the roads there were these mini models of the buildings. Each model was completely different and yet so incredibly intricate. 

I whole hardly believed we were able to experience the island in such a unique way since there was not a lot of tourism on the island. We were able to drive from one end of the island to the other without any traffic, explore every nook, cranny, and road we could find. I forgot to mention, make sure you stop at Lucky’s and try the best gyro we have ever had and the owner is the sweetest!

This was the trip of a lifetime for many reasons. But the most important reason of all was spending quality time with my husband doing what we do best, living this life to the fullest, exploring and trying new things, and loving each other. I cannot wait to share the second leg of our trip to Athens next week!

  1. Erin Ruth says:

    Paige looks like you guys had an amazing time and I love all the doors too it looks to perfect to be true.

  2. Christa Salem says:

    These photos are amazing! Looks like you two went during the perfect time of the year. Can’t wait for post number 2 next week!

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