Ancient ruins, whitewashed buildings and beautiful beaches – our 12 days across Greece gave us a good dose of Greek culture, history and natural beauty.
Our first stop was the capital of Athens – a city where Gods once ruled and whose lands bore such historical figures like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Alexander the Great.
While we were first taken aback by dirty streets and an excessive amount of graffiti, it didn’t take us long to look beyond first impressions to enjoy the city’s charm.
With ruins dating back thousands of years and the iconic Acropolis dominating the skyline, we were eager to explore the city and began our travels with a hike to the top of Mount Lycabettus to watch a beautiful sunset.
The next morning we joined a walking tour to learn more about the country’s history and particularly how their Gods were admired and influenced every day life. Our tour took us past many amazing ruins including Hadrian’s Library, the Ancient Agora and The Temple of Olympian Zeus.
Our afternoon was spent exploring the Acropolis and learning more about the Parthenon and the goddess Athena at the adjacent Acropolis Museum – which we highly recommend a visit.
It is unfortunate the temples which date back thousands of years have suffered so much destruction, but the museum has preserved many sculptures to ensure their survival.
Other beautiful sites we visited included the first Olympic stadium, the first cemetery of Athens, the National Garden, Parliament building and the Plaka region.
We also took it upon ourselves to gorge on Gyros and Greek Salad during our four day stay and while we can’t say many good things about our hostel (it was pretty awful), we can share its only redeeming quality – the rooftop bar which overlooked the Acropolis. It’s one view we couldn’t get enough of.
After taking in Athens we boarded an early morning ferry to the most famous of the Greek islands – Santorini.
We were greeted with seaside cliffs, beautiful blue water and that postcard perfect image of white buildings and blue church rooftops. It was stunning.
Our AirBnB was a short walk to the main town of Fira and as a happy chance, two good friends Pete and Meadhbh were in Santorini at the same time so we enjoyed catching up over a drink or two while watching the famous sunset from their stunning apartment.
For the next two days we hired a scooter and made our way around the island visiting various beaches, towns, lookouts and a lighthouse.
Our last evening with the scooter we made our way around to the town of Oia to watch a beautiful sunset and wander the labyrinth of picturesque streets.
Having explored everywhere but the main town, we spent the last day in Fira enjoying the stunning views, beautiful buildings and catching the NRL grand final at the only Aussie owned bar on the island!
The next day we were off to Ios, a lesser known but just as beautiful Greek island where we spent three days relaxing on Mylopotas Beach, drinking cocktails, eating Greek food and planning the next part of our seven month adventure (and soaking up all that Vitamin D before the next two months of colder climates)! ☃
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