Europe Trip: Santorini.

Whenever I think of Greece I think of white houses with round blue tops. It’s the place Adam had been trying to convince me to go to for

yeeeears. Ask our travel agent, I think she priced out the trip 3 different years before we actually went. It was a bummer how it actually

worked once we arrived to the island. Apparently we didn’t grasp the idea of us anchoring at sea and a tender ferrying people to shore.

Because of this the cruise had numbered tender tickets that people waited in line for first thing that morning. What were we doing first

thing? Sleeping in. And then casually eating breakfast because the gangway didn’t open til 12:30. What’s the rush? So when we caught onto

what was happening we were assigned to the 28th ferry. What the?! So we had to gaze for a few hours at the tip of the boat “Jack & Rose”

style. Speaking of The Titanic, I damn near had a heart attack countless times as we walk by any of those massive waterproof metal

sliding doors on each floor. All I could think was water gushing through them and us floating away on broken furniture legs. Sick, right?

Look closely at this image. See the zigzag switchbacks from bottom all the way to the top? Want to know how long it takes to walk that? 30

min each way.  550+ steps. 5-8 feet long each. We refused to waste anymore time waiting in the ginormous tram line and we were too cheap

to fall into the donkey ride tourist trap. My calves burned going up, hopping over donkey shit and being slammed into the walls by hot

sweaty donkey bodies while we melted under the burning sun. My knees burned coming down, hopping over triple the donkey shit and

avoiding sliding down slick marble areas preventing the death of my tailbone. It was an unforgettable experience that I def recommend!

If the donkeys were lucky, they’d catch a few to rest their head on the walls.

Once up the mountain we walked another mile or so til a bus pulled over and offered to take us to Oia. YES PLEASE!  It was a site to see.

Yay! We made it to Oia without dying! People thought I took a pic with a local til they looked close. Adam so fits right in.

I really just don’t understand how this was built. I mean, I have to drive 3 min to Home Depot and that annoys me. Where do supplies

come from how DOES it get up there? We actually watched a rock avalanche from the boat. Will this city eventually fall? I never became

an architect for a reason, people.

Poor Adam was having all kinds of Hasselblad issues. He waited forever to get to this place and then his camera jammed. Worst part was he

was finishing a roll of BW and hadn’t even gotten to the color pack! I wasn’t mad though because then he carried around the big dog!

As I was shooting I was focused on composition and exposure so much that I didn’t even notice Adam til I was reviewing shots. HA!

How’d you like to own the house with that view?

This is my “I’m doing everything in my power to not think about my swampass” face.

The prime time to be at this place is sunset or sunrise. As the sun was setting we had to start our journey back to Fira and to the steps.

It was still gorgeous but we didn’t get to be at the peak at prime time.

People flocked from everywhere to the top as we were descending.

I had never chafed in my life before this trip. I also had never walked so much with a dress on. Not counting the trip up and down there

were endless amounts of steps on the mountains of Fira and Oia. All we did was walk steps and take pictures for 7 hours. (Though we did

stop for 20 for me to feed the flowers with my milk and have frozen virgin daiquiris!) Thankfully I found some Lansinoh in my pump bag

and lubed up my thighs once back on board. The rest of that night I walked like I had been riding a horse for a year. Adam was really

enthused about walking next to me like that. And as you can see the way down I made him carry my pump while I carried our coke stock

for our stateroom. 3euro cheaper per bottle. Hollerrrr!

Almost done sharing the trip. Just have Mykonos & Olympia/Katakolon left. That’s where I beat Adam in a 200 meter dash in the very first Olympic

stadium. Woop Woop! More soon. Have a swell weekend! Heart, Melanie & Adam.