Paros and Santorini, Greece

It's hard to imagine Paros and Santorini being enjoyable during the high tourist season. The streets are insanely tiny and painted all white (supposedly to confuse the pirates) so wandering around was very fun but unimaginable with more people around.

In Paros we spent a lot of time working out what we wanted to eat and where we'd go. My cousin Melissa gave us tons of tips of places to try. Thanks to her great advice we ate, and ate, and ate. As I've mentioned on the blog before, I'm not much of a foodie but Greece was a rare find and I couldn't seem to stop! I even tried squid and although I probably won't do it again, which wasn't half bad. 

After a couple nights in Paros we were off to Santorini. (Sidenote: thanks to all the friends who held back and didn't mention sisterhood of the traveling pants while we were on the islands). I was shocked when the boat docked and there wasn't a building or town in sight. Just massive cliffs and ocean. A short drive lead us to the Thira and then the landscape started to look familiar and what I'd recognize in movies. 

After Santorini we took a quick flight back to Athens and relaxed in the hotel for an afternoon. It's so nice to be able to stay in fancy hotels, go for a run on the treadmill and swim in an indoor pool. Much different from what I'm used to . . .

My mom's trip was awesome. I'm so happy she could come and see a new place and spend time with me and see some of my crazy travel lifestyle. I'm also incredibly proud of her for taking the long trip by herself. Now she has the full on travel bug!!

Next stop: Istanbul with my friend Ethan