Our Big Fat Greek Vacation!

The day after Joe finished finals we took off for 10 days in Greece!  It was an incredibly beautiful, romantic, and relaxing vacation... especially for Joseph.  I think it took him a few days to realize he didn't have anything he had to do.

We spent one quick evening in Athens and then left for Crete.  Our first stop in Crete was Chania, the cutest, little harbor town with a maze of windy alleys.  It was a great place to just stroll around, drink wine, and eat awesome Greek food.  

Relaxing on our balcony.

While in Chania we decided to hike the Samarian Gorge - it was 16km/10mi long.  When we arrived at the top of the gorge it was surprisingly cold, so we were forced to buy super-touristy, over-priced, over-sized Gorge sweatshirts (you know you want one).  Four hours later we made it to the bottom and found ourselves in a tiny beach village.  We spent the afternoon swimming and then finally caught a boat back to Chania.  We 'accidentally' left the sweatshirts on the beach... oops.

Samarian Gorge Hike & Beach

Boat from Samarian Gorge to Chania

Our next stop in Crete was the capital city of Heraklion.  There, we visited the ruins of Knossos Palace; they were, well, ruined... maybe a bit too ruined as we really thought everything just looked like a pile of rocks.  Afterwards we visited the Venetian fortress in the main harbour... it was built in the 1500s and was really cool and well-preserved.  We weren't sure why, but the guard let us in for free since we were from Spain... hmm, that type of attitude should jump start their economy in no time.

Ferry ride to Santorini

We then took a ferry to Santorini for three days.  This was definitely the best part of the entire trip!  We spent the three days exploring the island on a little 4-wheeler visiting beaches, shops, and vineyards.  One day we even found a little private beach that was beneath some rocky cliffs.  So we drove the ATV out to the cliffs and then climbed down and spent the afternoon there... I loved it!  Climbing, beach, sun, and Joseph... my favorite things.  

I loved our little beach!

Wine Tasting

Santorini is most famous for its sunsets, and they really did live up to all the hype.  Our favorite spot to watch the sunsets was from an abandoned, stone stadium we found.  We definitely were not supposed to be there, but it wasn't our fault that someone else had already somewhat broken in the door.  It was so cool... a huge stadium designed specifically for watching the sunsets... and we had it all to ourselves.

Santorini Sunsets and Stadium

Our next and final stop was Rhodes.  The Old Town of Rhodes was one of the coolest things I've ever seen as it is the oldest, inhabited medieval town in Europe.  You literally feel as if you have been transported thousands of years back in time (or are in an Epcot exhibit).  The city is perfectly preserved, but what's more, it is completely functional and inhabitaed by locals.  Definitely worth seeing!

We spent our last night in Rhodes watching the world cup.  When the waitress came over to take our order Joe meant to order a pint of beer... but instead ordered a liter.  It was pretty funny when she brought the drinks over and I just had this little cup of wine and Joe had this huge beer.  A few college kids then saw Joe's beer and immediately ordered a round of liter beers, too.  What a trend-setter.

That brings us to the end, folks!  If the slideshow at the top didn't work for you, you can click HERE to view all the photos.  Enjoy!