In October , my husband and I journeyed to Greece and took Rita with us. Our first stop was the island of Santorini, which was absolutely gorgeous. We stayed at the Grace Hotel in Imerovigli, and the staff there went above and beyond to welcome us and make sure we had a phenomenal stay. Rita’s jaw dropped at the views of the caldera wall and the Aegean Sea, and she could not wait to lounge by the pool.
That evening, we went for a walk nearby the hotel and had a delicious dinner at the Aegean Restaurant. Santorini also happens to have a lot of island cats, and we were adopted by an adorable cat that we nicknamed “Tini” (short for Santorini). Tini was a very attentive cat who made sure we got home safely and then promptly took a nap under our patio furniture.
The next morning, Rita was excited to hang out by the heated pool, but didn’t realize how windy it was and belly flopped into the pool. 🙁 She decided this whole misadventure wasn’t that bad when she had to recover by sunbathing with some stunning views of the sea. A few hours later, she was as good as new!
Santorini is known for photoshoots using dresses with massive trains, called “flying dresses;” which look very pretty against the landscape and architecture of the island. Rita was excited to join the photoshoot with her own purple flying dress, which was custom made by KatieSewingByFaith on Etsy. Rita hopes to re-purpose it for a dance recital some day.
Afterwards, we walked to Fira, which is one of the bigger towns on the island. We stopped by Atlantis Books, which carries works in several different languages. We wrapped up the evening with a sunset dinner at Ambrosia in Oia. On our way back, Rita was curious as to the appearance of donkey sculptures, keychains, and plushies all over the town. Our taxi driver shared that donkeys are traditionally the backbone of life in Santorini due to their hard work in trekking up and down the caldera.
The next morning, we climbed part of Skaros Rock, which houses the remains of a castle that was built in the 13th century. We had great views of Skaros from our hotel room and so it was nice to actually explore it! After this sunrise trek, Rita decided to give lounging by the pool another try and is so glad she did! Her swimsuit and coverup outfit are made by SASstitch on Etsy.
The next half of our trip took us to Thessaloniki, in northern Greece. This vibrant city is the second-largest in the country and is also known for its food and as the cultural capital of Greece! As Rita hails from Chicago, she was excited to check out another “second city.” We stayed at the adorable Excelsior Hotel which is right in the city center. We had a mouthwatering dinner at Loupino in Ladadika and then took a walk along the oceanfront promenade of the Thermaic Gulf which was absolutely beautiful at dusk. Rita’s sundress in this photo is made by ApparelByCarol on Etsy
Thessaloniki has quite a few museums and we first stopped by the Museum of Illusions, where Rita had a blast with some of their Halloween themed exhibits. The city is home to three universities and so has quite a large student population, which meant that it was very active late into the evening! We got a small taste of this at the Orizontes Roof Garden and enjoyed some traditional loukoumades dessert.
The next morning, we joined a tour group going to Mount Olympus National Park which is a bit north of the city. As many of you already know, in Greek mythology, Mount Olympus is known as the home of the Greek gods. Rita learned at the park’s information center that the mountains that make up this range have a wide variety of climates, flora, and fauna. We stopped by one of the waterfalls at the foothills, known for its emerald waters and Rita enjoyed some quiet time in nature.
Afterwards, we made our way over to Dion Archaeological Park. Dion was an ancient town where Zeus and the Muses were worshipped, and the park has several important sites that are being excavated. Rita was particularly intrigued by the great bath complex, and she tried to figure out what all the pillars would have made up in this particular chamber.
At the Dion Archaeological Museum, we had the chance to see several of the artifacts excavated from the town, including some beautiful mosaics, such as this one from the Villa of Dionysos with Medusa in the center. After this long day of trekking and learning, we stopped by the town of Litochoro for a delicious lunch at Hairi.
On our last day in the city, Rita wanted to make sure that we tried as many local delicacies as possible! We started the day by getting bougatsa (phyllo dough with various fillings) from Serraikon Bakery and then wandered around Aristotelus Square, where we stopped by a bookstore chain called Ianos.
Our next stop was the Selfie Museum of Thessaloniki, which featured a ton of fun displays (complete with ring lights!) where you could take pictures. Rita had a blast here and thought it was such a unique idea for a museum.
After lunch at Kritikos along the waterfront, we went on a museum whirlwind and visited the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki as well as the White Tower, which is a landmark monument in the city that was built in the late 15th century. Each floor had information about the history and culture of the city and the panoramic view from the top was stunning!
We wrapped up the day with an amazing dinner at Mamalouka, particularly the dessert galaktaboureko, which was prepared by our server table side. A fitting end to a wonderful trip!
