Santorini: Like No Place on Earth

Pily Q

{Eyelet bikini and coverup c/o PilyQ, Céline sunnies}

Pily Q

Santorini Hotel

Santorini Hotel

{Our room at the Aigalos Hotel. Perfection.}

DSC_0503

{There’s no love like cousin love}

Next stop on Euro trip 2013? The idyllic island of Santorini, Greece. A mythical ancient island that endured one of the largest volcanic eruptions in history, Santorini feels like no other place on the planet — and most importantly, resides within my motherland. Here, everything is brighter: The whitewashed cube-shaped houses, the cerulean sea and the sunsets that light up the caldera. Even on bad hair days, it’s impossible to take a bad picture here.

So how did we wind up on this magical island with 15 of my closest family members? Nope, it’s not because Travel + Leisure chooses Santorini as the “Best Island in Europe” year after year, it was my 4-year-old niece, Katie (pictured above), who drummed up the brilliant idea to go to Greece in the first place. I know, a whiz kid, that one.

You see, the calling to go to Greece commenced in church. My cousin George, who continuously struggles with the death of his magnanimous mother and my aunt, Kathy, says he was reminiscing of his mom when out of nowhere, Katie hugged him with an unusually strong grip. In a moment of clarity, George felt the presence of his mother accompanied with the pursuit to honor her spirit in her birthplace in northern Greece. Tears in his eyes, he called my father and myself with the “crazy” notion to go to Greece to extol her memory. I reassured him he wasn’t insane — in fact, I was all like, “Um, hell-to-the-yes, cousin. Sign. Me. Up.”

Without any hesitation whatsoever, my dad and I were on board. There was never a question about it. Santorini would be our first stop, followed by a jaunt to my Aunt Kathy’s hometown of Velvento, Greece for a church service. And the rest is familial bliss in Santorini — a slice of heaven on earth. If you haven’t been, words cannot express how special this isle is. You must go.

Lastly, thank you, Aunt Kathy, for bringing us here. You were always on our minds.

 

 

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5 Comments

  1. Cristina
    September 26, 2013 / 11:31 pm

    I’ve always wanted to go to Santorini and your reason for going was a wonderful one.

  2. Mayli
    October 5, 2013 / 11:34 am

    Great story Wordy Girl! Beautiful children, beautiful photos, great memories! Just found you in my spam… I was missing your blogs!

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