This spring, my best gal pal and I took a European adventure from France to Greece! Out of all the locations we visited, Santorini, Greece, was hands-down the most amazing.

Santorini is actually the most active volcanic center in the Aegean Sea. The island is known for being the site of one the largest volcanic eruptions ever recorded in history. The eruption caused a portion of the island to collapse, giving the area the crescent shape of today.

Today, Santorini is best known for their blue top buildings and marvelous sunsets. The food is not so bad either and the locals are kind and friendly. Things to do on the island range from sailing to wine tasting.

During our trip, we rented a car and explored every town. The rental was $40 euros for 24 hours. They didn’t even check for a driver’s license!

That day we had lunch in Pyrgos, explored the black sand beaches of Kamari, and caught the sunset in Oia.

The following day we set sail on a snorkeling sunset excursion. It ended up being too cold to snorkel, but catching the sunset off the ocean was worth it. The boat sailed around the island stopping at all of the various beaches – black sand, red sand, and white sand beach. The crew made us a great meal and shared their stories with us.

While being on that island was so surreal, hearing people’s stories made the experience humbling. I can’t even tell you how many times we were asked what is what like to be living the “American Dream.” Hearing locals’ first-hand accounts of Greece’s economic state and how they had limited access to money during the initial stages of the banking crisis really put things into perspective. It wasn’t something that we asked, but it was the stories the locals wanted to share… so, we listened. The most amazing part of all is that through it all they were still happy and kind because they have a love of Santorni…. and that’s what made me fall in love with Santorini even more.