After we piled in the van, I asked everyone to check one more time; the color drained from McKenna’s face when she couldn’t find her phone in her purse. It was more like sheer panic. And we were locked out of the apartment, with no way to get back in.

As we tried to reassure her we would work something out, Taylor was already on it, working out a plan with the driver to deliver her phone to the airport on our way back through. It was a tense time.

She fought tears as we pulled away, heading to the airport to catch our flight. And then it happened. She shifted her purse in her lap.

And there it was: her phone.

***Mckenna asked that I emphasize it was only 4:45am.

We had a good chuckle and made it to the airport, none the worse for wear.

At the airport, we were met by a very nice driver, who we saw several times during our stay. We decided he must never sleep because on the day we left, he picked David up at 3:00am and the rest of us at 6:00am.

We headed to our villa in Imerovigli, which is located in the upper part of the island, between Fira and Oia.

Santorini is a much bigger island than I had expected. Even by car, driving at safe speeds - which most locals do not - I think it would take well over an hour to drive from one end to the other. (We did it on quads - that’s a story for another day)

I must say, this is the trip I have been most excited about. I have dreamed about villages, all in white, with winding steps, looking down on crystal blue waters.

When we arrived at our home for the next few days, we were all blown away by the views.

It was gorgeous, with so many shades of blue.

Amanda commented that in many ways, Santorini was exactly what she had imagined, yet very different, all at the same time.

I couldn’t agree more.

It was simply beautiful, in every direction.

I had imagined all of Santorini to look like this.

But when we later explored the island, we also noticed long stretches of undeveloped land, and few beaches, with little sand. Don’t come to Santorini for its beaches.

Another surprise was this:

This took some getting used to. 😳

As popular as Santorini is, it doesn’t appear to have the infrastructure needed to support its high rate of tourism.

You also can’t drink the water. This meant we had to buy tons of plastic water bottles, but unfortunately, there is no recycling. It was painful to throw it all in the trash.

It made me realize just how much we take for granted back home.

But don’t get me wrong, despite these surprises, Santorini is one of THE most beautiful places I have ever been, and I would go back in a second.

We quickly unpacked while Amanda and Glenn began pouring over maps to decide on a plan for the day.

We decided to head in to Fira. From what we could tell, it would be a fairly strenuous 45 minute walk. It was really hot, so we opted to catch a bus.

Speaking of weather, we were pretty lucky. Although the days were really hot, the humidity was low, so it was surprisingly pleasant in the shade. The nights were actually quite chilly and most nights you could find us wrapped up in blankets.

Back to our trek to Fira...

After waiting in the hot sun for over 20 minutes, and no bus, we managed to snag a van.

Fira was gorgeous - I find that I am running out of words to describe how beautiful the island is.

We did a little shopping...

And then enjoyed refreshing drinks, in a cafe overlooking the water.

We then made our way back home, and decided to get take out from a small Taverna just minutes from our front door.

Earlier, we had \240picked up a couple of bottles of our favorite Greek wine, and so we enjoyed a wonderful meal on our balcony, as we watched the first of several breathtaking sunsets.

I found myself once again in tears and overcome with emotion as I tried to take in the beautiful sunset.

I cannot find words to adequately describe just how wonderful this night was; it will remain as one of THE most memorable moments in my life.

To be able to experience it with my family was overwhelming, in the very best of ways. ❤️