Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Greece: Mykonos, Ios, & Santorini

We're going back to last summer, when Mercedes (Merboo) and I went to one of the prettiest places, aka paradise, aka Greece. 10 days in the Greek Islands and it was a love love relationship. The beaches, greek food, people, sunsets, and views were some of the best I've experienced. We went to three islands: Mykonos, Ios, and Santorini...all beautiful but completely different from one another. 

First stop was Mykonos. After arriving in Athens we took our first ferry to Mykonos. We arrived at a small, picturesque town with a maze full of tiny streets with shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, all gathered around its port. The buildings were the traditional Greek colors: white with blue windows and doors. In the day we had a calm and relaxing lifestyle, days starting with frappes (mmm!), the beach, shopping, eating hummus and pita and greek salads. At night we would watch the sunset from our rooftop at our hostel or from Paraportiani (the church), eat fabulous dinners, walk around Little Italy and see the windmills, and then file in with the crowds to the bars and clubs. 



Paradise Beach 
Paradise Beach 
Paradise Beach
Rooftop Sunset
Little Italy

Sunset from Paraportiani
Sunset from Paraportiani 
Sunset from Paraportiani


Frappes!
After 3 nights in Mykonos we headed to Ios. Ios was beautiful, bigger than Mykonos with beaches filling up the coastline. When we arrived we got to our hostel: Francesco's (one of the best hostels I have stayed at) and went to eat lunch. The town was dead, basically no one was outside and it was very quiet. We headed back to our hostel and layed out by the pool. That night we realized why it was so quiet earlier--the Ios night life. It was my birthday that night and Mer decided to tell the hostel...within an hour all of Ios knew I was Michelle and it was my birthday. The hostel takes you on a pub crawl...which is so fun. There are so many small bars/clubs all around Ios that open their doors at night to everyone ready to party. And party they do. The next days were spent at the beaches, pools, meeting new friends, going out, etc. It was a very crazy and fun 3 days in Ios.
Ios town
View from our room at Francescos






With Francesco himself :)
The last island we went to was Santorini (my favorite of the 3). It's a volcanic Island and was so so beautiful. We stayed right near the Black Beach at Stelio's Place. In Santorini we did lots of activities: took a boat across the island to visit the volcano which erupted years ago, swam in the hot springs, rode donkeys in Thirasia (my highlight), saw the prettiest sunsets from Oia (where Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is filmed & we liked it so much we went twice), and visit another island Fira. Of course we layed out on the Black Beach and did what we like best, eat very well. It was so hard for us to leave Santorini, but in life all good things must come to an end. We headed back to Athens for a night to catch our plane the next day. There were strikes all over the city--so all we did was sleep, eat, and go to the airport. I loved Greece and would love to go back and visit more islands!! 
Boat ride to the volcano
On the volcano
Hot springs 
Donkey ride!!
Donkey ride!!
Thirasia
Oia 
Oia  
Oia
Oia

Oia
Oia
Oia
Fira
Oia
Oia
Oia
Dinner at Oia 
Sunset at Oia
Oia
Oia
 Black Beach

Black Beach

Friday, August 31, 2012

Wedding time! Destination: Berkley, San Francisco

It's always fun to get the family together for events, but even better when it's for a wedding. This was a destination wedding in Berkley, California (everyone stayed in a town close by called Walnut Creek. My aunt Jenny was getting married to Scott. The whole family (some all the way from México) went a couple days earlier to be together and enjoy the bay area. We took advantage and went one full day to Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley on a google bus (thanks to my brother David and mama who planned the amazing trip) to visit several wineries. After having bagels and coffee on the bus for breakfast, our first stop was Mumm Winery, then we headed to the Robert Mondavi Winery, where we took a tour and enjoyed two glasses of wine. After, we went to Sonoma to have lunch. Then we went to Artesa Winery and Domain Carneros Winery before heading back for a Mexican dinner with friends and family of the bride and groom to celebrate the wedding the next day.

The wedding was outdoors in the natural environment- it looked like it was out of a movie. There were big trees everywhere with the sun shining through onto the bride and groom. It was a very pretty scenery. After the ceremony, the real fun began! We danced all night long the dance floor and had a good time celebrating. 


On the way to Napa! 
Mumm Winery
Mumm Winery 
Mumm Winery 
Mumm Winery 
Mumm Winery 
Mumm Winery
Robert Mondavi Winery 
Robert Mondavi Winery
Outside Artesa Winery
Domain Carneros Winery
The Wedding Ceremony
Fam bam





For Labor Day I'm heading to San Diego to visit someone I haven't seen in way too long-- my bestie Allison! Can't wait to see her :) Enjoy labor day weekend everyone!