Is there a place that you have always dreamed of going to? When I was a little girl I received a calendar of the Greek Islands as a gift. I vividly remember sitting in my bedroom admiring the azure blue sea with the magnificent cliffs towering over it. The white washed buildings with blue dome roofs and the windy pathways beckoned to me. Long before I ever dreamed of traveling to Paris, Prague, Rome, or even New York City, I have ALWAYS longed to go to Santorini in the Greek Islands.

Thankfully sometimes dreams really do come true! One week from now Michal and I will be in Athens and next Wednesday we will take a seven hour ferry ride to Santorini where we will spend the next six days. I will be walking along the paths where I have spent many hours in my day dreams and swimming in the seas I have admired in photos for decades. I have talked about going to Greece for years and it is finally happening. Even though it is fast approaching, it still feels like a dream.

Our summer itinerary consists of Athens, Santorini and Crete followed by three weeks in Poland visiting my in-laws there. I chose Santorini because it’s always been my dream. I chose Crete because the island is known for having the best food in all of Greece. There are microclimates all over the island which allow for an abundance of locally grown foods. I love food! Especially healthy, locally grown food. And Greece is known for wine. I love wine.

Have I started packing yet? Of course not. Have I found a way to complicate things before we leave? Of course I have. This year while we are galavanting across Europe, we are renting out our house through Airbnb, the company we always rent places from. Needless to say I’ve been incredibly busy getting our house ready to host several families over the next few weeks. Although this is much less work than the time we packed up our apartment into a storage unit twenty four hours before an extended European trip… It will all be worth it though. I have a feeling this will be an amazing summer!

Have you ever been to Athens, Santorini, or Crete? If you have, I’d love to hear your suggestions of things to do, places to see, and foods to eat!