Paradise Found - Santorini (Part One)

I daydreamed of going to Santorini since I was a very young child. I vividly remember seeing a photograph of the white painted houses and the brilliant blue water and knew that I just had to go.  Santorini was everything that I hoped for and more, at times I had to tell my boyfriend to pinch me - I was in disbelief that I could stare (with my jaw practically to the floor) at the blue-capped churches, the bright white houses and the cerulean blue water. It was almost as if someone was given a a black and white drawing of the island and went in with their prettiest colored pencils to create the landscape.  These photographs feature two of my favorite villages in Santorini - Oia and Imerovigli.  I have never been so stimulated and inspired by color in my entire life.  Everywhere that you look you are inundated with hues that only exist in dreams.  

We entered both towns in an ATV four-wheeler, which initially I was scared to death, but in the end it was so much fun and we were driving like the locals.  We stayed in Fira, just a short drive from Oia and Imerovigli. You enter all towns situated upon the crater from the top and you discover them from exploring down.  I fell in love wandering down gray and white painted stairs that you were not exactly sure where they would lead you. 

One highlight in Oia was walking down (and then up - what a steep climb) the donkey path to the port,  there we were greeted with a restaurant that served some of the most amazing seafood that I have ever tasted (more on that later).  A trip to Santorini with your camera in tow, will have you set for a lifetime of frameable art.  

*All photographs by Alison