One of the best days of my life so far

One Sunday every August annually there is the Ifestia Festival; a tribute to the active volcano at the centre of Nea Kamini {new burnt island}.

We were extremely lucky to be on this glorious history-rich geographer's dream island on this date 2015 for our honeymoon. On the 23rd August I experienced, with my husband, one of the most fantastic days ever! A day that has created some memories to forever hold close and precious.

Bon voyage!

We took a trip on a wooden sailing boat on the choppy sea, seeing the beautiful sights of the surrounding Islands and the main Santorini island. It first took us over to the hot springs alongside Palia Kameni {old burnt island} and bathed in the warm waters; painting each other in the soft mud that can be found underfoot. Its said that the sulphur-rich substance can do more than any face mask or facial. It's something, as a budding geographer, I have been yearning to do for a while! I can in fact testify; my skin is the smoothest it's ever been! The hot springs were just against the island so the boat could not drop us there; we had to jump (or perfect dive in my husband's case) into the sea and swim over to the warm waters.

Once I'd had a muddy foot, face and chest mask... We swam back to the boat - against the current - climbed aboard and dried in the August sun. The boat's captain and guide were eager to show as much of their island that they could. We sailed alongside Imerovigli; taking gorgeous shots of the cliff-side white town. The varying colours of the rocks with large white dykes running vertical along the cliffside made for some amazing photographs. We were brought up alongside a tiny Church; part-hidden in the immense rocks. You can only see this tiny building from the ocean; and even then it is hard to spot! 

We stopped off to eat Meze style foods and drink karafes of wine on the pier of a restaurant on Thirassia; one of the larger and inhabited islands.

Next was the pièce de résistance - the sunset. One of the most striking sunsets in the world. Beautiful burnt-oranges, deep purples and lime greens filled the sky. The twilight was just as gorgeous... Suspended amongst the island's silhouettes. Then; once dark had descended the festival began. 'Magma' began oozing from the volcano; pops of orange and bright whites began and the firework spectacle was beautiful! 

The dark sky brought with it an ocean breeze so I cuddled up to my husband for the short journey back to Santorini Thira island and our coach awaited.

I can't begin to explain how lucky I feel to have been there for this magical spectacle but to have been with my amazing husband to witness it together.

It was truly one of the best days of my life so far.

I took over 750 photos on our honeymoon. This day contributed to quite a high number of these. None of these images have been edited apart from the text added. I would appreciate them not being copied without my permission first being sought. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them!

Boarding

View from the boat of Fira

 

In the hot springs

Tiny Church

Beautiful views

Sunset shots

Ifestia Festival fireworks 

Honeymoon highlights

I wrote about choosing our honeymoon destination in Dear Diary... Tale of our honeymoon.

We stayed in Perissa which is a lovely little resort - highly recommended for the beach, restaurants and tavernas. People staying in other parts of Santorini travel to this resort to visit the dark, hot, volcanic sandy beaches.

Our pool

Perissa

On our first fortnight away as husband and wife, we visited Oía. It is a bustling, busy little town with the majority of buildings built along and up the cliffs. We found it extremely busy; tourist-heavy and not as quaint as we'd pictured when we'd ached to visit it. Peering over the edges; you see swimming pools on the cliff face. These, I feel, looked almost claustrophobic and not somewhere I'd relish having to stay for two weeks! We were very relieved we hadn't booked to stay here! The sunset views are well worth seeing though - with such a beautiful backdrop of the caldera.

Oía sunset

We visited the earthquake-ravished old village of Messa Gonia where we both turned into professional photographers and took lots of shots of the torn town. We loved hearing the history of this island. We visited a museum and the highest point of the island in Pyrgos which provided great views over the rest of the land. Santos Winery was interesting and the wines in Santorini are second to none that I've tried. We are usually Mythos people - the wine here; even the house wines in all restaurants are so easy to drink and taste amazing! We were converted on our two week break! And are dreading having to either have English wine now back or not have it at all. Santorini wine... You will be missed! The views from the Pyrgos Winery are stunning; the tip of the island, the Caldera; it provides images you can do no justice by clicking your shutter.

Santorini wine... Apparently there is and always has been more wine than water available on the island

One thing I've always wanted to do is parasailing over a vast blue ocean. Where better to do this than alongside Mount Elijah with views of the caldera and the deep blue? On our honeymoon seemed like the perfect excuse to try this fun water sport! It was so windy out there, we were swept over from side to side with the water spraying up! What an experience!

Parasailing on honeymoon 

We wined and dined under the stars of most of the restaurants Perissa has to offer. We tasted their wine and didn't look back! Sharing a karafe each night whilst sitting under a palm tree's vast feather-leaves. We spent most of our honeymoon days moving between plush sun-loungers and the vast swimming pool. My favourite time of day being early evening; when the sun is less harsh but still so warming on your skin. We took great delight in getting dressed up and venturing down to the beach-side where many restaurants invited us to taste their food (and wine!) We already know how delicious Greek food can be so we sought out some delicacies. 

Traditional starters and wine

One evening, during a rainy, very overcast day of our trip, we ended up in Oía. We ate at a restaurant a little way down the cliffs. The food there was absolutely amazing! We since found out it's in fact one of the best in Oía and we can see why! 

Restaurant 'Floga' in Oía

Was it exactly how I pictured our honeymoon when I committed my expectations to paper (blog post Heavenly Honeymoon Hunting)? No, of course it wasn't! There wasn't only us two walking hand in hand down narrow cobbled streets - it was busy. Other people played in the pool. We got splashed! But do you know what?! Who cares?! We were together - that's all that matters. We had a brilliant fortnight away and I experienced things I'd only dreamt of. Besides... In 33 degrees; who wouldn't welcome the odd splash every now and again anyway?!

Dear Diary... The tale of our honeymoon

My husband and I got married at the end of last summer. We were so indecisive about where to go on our honeymoon I posted on here on 24th February Heavenly Honeymoon Hunt in which we were really unsure where we were going to end up.

We re-visited the same travel agents a few weeks after our initial research. We both love Greek food, Greek scenery and the fact you don't waste days of your holiday travelling - the Greek islands are relatively short flights. My husband was very set upon Santorini. Santorini is very well advertised as a perfect wedding destination and popular honeymoon favourite. We quickly established it was big bucks to stay anywhere higher than 2* accommodation. My husband insisted he could save the money the way he had worked hard to save the amount he had for our wedding over 10 months. I put my foot down! What was the point of paying thousands; more than some Caribbean getaways; for a quaint summer trip to Greece? What more would we actually get for our money?

We both stayed in Crete before; it was my first Greek Island holiday and also our first as a couple. I hated it. I would not recommend it to an enemy let alone a friend! The hotel we'd picked was All Inclusive. Let me explain - I'd only ever been to Egypt and Ibiza for sun holidays and a few city trips. So All Inclusive/ full board, for me, was the only way. My then-boyfriend now-husband convinced me to try Crete. Yuk. The hotel was miles away from anywhere. They only served pig-based dishes (yuk) and spaghetti Bolognaise so for 7 days I ate spag bol for lunch and for dinner. The scenery also left a lot to be desired - it looked rough and there was just miles of rubble and not much else.

Anyway, I digress. I'd since been persuaded to try other Greek Islands but this time the proper way. The only way you should do Greece (I'd quickly learnt). Bed and breakfast is fine, but not ideal if you want to avoid the buffet style eat what you're given food! Self catering is what Greece is all about for us. The bakeries are usually amazing. The tavernas and restaurants are always just a short walk away from self-catering apartments. The same for supermarkets. 

We looked at Oía; the main show of Santorini. The place that features on 96% of the images portrayed of Santorini. My husband insisted about saving so we could stay here. I was dubious; it was a lot more than the other side of the island. 

The island of Santorini is 10 miles long. Oía is the most northern point with views of the Caldera. We looked at the other, south side - where the beaches run for miles and are striking black volcanic sand. 

After multiple searches we came across a seaside town called Perissa. A villa complex we could actually afford. 

It looked lovely. The pool was the biggest we'd seen of all the hotels we'd considered. It was pretty perfect; price, pool, location - only five to ten minutes walk from there to the long row of restaurants. The only initial snag was it was 2*, we asked the travel agent what that reflected. She admitted she wasn't sure but that location is usually a big factor and it's not the most popular of resorts; as most couples prefer to stay along the Caldera view towns. We looked on Trip Advisor - not to be religiously followed but definitely a must for a guide of advice. It had 4.5/5 and NO reviews less than 4 in the past year. 

We were sold! When you go to Greece; you do not go for the plush faux-fur rugs and four poster beds! You do not go for the waiter service around the pool. You go for the rustic; the simplicity; the scenery; the humble Greek amenities.

Patience is a virtue... When it comes to honeymooning

I blogged a few months ago about How to Avoid Post-Wedding Blues... And one of the tips I recommended was not to do it all at once - not to go on a honeymoon straight after the wedding. This week, we just got back from our honeymoon and this weekend is our first wedding anniversary. I know; imagine being married to me for a whole year! Ha!

This has completely cemented my thinking that we were doing the right thing (for us!) 

I know this may not work for some people, it may be the only time people can have off work, there will be all kinds of reasons some couples choose to go on honeymoon straight away following their wedding.

Before I go on, I acknowledge it's tradition for the couple to go on honeymoon straight after their nuptials... Reasons this doesn't add up for me personally in this day and age are - reason 1. Tradition is not so widely followed in every aspect of couple's lives and this reflects massively on their choices for their wedding day - traditions are being altered and thrown out more and more. Reason 2. The whole tradition of going on honeymoon straight away was to visit distant relatives who lived too far away to be able to come to the couple's wedding. Now, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't know one couple who has gone on honeymoon (be it straight away or prolonged) in the UK for the sole purpose of visiting relatives then coming home. 

So, there really is little need in most couple's lives to go off on honeymoon at all. Why do we still do it then? Why is this one tradition that, despite being altered in time scale; we still relish? My opinion? For the holiday! Let's face it, we were still going to want to get away and relax whether we'd gotten married or not!! We also kept saying "oh why not?! It is our honeymoon after all!" It's the perfect excuse to possibly spend more than you would usually on your dream trip to paradise.

I said at the beginning of this post that I am so, so glad we made the right decision to wait and not honeymoon straight away. This is simply because I do not think I'd still be in the sane land of the living if I'd had both stresses to deal with at the same time!! 

Getting married was one big ball of stress I feel I've already highlighted in the past. Well, so is going on holiday! The worrying about forgetting something, worrying your case is going to go missing *sobs uncontrollably at the mere thought!* Worrying about wherever you've parked your car keeping it safe, worrying your 2:30am alarm won't go off so you'll miss your cab/flight, worrying you'll leave a window open at home. Worrying you've forgotten to throw away those potatoes that were in the back of your cupboard - and the prospect of coming home to a stinky kitchen! Checking then re-checking then checking again the weight of your case, the size and weight of your hand luggage - it's right on the edge of their allowance - ARRRRR!! Worrying that people will guess you're away (on honeymoon y'know, not holiday! Haha!) as you need this kept private, obviously for security reasons. So, I am very, very happy I did not have all that to worry about on top of will my dress fit? How am I getting to the registry office this week now the transport has cancelled? Have I packed enough underwear? Have I packed the right underwear? Will my instructions for how the tables are to be set up and decorated be followed? Is it going to rain? What if the photographer doesn't turn up? What would we do if the DJ doesn't show?? Will everything be set up in time? Have I got everything I need; to not only be away from my home for one day and night (wearing an impractical can't-travel-anywhere-in white dress) but for a whole fortnight?!

Another thing that didn't feel right for me would be travelling in the wrong name. When I got married to my lovely husband he asked me to take his name - to make it so we were an item who could be identified as such immediately upon introduction. A lot of people ask why I didn't double-barrel my surnames. That's an easy one to answer - my first name is already double barrelled and my new(ish) surname is long. I didn't want both my names to be double-barrelled names... If I had I'd still be filling out the forms now to change my name; it'd take so long! I've not found any forms with boxes or lines long enough for my current full name as it is! Not that I have to explain why we followed tradition on that particular topic but I wanted to. It absolutely would not feel right to me to travel in the wrong name. At work I am Mrs W, I haven't been Miss R for a year now. On my drivers license; which was due for renewal the month after we wed so was changed the day after the ceremony, on all my documentation. I changed my name everywhere within 5 days of getting married, apart from my passport. I still had 2 and a half years on it and I'm not one to waste money! I, at first, thought it maybe wouldn't matter too much to me. We went to the travel agents back in March to discuss booking our honeymoon. They asked for the lead name. My husband (as usual) selected me! My name was not the name I had on my bank details, on anything really... It didn't feel right paying under Mr & Mrs W and booking under Miss R. Needless to say we didn't book that afternoon, I got home and immediately filled out a form to alter my passport to that of one with my correct name on it.

We are Mr and Mrs W. We have been that since they wrote it on the envelope of our beloved wedding certificate back on that sunny evening in August 2014. We booked our honeymoon and enjoyed it under Mr and Mrs W and people could call me pathetic for caring; but it made it feel right and I'm so glad I did.

The one downside to not going immediately is everyone else just calls it your holiday. But, if we'd got married a fortnight ago they would have wished us a 'lovely honeymoon'... not just a lovely holiday! (Remind me; what's the difference again?!)

As I always say when writing my opinion; what works for us won't necessarily be what's best for others; as always - simply my thoughts, feelings and opinion.

I plan to blog about our experiences from booking to living our honeymoon ... I hope you enjoy!