Greece

When Alvis and I decided to take a trip before residency took over my life, we came up with a list of the top five places we wanted to go, and Greece topped both of our lists. So we booked some flights and headed across the big blue ocean after graduation. We wanted to see the sights but also wanted a bit of a second honeymoon, so we flew into Athens where we stayed for 2 nights, then flew into Santorini (an island off the coast) where we stayed in a traditional cave house with the most amazing view I've ever had. Athens was fantastic-- truly incredible to walk around the Acropolis with structures that were completed nearly 500 years before Christ was born.
So, after 2 days of exploring and eating our way through Athens, we headed to the "Romantic" island of Santorini, where we stayed in a small village named Oia-- a place that boasts "the most beautiful sunsets in all of Greece". The village is at a pretty high elevation and is flanked by the Aegean Sea on one side and the Caldera (spanish for "bowl" meaning "a volcanic feature formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption-wikipedia") on the other. Our room was about a thousand (maybe an exaggeration) steps down from where our taxi dropped us off. Thankfully, our porter quickly came to claim us, and our bags, and to assist us in our trek to the resort. Which, aside from the sheer difficulty of walking down marble steps in slippery flip flops and cumbersome luggage (by the way, we actually packed pretty light--one, albeit large, bag between the two of us...plus a backpack and camera bag), I couldn't keep from stopping every two seconds to take in the breathtaking views. This prevailed throughout the entire week--we couldn't refrain from stopping mid-step to just look.
So, I think I might be, like part Greek. I mean, a culture that is famously exuberant and friendly, full of amazing comfort food like fried zucchini, tzatziki, and gyros, and blessed with temperate climates and breathtaking scenery--that's my kind of place. Maybe one day we will make it permanent.
Check out our pics with the link under "check it out" on the right...