When you’re in Santorini, you have to get yourself to Oia (pronounced IA) at least once.  They have similar little streets with the same touristy shops, but there is also some fabulous little finds that are worth the trip alone.  You also get a great view back to Fira and the rest of the island.

You also must take the obligatory selfie

Kiki was drawn to the aqua doors down this little alley.

And there are views out of every window.

We went into this funny antique type shop and I saw this mosaic elephant…. now I purchased the exact same elephant for me Jenny back in about 2009 for her accidental elephant collection when I was up in Geraldton – specifically at Bennett’s Elite – Geraldton’s longest standing clothing and haberdashery store.  It was a random item then and just as random now.  I don’t remember paying €35 for it though.

And this is where you buy your love locks…. Kiki and I didn’t think it was necessary on this trip.

Another must see is the Atlantis Book Shop – it’s incredible!  Built into this little cave, with books from around the world and their story painted high up on the ceiling.

Don’t miss it.

I didn’t enquire about their rent a cat service…

… but there was one there at the ready.

We asked at the reception of our hotel where the best place was to see the sunset in Oia and there was a bit of trepidation in giving us names… but Catch was one of the suggestions.  The reservation was made on our behalf for 7.30 – enough time to wander around the shops before the sun set…

We’d finished the shops a bit early and thought we’d grab a drink before dinner but when we finally found the ‘secret’ location…. she was closed – not completely…. they just weren’t open yet…

But rather than let us in for a drink, they said please give us 5-10 minutes and shut the door, making us wait outside…

She was a little windy and some of the view was tarnished with solar panels, but other than that – it was lovely.

We had seared scallops…

Kiki had a steak and I had this glorious saffron risotto with squid – divine.

And then the magic happened.

Sunset photo – it was absolutely freezing at this stage as you can see by Kiki’s stance.

The restaurant called us a taxi and when it turned up there were two other people in the car.  As there is a limited number of taxis on the island, and a maximum number of people trying to exit Oia after the sunset, we jumped in.  I immediately started chatting…

“So, did you guys see the sunset?”

“ummm…. ah, umm” shrugs shoulders

“oh, where are you from?” I said hopefully in English

“ummm, republic of Belarus.  Minsk.” He stammered.

“Oh, um…yeah, no, I’ve got nothing.”

The car ride after than was pretty quiet.