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We recently returned from one of our best vacations where we visited the islands of Crete and Santorini.  Vacations usually are not very relaxing and can be somewhat stressful when traveling with a little one, not to mention 2….but somehow this trip went really well and we even got to relax!

We found a direct flight from Lyon to Crete, so we stayed in Lyon the night before our flight and headed out the next morning.  Aegean Airlines was really nice and provided “junior pilot kits” for both kids including a pacifier clip, baby on board sticker, baby wipes, and a coloring book for Makenna.  This was Reese’s first flight and we took a photo with the pilot which was nice to have as we did that with Makenna for her first flight, too.

The first part of our vacation was spent at an all-inclusive resort about 30 minutes from Heraklion.  It was beautiful and had about 5 different pools, including a shallow pool that had a pirate ship playground in it.  The beach was across the street, but we spent most of our time at the pool.  This was Reese’s first time in a pool and he had fun splashing and kicking his feet.  Our room had a patio area which connected to one of the pool and bar areas, and the bar was about 50 ft from our room which was very convenient at night after we put the kids to bed!   The amphitheater where they had evening entertainment was also about 20 ft from our room so although it was convenient, it was a bit loud when we were trying to get the kids to sleep.  But after several vacations with a baby we’ve learned to adapt, so a few nights we decided to keep the kids up late and watch the shows (and let Makenna dance at the “mini disco”).  We were even lucky enough to get the kids to sleep and enjoy some time to ourselves on our patio, which was a blessing as we very rarely get time away from the kids!

While we spent most of our time in Crete relaxing, we ventured off the resort a little to experience some of the culture.  One of the days we were there it rained and was too cold to swim, so we rented a car and drove to Heraklion to do some shopping.  One of the first things we noticed is they had the fish pedicure spas everywhere!  After doing some shopping we stopped for lunch, and I had to find a restaurant with my favorite Greek food, dolmades.  We had a great meal starting with dolmades, pita and tzaziki and then lamb kabob and lamb chops.

The next morning we took the car and visited the ruins of the Palace of Knossos.  It was interesting to see, but most of it has been destroyed and some has been restored so we weren’t seeing much of the “authentic” palace….and as Ryan said, it was mostly just rocks haha.  We were told the princess room is a bit of a mystery because it is always 78 degrees inside, no matter what time of year!

Another afternoon we decided to walk around the town, Analipsi, outside the resort.  We walked along the boardwalk and saw a tiny little church on the beach which was the iconic white building with a blue domed roof.  Then we stopped at a little restaurant to try Greek coffee and an appetizer of dakos (bread) with feta and tomato which is like their version of bruschetta.  I fell in love with Greek coffee, which led to me buying 3 bags of their coffee and a briki (a small pot they use to heat the coffee on the stove).  Before heading back to the resort, we walked down a few side streets and got a little glimpse of Greek life, including elderly women wearing black and head coverings sitting outside socializing.

After some relaxation in Crete, we took the high speed ferry to spend 2 nights in Santorini.  We stayed at an apartment hotel in Fira with gorgeous views of the caldera and the homes and businesses built into the cliff side.  After checking in, we had lunch and then took a bus to Oia where we did some shopping and took in the beautiful views that define Santorini.  We found it funny that there were cats walking around everywhere!  Then we enjoyed a delicious seafood dinner outside while watching the catamarans (and the pirate ships that Makenna loved).

The next morning we started the day off right by going out for a Greek coffee and then some frozen yogurt.  We walked around Fira and then went to lunch at one of the best places we ate on our trip.  We chose several small plates, including grilled octopus, mushrooms marinated in white wine, and fennel pie.  In the afternoon we went on a 5 hour catamaran sunset cruise.  We were nervous to take a toddler and a baby on a boat, especially for 5 hours, but it was one of the best experiences we’ve had!  The cruise was just us and another couple and 4 crew members who were so nice.  We started off with some drinks and appetizers and headed to see the red beach where the cliff side is red.  Ryan jumped in the water and Makenna followed after him, but only lasted about a minute because the water was really cold!  Then we stopped at the white beach followed by the black beach which was black because the rocks were all covered with lava from a volcano eruption long ago.  We passed the volcano and then went to the hot springs.  I really wanted to experience the hot springs even though I’m not a good swimmer and I’m always scared of what’s in the water.  The hot springs are very shallow so the boat couldn’t get too close, so I had to swim about 100 ft.  They must have felt bad that my swimming ability is lacking, as they gave me flippers and a pool noodle to swim!  Of course it started raining when I was about to jump in but that didn’t stop me.  The water outside of the hot springs was really cold, and I was scared of under-water creatures, so I swam as fast as I could while Ryan and the kids watched in amusement.  I finally reached the hot springs but they weren’t that hot, and it was raining, so it wasn’t long before I headed back to the boat.  It was worth it, though!  The crew fired up the grill and started to prepare our dinner and then we were off again to take in the views of Santorini by boat.  While we were waiting for our dinner, one of the crew members was playing with Makenna and it was so sweet.  He was telling us that he has a young son back in Athens where he is from, but he was missing him because he comes to Crete for 6 months to work.  Most of the other people we talked to working at the restaurants, transportation etc are in the same situation and while they are paid more there I imagine it must be so hard to be away from family 6 months out of the year.  After we had a nice dinner we sailed some more and were given champagne while we watched the sunset.  It was such a nice experience and we were amazed at how well both of the kids were the entire trip.

The next day we had more Greek coffee and more frozen yogurt before we had to get back on the ferry to Crete.  After staying overnight, we flew home the next morning and had another smooth flight with a toddler and a baby.  We are so blessed that we were able to visit another part of Europe and have an enjoyable vacation with our 2 little ones!