santorini sunrise

Santorini sunsets are world-famous and most picturesque in the village of Oia (ee-ya), a short walk from where we stayed. Our evenings in Santorini always included watching the sunset.

I knew that the sunrises would be equally breathtaking and with less of an audience. A few days before we left Santorini, I set my alarm for 6:40am. Matt decided to skip the early morning photography session, but I bounded out of bed with excitement and rushed out with camera in hand. The sun was already casting a warm golden hue across the sky. I couldn't decide where the best views would be and so ran around like a bit of a mad woman snapping pictures from different vantage points. The streets of Oia, normally busting at the seams with tourists, were empty. During the day cats rule the town - they're all over the streets, and at least 2 in every restaurant we've been to. Fights break out often and are broken up by a nudge from the servers who consider it par for the course. I didn't see a single cat that morning. Instead, dogs perched on rooftops and howled to each other. This early in the day, dogs ruled the streets of Santorini. And I got a piece of Santorini all to myself, beautiful views that few others witness. It was magical.

When I recounted my experience to Matt, and showed him my pics, he was moved to wake up early with me the next morning. So I did it again - this time Matt running around like a kid in a candy shop taking in all the beauty of the early morning. He's vowed to get up to see a sunrise in every new place we're at (we'll see how that goes)!