Santorini is is one of the most well known islands in Greece.   The island is actually a crescent-shaped caldera of an ancient volcano.  Several tiny white-washed, villages with blue-doored buildings sprinkled throughout are arranged along the lip of the caldera.  They are connected by gleaming white staircases and narrow alleys.  The atmosphere and views of the crystal-blue water are top-notch,  the seafood is fresh, the locals are friendly and it was generally just a nice a place to relax.  The only downside is that due to Santorini’s popularity, the crowds can make it a bit difficult to get around.  For example, we went to one of the famous sunset viewing spots in the village of Oia and it was so packed with throngs of people that we couldn’t even see the sun setting on the horizon.  The crowds weren’t so bad though where we stayed in the village of Firastefani.  Some of the rooms in the other villages cost a small fortune, but we found a nice room that was built inside of a small cave in the side of the cliff (as is the custom of the island) with views of the caldera and a pool.  Our room was orders of magnitude cheaper, mainly just because it wasn’t in one of the two main villages of Fira  or Oia.  Overall, we agreed that Santorini deserved it’s great reputation as a picturesque town.  The beaches weren’t that impressive and the crowds were pretty intense, but once we got away from them, it was a great place to wile away some time and slow down.