This weekend folks, I'm off to the Instagrammer fantasy land, Santorini, for a quick overnight jaunt. I’ve got to confess: both this trip and next week’s journey are total enigmas to me. Once upon a time, I had a stroke of genius when I booked them, but now? I haven’t the foggiest idea what that genius plan was. For this trip I’m flying all four legs on a redemption, and surprise, surprise, all in Economy. With an Avios stash bigger than my bourbon collection, why did I opt for Economy on a four-hour flight to Santorini? My best guess: a moment of temporary insanity or perhaps a bourbon fuelled planning session. Probably a bit of both. Fingers crossed for an oversold Economy and a Operational Upgrade into Club, I can but hope!

It's shaping up to be one of those crack-of-dawn, back-at-midnight weekends. I've a 4am alarm set to catch the 6am flight to Heathrow, and I won’t be back in Newcastle until 10pm Sunday. I’m going to need a solid night’s sleep Sunday night because SKT-DK is gracing us with his presence here in Newcastle Monday night. Here's hoping for an uneventful trip back with no delays or hiccups!

This weekend's plan is, unsurprisingly, short. I'm still wrestling with the decision to book a transfer to the hotel or brave a 30-minute walk along pavement-less roads with minimal verges. Normally, this would be an easy call, but the transfer/taxi rates for a mere six-minute drive are nothing short of extortionate. To be honest, I'll probably bite the bullet and book a car as looking at Google Maps the road is pretty narrow. The plan post-check-in is a nice stroll to the beach, an early supper, and then hitting the hay. I want to be up bright and early on Sunday to get over to Oia in search of that perfect photo, hopefully ahead of the Instagram masses! After that, a bit of exploring, lunch, and then back to the airport.

And with that brief intro it is time for me to pack my rucksack. I'm travelling very light this time as I want to have only a single bag to worry about when wandering around Oia and also the ability to travel from Oia straight to the Airport.