I was fascinated with the huge variety of STAIRS and the method in which hotels, homes, pools, you name it all cascade down the side of the cliff.




I had also read about a tiny fishing village called AMMOUDI which is nestled in the cliff below Oia. We'd looked into staying there rather than in Thira but in the end, we prefered to stay in town. However, once we got to Ammoudi and saw how gorgeous, quiet and charming it is, I think we regretted our decision. It would have been great to spend at least ONE night there since the ambience is truly Greek.





From Ammoudi, you can take a small boat to another island - something we would have enjoyed if we'd had more time.


Andreas had recommended that we have dinner at a little place called CATINA. The restaurants of Ammoudi are al fresco and perched on the waters edge. Just exquisite. We each had grilled shrimp (16 euros for 5 large ones) plus we split a huge fresh Greek salad, a plate of tzatziki, bread plus 3/4 litre of the white house wine - all for 50 euros including tip. Quite pricey but the service was wonderful and we were in love with the location. Actually, I wasn't thrilled with the shrimps. I found them tough and dry -probably due to their large size. I much prefer small, juicy shrimp. Karel really enjoyed his though! So we just took our time and savoured the lovely meal and unbeatable view. The sun was low in the sky so everything was kissed with a golden light. Just glorious!

After dinner, we just had a cruisy drive back to our place and enjoyed the sunset from our terrace. Later we had a long talk with Andreas down at the pool bar and Karel and I sampled the house specialty - THE MILLHOUSE. This refreshing blender drink is made by combining cointreau, tequilla, lemon juice and lemon sorbet. Kind of like a margarita - only better!



The entire experience had been TOP NOTCH! Would not have changed a THING - except perhaps the number of days we had here. Enchanting, friendly, homey, luxurious, cool, warm, spicy, sexy, relaxing...... we had come here hoping to have a really special, memorable time - one befitting our special anniversary - and we left COMPLETELY SATISFIED!!!

May 16: Making the MOST of our last day on Santorini

OKAY! So we were feeling slightly worse for wear when we arose after our BIG (???) night out in Santorini. Too old for this stuff but we refuse to accept it - like everyone else we know!

I awoke early and caught my one and only sunrise shot The gorgeous pinks and blues of the misty early morning.... ah, there is MUCH to be said for early risers!

Back on the road in the late morning to continue familiarizing ourselves with the glorious island of SANTORINI!! Took several small coastal roads enroute to OIA. As we all know, this is the BEST way to get the real feel for areas and islands like these which are constantly overrun with tourists. Just get OFF the beaten track for peace and tranquility - you may never want to come back!

Our destination was OIA - which like everything else on Santorini was unrecognizable to me but perhaps that's not a bad thing! Whatever... it is a beautiful location. Busy and pricey but somehow different from Thira - nicer in many ways. Smaller.... perhaps more exclusive?
Once again, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.






We just walked around for ages, taking photos and loving the LIGHT of this place. Trust me, it's amazing - but we were also there at the most perfect time of the day!

We'd read about HOTEL PERIVOLAS which is written up in "100 PLACES TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE - A Traveller's Life List" by Patricia Schultz. This is a FABULOUS book which we received as a Christmas gift from my cousin Hallie. When the book was published in 2003 the BEST rooms aat the hotel Perivolas were listed at USD350 per night. Now they are well over USD800/night. We would have LOVED to have stayed here - it looks incredible!! So of course we had to come and pay the hotel a visit. Some of these rooms have private infiniti pools and etc. I missed it but Karel tells me that a guard or someone came out and threw scathing looks our way just as we were leaving - which annoyed the hell out of me since I wanted to say to them "I'm doing a survey of this property for my next vacation - to see if it's adequate". EX- CUUUUSE MOI!

AS USUAL - YOU CAN DOUBLE CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO MAKE THEM LARGER




After the fabulous show (aroound 8:00) we headed to Thira for dinner. Stopped at a small place along the main strip between Firastefani and Thira - thought we would see what we could find OUTSIDE the main tourist area in Thira. It was great because many locals were eating there and the service was quick and friendly. Had a great dinner of roast chicken, potatoes, salad, bread and wine - all for 30 euros including tip. I think it's still very pricey at about $45 but when you stop to think about it, you wouldn't get a meal like this any cheaper in Toronto so what am I complaining about? I guess I was still a little in the wishful "Greece is cheap" headspace.... well, get it through your head, Barbara! NO MORE!!!




We were up for a real PARTY NIGHT in Thira but we must have been too early because there was NOBODY around at 9:00pm. I have to remember that the action doesn't begin until 11:00 or later and that hasn't changed very much from the days when we would hang out at the beach all afternoon, go home and sleep until 7:00 then freshen up and reconvene at 8:00 for dinner then after THAT hit the nightclubs until all hours. Oh my GOD, Karel and I talked about this and agreed... BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!!! And another sad fact is that the young party animals could never AFFORD to hang out in Santorini now because it is so very VERY expensive. Once again, I feel grateful to have had my "awesome life experiences" in the 1980's when the world was a gentler, simpler place and travel was CHEAP!!! But for the record, here are some photos of our night out together - in 2008! [Photo]
[Photo] [Photo] We sat in the main square and drank wine and listened to music and people watched and talked and laughed and made our own fun - had a WONDERFUL evening. Who needs night clubs??? :)

YOU CAN DOUBLE CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO MAKE THEM LARGER


Other areas of interest to us were the lighthouse at the very southern tip of the island which, we are SURE, we could see from our PRIVATE terrace (lol- I never get tired of saying that - it will probably be the only time in our lives that this is the case!). Here are just a few of the great scenics we passed by - as I said, once you get away from Thira, Santorini is a different place altogether!


Truly, these photos speak more eloquently than I ever could of the raw beauty of this magical place. We fell in love all over again with the Santorini of myth. Even as we drove further inland, we were not far from the ocean and that magnificient caldera.


When we finally reached the southernmost tip, we walked to the very edge of the island and were blown away - physically and figuratively. It was WINDY!








In our travels, we happened upon a very charming and quaint little community called PYRGOS. Something about it just called to me and I would love to have had the chance to spend more time here. I can just picture myself sitting here on this bench, soaking up the sunshine and the ambience with a nice glass of retsina and cheese and olives.... Karel and I say "YAMAS!"

And of course, the ubiquitous whitewashed church with sky blue dome can be found in every village. Or in the middle of a field out in the countryside. Or on the edge of a cliff. It is truly a symbol of Santorini. Very special!





The final stop on our tour this day was the famous ART SPACE Gallery in EXO GONIA.
It is an AMAZING OLD winery (vineyards out back and all) that has been in this family for hundreds of years and has changed entities several times through the years. Now it is an art gallery with some of the most INCREDIBLE artwork in a truly unique setting (feels like being in a subway tunnel). It was fascinating to speak to Antonis, the friendly and very informative owner. We sampled several of the wines they make and quite enjoyed them. Never really thought of Greek wine as a world favourite but it was really very good so I bought a nice bottle of white for 10 euros.

Got back to the hotel around 6:00pm and wandered around taking tons of photos of our little treasure. So gorgeous and unique!















Andreas - the most wonderful young man. He brought us our breakfast in the morning and looked after every thing we needed. Charming, smart, funny - a really great person to get to know.

I like to call this photo "THE NEIGHBOURS" - oh if only we could all have this much personal space.
But this is REALLY how close we were to our neighbours - and sound carries like you wouldn't believe in this environment so don't be telling any of your most secretive secrets!!

After this MOST stressful of days (wink!!) we poured ourselves a nice glass of the local wine and sat on OUR PERSONAL TERRACE and delighted in the gorgeous sunset. The "plebs" wait around and squeeze themselves into local buses to get to Oia for the legendary sunsets from there .... yes, BUT.... look what WE got!!

May 15: Exploring the island of Santorini - Part 1

After a marvelous sleep (peace and QUIET), we merely had to pick up the phone to call Andreas and he brought our breakfast to us on our PRIVATE terrace! Lovin' it! Very substantial - coffee, juice, hard cooked eggs, gorgeous thick Greek yogurt and dark honey (the Greek staple) and a variety of baked goods. Tasty and filling.


The plan was to spend the next two days getting to know the REAL Santorini - that is the smaller villages and areas AWAY from the busy hub of Thira. It is possible to take local buses to various locations around the island but this requires a great deal of time and patience since the schedule is very "flexible" and we didn't want to spend any of our precious time waiting around. So we arranged for a rental car to be dropped off close to our hotel so we could make a quick getaway. The cost was 40euros per day including FULL coverage which is important. We also put in about 30euros worth of petrol (1.27euro per litre - MUCH more expensive everywhere in Europe).

Once again, the weather was flawless as we headed off toward the southern tip of the island. First stop was PERISSA BEACH with its black sand beaches and gorgeous water. MANY happy memories of lazy days spent here in my youth! We had a lovely walk on the beach and soaked up the scenery. Very dramatic - tucked in beneath ragged hills and dry landscape. The water was FREEZING so neither of us went in although Karel stuck his feet in. YIKES!




We stopped for a coffee at one of the MANY beach side cafe's and soaked up the atmosphere. It's still a great place to go - from where we sat, we spotted an ancient monastery HIGH above us. HOW and WHY did they do this??? Insideour taverna were some amazing old paintings - like this one.

Santorini has a fascinating history - one that makes it unique in every sense of the word! The island was formed by cataclysmic geological spasms which shook the entire Aegean. The volcano on Santorini sank the central part of the island and created an enormous underwater crater which was 83 square miles wide - called the CALDERA. (apparently there are only two such calderas in the world - the one in Santorini and one in China which is not inhabited).

History tells us that this cataclysmic eruption caused tidal waves which destroyed the most influential nation of the time - CRETE - and the entire Minoan culture. According to a local pamphlet I picked up "after this there were many more eruptions during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. During all these eruptions emerged the is;ands of Old and New Kameni as well as the small island of Thirasia. According to Heodotus the Phoenics and later the Doric colonists settled the island. The Doric leader was THIRA and from him the island took its name"

In 275 AD "Santorini took its name after the church of St Irene, in 1537. On May 5th 1820 Vagelis Matzarakis raised it flag of revolution in Thira and in 1830 with a protocol of London, it was joined with the newly established country of Greece"

Anyway, I loved this old painting - imagining what it was like to arrive at THIRA by ship in 1782 and seeing those windmills that are STILL an iconic symbol in the Cyclades Islands of Greece!

Carried on further south to RED BEACH - which is very close to AKROTIRI which we did NOT visit this time but which I HAD visited in 1984. It is an ancient Minoan city being excavated (a VERY long process) and is amazingly preserved under many layers of rock. Karel and I didn't go this time but it is an interesting place to visit if you are looking for some ancient history!

Red Beach is a LOT of work to get to - but uncrowded and very serene because of this!
Karel and I took a picnic with us and just chilled and relaxed there for an hour or so. Once again, the water was FAR too cold to go swimming although (I have to admit it) there were several people in there cooling themselves off. Hmmm - it would have been nice to rent a couple of loungers and we DID ask about the cost. I think it was fairly average - 5 euros each for the loungers and 5 euros for the one umbrella - so overall it wasn't tooooo bad. Certainly NOT like the French Riviera. But we didn't - just did it all AU NATURALE!