MAY 13 - SANTORINI - Part 2

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OKAY, I realize my first impression wasn't exactly gushing forth with exuberance and elation. That's hindsight for ya - NOT always a great thing. (What I mean is.... doesn't it always seem better when you were there before??? Well, not always.... what do you think?) I am ONLY speaking about my first impression of the town of Thira, okay? That is IT!! Karel, on the other hand, was VERY pleased and thoroughly enjoyed our stroll in to the town!

Just beauty everywhere!!!!!!!



Look at the homes cascading down the sides of the caldera





Chuck is lovin' it!!




And once again, Chuck is LOVIN' it!!



Here is the old port (you can ride up either on speedy cable cars or the traditional slow donkeys)







Back to the hotel at 1:00pm and OH MY GOD... PARADISE!! We'd decided to splash out and treat ourselves to an elegant treat for an early 10th anniversary gift to ourselves. This is the HONEYMOON SUITE and it is to DIE for!! Our own little patio right on the edge of the cliff, overlooking the caldera. BREATH TAKING!













We have our own private jacuzzi right outside our room.........





And our room - WOW!! A real cave house - huge! Sitting room with little writing desk, table and chairs, double couch, lovely chandelier, nice ceramic tiles, all kinds of cool local artwork.....



and this kitchen has a fridge, sink, little cooker....






Cool bathroom and the bedroom....... VERY romantic with a canopy bed, beautiful gauzy curtains, mirrors - oo la la!!




And there is a small salt water pool for the guests but the water was still quite cool so we didn't see anyone venture in... including us! Wimps!



We were treated to lovely plush bathrobes (waffle cotton rather than terry robes) and slippers, a fresh fruit bowl and a lovely glass of bubbly upon our arrival. All just TOP NOTCH!!! We were OVER THE MOON! It's a bit pricey (by our normal travel standards...) CDN $300/night but we are worth it and it was worth EVERY penny! Happy Anniversary to US!!!!

So we just had our bubbly and our souvlakis (that we'd picked up enroute) and sat on our private terrace, overlooking the caldera - just in raptures about where we were!
THANKS GOD FOR THIS AMAZING PLACE!!!




Had some wine - local Santorini wine - we bought several bottles of it. White and dry - tasty. 12 euros/bottle - and Andreas, the lovely young man who looks after all the guests, brought up some nuts.

Not much of a sunset unfortunately, very cloudy and later it rained. Plus it was cold and windy. Hmmmm - what's with THAT!!!

Around 8:00pm we wandered down the road to our little local taverna called AKTAION. Small and quaint - run by a local artist. Still fairly pricey though (a caldera view, after all). We both had lovely spagetti with tomato, capers and garlic - with some bread and 500ml of the house white. THey brought out a nice after dinner liqeur (free) - very tasty - kinda like figs. ALl very simple and delicious and cost us 23 euros including tip.

Walked home and noticed the very interesting weather blowing in. We had a lovely hot jacuzzi with a final glass of wine. Very luxurious and relaxing then.......
well, never you mind! :)

MAY 13 - SANTORINI - The ULTIMATE ROMANTIC DESTINATION!

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We arrived in SANTORINI shortly after 0500. PITCH black, lots of people and cars getting off the ferry and MOTHER OF GOD, it was COLD!. BRRRR!! This IS Greece, isn't it? In the end, the ferry crossing took nearly 10 hours, with stops. VERY pleased to NOT be in "cattle class" this time around!! That is what you do in your 20's when you party all the way over in a gang and show up at midnight and don't care if you have to sleep on the beach. Ahhh, those were the days!

We had arranged to be met by someone from our hotel so we sat there and had a coffee and waited and waited, hoping they were just late but in the end we took a taxi to the hotel and got there around 0645. It was light by then but still very cold.

Our hotel - THE MILL HOUSES STUDIO AND SUITES - is located in FIRASTEFANI, just up the road form THIRA (the main town of the island). Took us awhile to find our place and carry our bags down the MANY steps to our hotel (More then 50) but OH MY GOD, WHAT AN UNBELIEVABLE PLACE!!!! Overlooking the caldera - everything so WHITE and pristine! Very elegant.

Finally the manager, Yamnis, showed up with another couple from the airport. He swore up and down that he'd been at the port to meet us - I'm sure he WAS but we didn't find him and I wonder how long he waited. One of those unfortunate mixups!
(Yamnis deducted that taxi fare from our final hotel bill, though - so we were all happy in the end).

The downside is that we couldn't check in until 1:00pm because the hotel was CHOCKERS so they had to wait until the people who'd been in our room checked out and they had the chance to clean. That meant that we had SIX hours to kill! Ugh, not amused! They brought us cappacinos and croissants and we just ogled the view and pinched ourselves. AWESOME!!!





So we eventually walked back up the many MANY stairs to the Millhouse Cafe (which is owned by the same guy - Manolis).












Wandered the streets of Thira for the next FIVE hours - poking in shops, soaking up the INCREDIBLE scenery - walking, walking, WALKING (happily, my foot was holding up really well by now). I kept saying to Karel how much it was NOT bringing back fond memories from my last time here. NO recollection of anything. NO familiar vibes, no emotional memories, NOTHING! I remember NOTHING about the place - ZILCH! I guess I shouldn't be so surprised since it WAS 22 years ago but I have to admit that I felt vaguely disappointed too.

Had a coffee in town overlooking the caldera - EIGHT euros... that would be.... oh about TWELVE dollars for two coffees. PULL- EEEEEEZE!!!!!!

The only bar that still exists from my past is TWO BROTHERS but it doesn't open until June! Bummer! I wonder if THAT place would elicit memories from my poor overworked brain?

HUGE cruise ships VOMIT forth hundreds of passengers every day on to the streets. You can still ride donkeys up the hill from the old port to town (for 25 euros per person!) but now you can also take a high speed cable car for 4 euros each way. Of course there's the "gauntlet" of expensive stores and junk for sale. Made me think of Key West, really.... Nothing authentically GREEK left in Thira town. I know it's silly but I felt VERY let down. Oh well, that's progress for ya!

Hmmm - can't add any more to this one so will continue on the next page.....

MAY 12 - OVERNIGHT FERRY TO SANTORINI

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After we'd satisfied our tourist desires, we picked up a roadside souvlaki (gyros? Which one is it? I can never figure it out!) Anyway, they are delicious pitas stuffed with sliced meat, a sweet/savory yogurt sauce, tomatoes, onions.... DELECTABLE!! And a bargooon at only euros 3.40 for both of them.

Picked up our bags at the hotel and navigated our way to the METRO to Piraeus (the main port of Athens). Quite easy to maneuver our way around. Each of us paid only euro 1.60 and the trip was about 20 minutes. (I remember standing with my pack on the metro back in 1986 and being felt up by a young Greek guy - unapologetic as you please! Looked at my friend Christine - raised eyebrows and all and slapped his hand away with great gusto. All I got for my efforts were a smile and a wink from this young dude. Hmmm. Older and wiser this time around - and lucky enough to score a couple of seats! BONUS!!)

Picked up our tickets at the ANEK office at the port and were able to board our ferry early (got there at 5:00pm and the boat wasn't due to set sail until 7:00pm).



We had opted to take the "slow boat" i.e. overnight ferry to Santorini because we wanted to experience the whole sleeping on the boat thing. I have taken the ferry from Piraeus to Santorini three times in my life now. The first two times I did it I was young and poor. First time was 1984 and it cost 800 drachmas - GOOGLE IT!! - and took 5 hours. Next time was in 1986 and it may have been slightly more expensive but drachmas were still the currency of Greece and travel was still cheap.

This time it cost us euros 113 (approx CDN 85.00 each). BUT we splashed out and got an outside cabin because we are OLDER AND RICHER and we deserve it!
As we boarded, we quickly recognized that the staff was NOT friendly. NOTE TO SELF - service people in Athens TOTALLY SUCK!!

When we arrived at our outside berth we were pleased - it was small but cozy with bunkbeds and a private bathroom with toilet, sink and shower. Guests are welcomed with complimentary sparkling water, juice and fruit. Nice touch. We were delighted with the whole thing! So we dumped our stuff, freshened up and went upstairs to the lounge. for some "refreshments" aka BEER!! We were hot, dusty and parched and sometimes NOTHING does the trick like a beer. CHEERS!









When it was time to set sail, we went upstairs and on deck to wave goodbye to Athens (or GOODBYE AND GOOD RIDDANCE!!).










After a nap and a shower, Karel treated us to a lovely dinner in the first class dining room. Our waiter was a doll (changed my mind about ALL Athenian service people being jerks!) and he made a real fuss over us. I had roast chicken with potatoes. Can't recall what Karel had. Plus we each had a 1/2 bottle of wine of our preferred colour. Once again, there was complimentary halva but this one was flavoured with cinammon rather than orange. Not only THAT, but there was some complimentary GRAPPA which went down very easily. (Aside note: We are not naive enough to REALLY think that all these extras are completely free - they are undoubtedly included in the cost SOMEWHERE! Still, it's nice to have the ILLUSION that we are getting something for nothing!)

Back to our cabin around 10:00pm. Fell asleep fairly quickly after our long day but were awakened off and on all night long as announcements were made for passengers getting off in Ios, Paros, Naxos, etc, etc... so of course, I'd jump out of bed and peer out the window at each stop and say... "I remember coming here.....". Sigh.......

MAY 12 - ATHENS

We had ONE full day in Athens - we'd booked it that way on purpose as we didn't want to spend a lot of time here but, the fact of the matter is that you just CANNOT land in Athens without visiting the ACROPOLIS! It's such an important historical site - otherworldly, really.

Climbing up the hill to the Acropolis, high above the hot dusty crowded streets and sidewalks of Athens was a relief! However, once we reached the top, we were again greeted by the masses. Admission is 12 euros each but this fee also grants access to three other sites in the area (which we did not take advantage of

This monument to ancient Greece has stood guard over Athens since the 5th century BC. The ancient Athenians considered their city to be the capital of civilization it's not hard to see why!!

Of course, the most famous structure is the PARTHENON which was completed in 438 BC.
Today, it is almost entirely buried under scaffolding but it is still an amazing sight to behold!

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This is also a perfect place to get a panoramic view of the city at your feet. Urban sprawl at it's best - but from that magic, historic vista, it's possible to lose yourself in the mystery and legend of the place!



The STADIUM




Tourista!!
















Just lots of gorgeous shots from this incredible place....



















Below the Acropolis ("high city") lies the ANCIENT AGORA. It was the marketplace of ancient Athens as well as the focal point for social and civic life from the 6th century to AD 500.







After about three hours, we'd had enough. IF we go back, it might be a good idea to spring for a guided tour. The alternative is to rent an audio guide - that way its' possible to get ALL the background information about the Acroplis, Athens and Ancient Greece that anyone could possibly desire. But, to be perfectly honest, neither Karel nor I are real "museum people".

That is what Athens and the Acropolis are - one sprawling, incredible, jaw dropping museum, interspersed among the modern day machine that is Athens today.

It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is undoubtedly a world treasure!!

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