Santorini Day 1 Hold the Phyllo

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Editor's note: This column uses an egregious amount of parentheses. I'm sorry, I was in a very parenthetical mood while I was in Santorini, I guess 80-degree weather, no place to be and a steady salt-water breeze caused my internal monologue to kick up a notch... Apologies if it annoys you.(unless it annoys Balz, then I'm happy about it)

A scenic and uneventful (Just the kind I like) 45 minute flight delivered us from Athens to the picturesque island of Santorini. ( I thought about making a Great Santini joke here but Robert Duvall isn't as big as he used to be) Our Hotel, The Eltheon turned out to be a really nice looking Villa complex with a beer commercial quality (but frigid) pool and several 1 bedroom apartment units. Very "rustic" to be sure, there were no significant amenities to mention (unless you consider Gary Coleman sized beds an amenity) but it was the perfect place to get some down time after 5 straight days of Studio 54 level partying. (Without the drugs mom I swear)

We had a great Greek Island meal at this great outdoor restaurant overlooking the Caldera, which is what they call the large (but dormant) volcano in the bay. (Kinda like those snooty country clubs that call the rough, the "First cut") Island food here, not surprisingly is a bit different than the mainland. Not as much baked phyllo, lots of shrimp with the heads still on, (not my fav), lots of peppers grilled in balsamic and oil (yum), lots of calamari (yum again) and lots of chicken marinated in stuff I can’t pronounce (but hella good).

After Dinner we checked out Imerovigli village (lots of pale tourists in loud prints) and met up with The Gib & Kellie Traveling Wedding Circus. No Trapeze artists, but plenty of clowns to be sure. We had a few drinks at their P.Diddy-esque Pad (very expensive, lots of white flowing fabric and totally overrated but successful) and then called it a night. The wedding is in two days and I’ve not caught Gib on the cell phone with the travel agents so that’s a good sign. Let’s hope Ole Neckbone (an old Gib nickname from high school we just found out about) doesn’t chicken out 😊

Stat of the Day
15
The times I used parentheses in this mini-column(way too many I know).

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Photos

The Caldera
Here's the view from the outside the resturant we ate at. The Volcano (The Caldera) is partially viewable off to the right.

P.Diddy's Imerovigli
Here's a shot of Imerovigli from Gib's hotel. Note to Bentley Farnsworth, this is a great spot for the next White Party.