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Published: August 14th 2007
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Postcard Greece
This is the quintessential picture of Santorini Thank you again for all the messages. Although we are having a blast, we still long for all of our friends at home. Well, at least for a minute. Back to the adventure.
Naxos was an enjoyable place to put up our feet but there was much anticipation of spectacular beauty as we headed to Santorini and we were not disappointed. There were many conversations about living on the edge of a volcano and how many people died. Once we got over the “volcano” talk, we were left to enjoy and marvel at the Greek ability to construct buildings where it is “engineeringly” impossible. The 2 ½ hour ferry ride was occupied by trying to find new and ingenious ways to stay out of the baking sun (and lack of air circulation due to the interesting design of the Greek ferries). After passing the island of Ios, the ferry slowly started to list to the port side (or at least it seemed that way) as 90% of the passengers leaned over the railing to catch a glimpse of the arrival into the center of the cone of long ago extinct volcano. Matthew, our resident Santorini expert, gave us the blow
Restaurant with a View
Perched on the caldera, this restuarant in Oia has a view to die for. by blow description of how the volcano exploded and sent ash as far away as Greenland. One of the mysteries of the event is that there were no human remains found, despite being a reasonably populated island at the time (Matthew puts it off to the excellent volcanic warning system they had in place - hot feet). No description (or pictures we found) do justice to the majesty of cruising into the crater and seeing the twin cities of Fira and Oia perched on the side of the caldera. We had emailed ahead so we knew that Poppy from Villa Manos was going to be waiting for us at the port (this was very opportunistic as we did not want to do the 1000 ft trek with packs up the inside of the cliff in order to get to the top of the caldera). A 10 minute drive brought us to our wonderful abode where we immediately sought out the pool and food. Having arrived at 5pm, we walked to the next town and found one of our favourite restaurants so far. Typical Connor food these days for dinner consists of tzatziki sauce,(dipping our bread in this is a must),
Bells and crosses
So many bells, crosses and windmills, the pic opportunties are endless and with digital, we didn't pass any up. a greek salad (the tomatoes and cucumbers are amazingly succulent), moussaka (Trevor could live on this alone), and some sort of mixed grill of meat (souvlaki type). This restaurant had a few “western” offerings so the kids tried chicken nuggets (incredibly large chunks of chicken - probably from sovlaki in a shake n’ bake coating - 2 thumbs up from the kids), a burger (bunless ground beef which tasted great) and spaghetti carbonara (cream sauce with ham and bacon). All five sets of different Connor tastebuds were pleasantly elated (as they have been most of the trip). The one drawback to most of our meals is that they are between 35 and 50 Euros ($45-$75) so this adds up. We are trying to cut corners by shopping at local grocers, and have found our daily breakfasts at amazing Greek bakeries (no weight loss on this trip.) The evening was spent lounging around the room and catching our breath after a day in the sun on the boat (moving days tend to take more out of you than you realize).
We rented a car for the two days as we felt this allowed us to come and go as we
Matthew's delight
He worked long and hard for this shot. It was worth it. wanted (70 Euros for 2 days - $105 approx.). There were a number of buses but for all of us to go back and forth a few times each day, the cost seemed to favour the car rental. The number of scooter rentals on the island is incredible and Trevor was reminded of his scooter accident last time he was here (thus we stuck to our car).
The next two days on Santorini were spent exploring the island and particularly the magical town of Oia (pronounced Ia). It is a pretty amazing feeling to be wandering the streets and to hear 7 or 8 different languages being spoken at any one time. Usually one is inundated with the sound of the language of the region one is visiting. Not so on here in the narrow walkways of the beautiful island. There is a sense of wonder at the incredible draw that Santorini is to many from all over the world. The alleyways are lined with multiple restaurants, jewelery and clothing stores, all catering to those that do not need to concern themselves with prices. Amidst this array of stores, each of the kids found something that will forever remind
Happy travellers
Sunset in Oia celebrated with you and 1,000 of your closest friends. Happiness is .... them of this special place. We found a place to perch ourselves for the world renowned sunsets of Ia: sharing this special romantic moment with our kids and a couple hundred of our closest friends all poised for the much anticipated event along multiple levels of the caldera wall. We took a measly 40+ pictures of said event. Despite the sarcasm, it is quite breathtaking and both nights, a spontaneous applause erupts from the masses as we all agree that the creator has given us a wonderful show.
In order to avoid a 21 hour boat ride to Rhodes, we had pre-booked a 45 minute flight on a twin prop18 passenger plane. Courtney asked if we could get window seats and Matthew aptly replied that they were ALL window seats ( 3 seats across that is). We are now enjoying the old town and history of Rhodes which is another adventure in itself and will be recorded in a couple of days when we get to Turkey. Next stop, Fetihye on the southern coast of Turkey..
Kids Corner:
Courtney- Standing on the edge and looking over is amazing. I also love playing basketball in the pool. The
More bells
Couldn't resist food was really good too. The sunset in Ia was awesome and I loved taking pictures. It was also great going to the bakery and having breakfast on our own. Finally, “I am definitely doing this when I am older.”
Sydney- Look at the purse Mom! I love all this shopping! Can I have another ice cream? I have only had one today. Where’s the pool? I loved the sunsets. Yeah!!!
Matthew- More gyros please! Gyros and photography, I am complete. Oh, and one more thing, can I have another Gyros? They’re only 2 Euros. Give me that sunset!!!!!
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