Blogs from Fira, Santorini, South Aegean, Greece, Europe

I got up early for the morning sunrise as per usual, but more out of habit rather than there being any particular Perissa setting I wanted to photograph. There wasn't really anything to photograph, but to be fair it was pleasant, peaceful, there were no crowds, no rivalry for the best positions and actually just great to watch and enjoy it. Perissa is very different from Oia in ways that are good and bad. Breakfast was a buffet in the hotel restaurant, so after four mornings of being able to just go out onto our terrace when breakfast arrived like slobs, wearing what we liked and in whatever state we liked, this morning we would need to be in some sort of semi-presentable condition before going down. The buffet included one of my Greek favourite, Baklava. ... read more

I have this sign on my study wall. Thus traveling to Santorini, originally called Thera, has been high on my bucket list. I blasted through the museum because they close at 3:30. I took lots of photos and will enjoy them when I get home. It was amazing to stand beside the real wall hanging or pithoi, rather than see copies in books or shops. I could touch the large pots on display (until the museum guarded yelled at me). *smile* When buying my ticket, I had a bit of an argument about the name 'Minoans'. She was adament that the people on this island were not Minoans. I guess everyone tries to claim, interpret and defend their ancient history. I bet she isn't even born on this island. *chuckling* We did agree that Minoans were ... read more

So, after spending nearly three weeks in Greece, I tried many wines. And I visited several wineries in Santorini, known for their famous Assyrtiko wines. BTW, it is pronounced "us-EAT-teeko" and has a definite "volcanic" taste, in other words, a quite pronounced minerality, for lack of a better term. Karen at Winespeed is spot on about this wine: Assyrtiko, the white wine that brought world attention to the stunningly beautiful volcanic island of Santorini, is made in several styles today. But my favorite has always been the original style—fresh, pure, bone-dry, and made without the merest trace of oak. Santo Wine’s Assyrtiko—from 60- to 80-year-old vines —is exactly that, a wine that captures the lemons-and-salt-air crispness that Assyrtiko is known for. Sparks of minerals and acidity light up the wine, making it extra delicious with seafood. ... read more

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6th July - 19th July 2016 The 4 or so weeks before we left for Greece were very stressful weeks. We had a huge decision on our mind on whether to leave the UK early to go home for a great job offer for Matt with his previous company or to keep living our humble lives in Edinburgh, travelling to Europe on the weekends. When we had decided that it was definitely the best decision to take the job, it still took a few weeks for it to be confirmed on the NZ side which meant a lot of uncertainty for us. This meant we only ended up giving about 1 weeks notice to our work as we had already planned our Greece trip and arranged annual leave for it, so we decided we would finish ... read more