Mystique

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We have made it to our final resort in Santorini! This area is called Oia you pronounce it E ahhh! It is at the very tip of the Island! A lot slower of a pace than the middle of the city Thira! We had to walk down a ton of steps just to make it to the reception! The bell men here have the toughest job carrying all of the luggage down to the rooms! The hotel is carved into the cliffs/hillside! We had to park our car at the top and work our way down! I told Clay that I was staying inside this place the entire time because it was too hard to get out of the resort!

We actually went into Thira this afternoon to check out the Thira museum! Wow the things we saw there were unbelieveable! Everything was from 1500 B.C.! The pottery was made of Clay, some of the sinks marble, and of course there were the Fresco's! Absolutely amazing! Some of the areas were missing so they hand drew what they thought came next! I can see why my friend Lexy wanted me to see the ruins! It is crazy to think that these people were so advanced! They had their own metric system and clay seals that they would use to lable what was being imported from Crete! It was fantastic! They even had hot and cold water and a sewer system! A lot of the knowledge they had was actually lost, isn't that sad? We saw huge bronze vases that were of course tarnished. We also saw big bronze pots for cooking! They never have recovered any human remains. They believe that was due to the fact that the peole knew the GIANT volcano was coming so they all fleed the area! So believe that the tsunami caused by the volcano sunk the ships in the sea! That also coincides whith the exact time as the parting of the Red Sea by Moses. So who knows......

We meet our friends for the Sunset, which was packed! At the end of the Sunset everyone clapped and cheered! Wierd! We walked through the little town and headed back to our resort! STEPS! I was ready to die!

Here are your little known facts (as if what I told you earlier wasn't enough) There is a Donkey Mafia here! The donkey rides from the middle of the city, Thira down to the port, have been going on for years! When the cruise ships come in they have three options for entering the city of Thira: donkey, cable car, or over 500 steps! YIKES For years it was just the steps and the donkey! Then the cable car was given as a gift (I don't know from whom) The donkey men staged a sit in on the day that the cable cars opened! They said no way are you gonna take over our years of tradition and our livlihood! We want 40% of what you earn or we are not moving! The city had to comply so they get 40% of the cable car earnings! The donkey business is a family owned business that has been passed down from generation to generation! I'm gonna send Mia here to marry one of the donkey men so we can get in the family business! you can't open up a donkey business unless you are part of the family!

Also, the cruise ships are forced to use the boats from the island and not their own! Santorini has such strict control over things!

The last thing that is driving me crazy is the following! A few men will come into a restuarant playing music! Then, they will stand at your table and wait for a tip! Are you kidding me? I would not allow that if i owned a place! It would be like me going into someone's home, playing a flute, then standing with my hat asking for tips! Hey, I just might do that tomorrow!

I'll post pics tomorrow because I wanna get some sleep!

Also ran into a Freshman from the University of Cincinnati on the steps of an old castle tonight! How crazy is that? She is here traveling by herself! Aimee, she is also from Fairfield but she doesn't know you! How funny would that have been?

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