Blogs from Santorini, South Aegean, Greece, Europe - page 18

We got up early and went to the airport only to find that we had missed our flight by about 5 minutes. There had been an alteration to the time of our flight and we were very disappointed to have missed the flight. We had to buy new tickets and book another flight which did not leave until 6.50pm. Very very sad...:( Never-mind, we are not going to let it spoil our day. We drowned our sorrows with a big cuppa and two big fat muffins!!! We were lucky as the airport staff were able to get us on a plane later today. At least we will be in Santorini tonight. Thompson Tours are very disappointed for us but will reschedule our airport transfer shuttle. We have a 7 or 8 hour wait ( finally got ... read more

I just wanted to comment on the hotel in Santorini. It got great reviews on TripAdvisor because it was beautiful but also because it was a good deal. That's why R chose it. I'll say this, it really made the experience a great one. Just a word of advice for anyone going to Santorini, which should be everyone on the planet, make sure you make the effort to get a hotel along the edge of the calder, which means basically along the cliff. You have to have the view of the cliffs, it makes it all the better. It's more expensive, but worth it. At the Delfini in Santorini, Sima made our stay wonderful. Besides loving children and being an incredibly warm and friendly host, there was local Greek wine and strawberries waiting for us, and ... read more

We love this island. I have to admit,it's much different than we imagined, and somehow it has a lot to do with this hotel. When we first arrived, the cab was there to pick us up, and thus began the long journey to the other side of the island. The road was scary, winding up cliffs that were 1000 feet up. I looked this up on Wikipedia. What's really crazy is that road is small, barely big enough for two cars, and there are these massive tour buses that go up and down. Santorini is a big stop for cruises, so they all come ashore and pile into these buses, which then tour the island. They can barely make the turns. To add to the fun, our cab driver was nuts. He was flying, passing cars ... read more

There is a significant distinction between vacationing and traveling. Our backpacks alone cause us to be classified more as travelers than the typical tourist, but after two months on the road the Greek Islands held the vacation promise regardless of the bags we were carrying. When Jake and I planned the trip, we chose to end our journey in Greece for two reasons. One, the weather would be hotter and two what better way to end a two and a half month adventure than relaxing on a postcard perfect beach! I think our early morning flight out of Rome and into Athens made us both realize that the trip was quickly approaching the end… of course not without some Greek Island hopping first. The plan was to get to Santorini as soon as possible after our ... read more

Most of the morning was free for exploring. Joi, Sally and I walked up the main street along the escarpment. At a nearby shop I bought a pumice stone for 50 cents, because it was convenient and there is a callus on one of my toes. The others bought postcards here, but I bought mine further along where there were more donkey pictures for the kids. All the postcards are greatly exaggerated versions of reality. We wandered back along another street with lots of fashion and touristy shops, not buying anything more. I stopped at the post office almost adjacent to the hotel, for stamps – 73 cents each. Our bus took us to the highest village on the island, Pyrgos Village. At a lookout point the views were disappointing because we had driven above the ... read more