Just a little slice of Paradise...Santorini Greece

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Day Five: Hello, Santorini!!!

We woke up again to that incredible breakfast and I seriously stuffed myself full of homemade Greek yogurt and fresh honey…its incrrrrredible!!! Mitch got his fill of everything there was to offer, and we were honestly pretty bummed to have to be leaving our little paradise right on the ocean. It was a beautiful day outside, no wind and sunny…I keep thinking it can’t get any prettier but it does…After breakfast, we packed up and headed down to the reception to check out. We found out that for the last 2 days we have been going by the wrong time, it is really an hour earlier than we thought the whole time which means we could have slept in an hour later every morning. It was funny as we have now been going by the wrong map and the wrong time while in Greece…but yet we still get where we need to be by the time we need to be there. I think we have a little travel angel or two on our shoulders. With our newfound time on our hands, we went down to the beach for a little morning stroll and some picture taking. The water was pretty warm and we easily could have gone swimming if it had not been so windy and the waves weren’t so big. We are headed to Santorini today around 1pm and Mitch and I could not be more excited as this is supposed to be the greatest island of all. It is known for having the most gorgeous sunsets in all the Mediterranean and arguably the whole world.
The ferry to Santorini went by pretty quickly as Mitch and I were pretty absorbed in the land we were floating by and the sea we were floating in. We grabbed a table out on the sundeck and snuggled up for the 3 hour journey. We passed tons of small little islands, some were big and some were tiny. The waves were crashing and the sky was beautiful blue. I felt quite inspired and wrote a little jig down in my journal. We both popped in our headphones and watched the miles float away as we headed towards our final destination: Santorini. The actual arrival into Santorini was spectacular, as we had never in our lives seen anything remotely close to it. Santorni is in the Cyclades Islands which are all volcanic and desert like, hence the landscape of Naxos. Santorini was even more extreme. The cliffs were enormous and jagged but the most beautiful part was the little towns that were carved into the cliff side. The rooftops were beautiful, white and blue, and contrasted beautifully with the harsh brown of the rocks. It was absurd, I felt like I was in a dream. When we got out of the ferry, we rented a car again as it was the best way to get around the island at this time of year. Motorbikes can be a bit dangerous on the steep roads when the wind comes ripping through. So, we got our little red car and hopped in. We are staying in Oia for the first two nights and then Imerovigil the last night (our nice only nice hotel). It was around 3 o’clock when we got in so we decided to drive straight to Oia, check into our hotel and then explore as we have heard so much about everything. The town of Oia is on the far side of the island, away from the hustle and bustle of the little tourist town Fira. In order to get there, you have take a long winding road that weaves itself all over the island till you finally reach the far side. At this time of year, the place was basically deserted. . Our hotel was fine, Aspa Villas, it was nothing special but it got the job done. Let’s just say, it sounded better on the website than it actually was. Anyways, Mitch and I found ourselves alone except for the occasional stray dog that seemed to have found a home in the streets of Oia. There is no way to really explain it in words, I mean pictures hardly due it justice. But, I will make an attempt. When we first walked into Oia, our breaths were just taken away. Here we were, hundreds of feet in the air, staring down at the beautiful sea, surrounded by little villas and cavehouses that were carefully and majestically tucked into the dangerously steep Cliffside. There were beautiful flower pots on the sidewalks, blue fences and doorways…These dwellings were made for the rich, the wealthy, and for the once in a lifetime splurge event like a honeymoon ( Yeah I know, what the heck are we doing here? Hey, it’s the low season…hence: affordable). They were incredible, the epitome of a once in a lifetime paradise. The rooftops were a beautiful sky blue, and the white walls only accented their uniqueness. Amidst the blue and white, there was the occasional orange or yellow cavehouse that just added to the overall awe-striking beauty of Oia. During the day, the sun beat down on the little village magnifying the gorgeous collage of colors. However, my favorite time of the day was at dusk when the sun’s rays streamed across the windows, walls, and rooftops bathing Oia in dreamlike blanket. It is incredible. We walked throughout the little streets and through the different houses taking pictures and rarely speaking as we were both just trying to mentally comprehend where we really were. I am not exaggerating when I say, it truly felt like a dream. We had bought a bottle of wine in Naxos and had brought it with us to enjoy the sunset here in Oia. We hiked to the very end of the town, the highest cliffs where an abandoned castle lay…We carefully made our way up onto the old stone roof and took a seat. We were hundreds upon hundreds of feet in the air with the little harbor below us…nothing between our feet and the sea but a cool, salty wind. The sun was setting before our very eyes and the town of Oia lay to our right, absorbing the thousands of colors of the sun. There were 2 old windmills to our seated in the cliffs and more cave dwellings and houses below it that continued all the way down the side to the bay at the bottom. I mean this had to be fake, right? Mitch and I had to pinch ourselves to make sure it was real. We sat up on that castle, hand in hand, sipping our wine and watching the sun drown into the ocean. It was an unforgettable moment. After the sunset, we were both hungry as usual and decided it was high time for some dinner. Oia at dusk was wonderful, there were dogs everywhere and all the buildings had their lights on. I don’t know why but there were stray dogs everywhere and they acted like they owned the island. The vendors and artists that sold their wares in this little village would leave food out on the bricks for them to eat. They followed us all over the island, I don’t know what it is with Greece and their stray animals. We ate dinner at this adorable little restaurant right on the cliffs that overlooked the lights and the sea…I wish I could say the food was great but it really wasn’t but the view was spectacular and well…the company was even better. We were exhausted again after dinner and decided to call it a day at 7:00 pm…We are just representing for the grandma and grandpas of the world.

Day Six: Greek Yogurt and Honey Rules my life.

I dream of yogurt and honey. Maybe it is one of the problems of a diabetic traveler with a boyfriend who can eat anything he wants and it goes straight to his left foot. I don’t know, but when I wake up in the morning I am sure ready to eat. We woke up pretty early for us (8am) and made our way to the nearest restaurant as fast as possible. Like I said earlier, the island is in its low season so a lot of the nice hotels are closed and the restaurants are not in their prime. The restaurant we chose was far from its prime. Oh my gosh. It was terrible. Poor Mitch was starving and ordered an omelet which turned into an over fried greasy toast looking thing. I got the yogurt and honey but it had this really weird onion thing in it. I enjoyed it as best as I could. It was not a good way to start the day. Oh and not to mention, the guy who was serving us had blood and meat all over the front of his shirt as he was literally hacking up the dead cow that lay in the kitchen. We decided to make a new rule: We are not going to eat anywhere that people are not. In other words, we are only eating where other tourists are eating. Silly Tara and Mitch. It was another absolutely beautiful day in Santorini so we decided it was high time that we got in our little red bug and toured the island. The different towns were quite a distance a part and the roads were winding and treacherous and we were quite thankful we had rented a car rather than an ATV. We headed to the opposite end of the island to go see the red, black, and white beaches. The black beach was pretty strange looking because it just looked like really beautiful dark sand…It was odd to see it colored black, almost like tiny little rocks but it was really fine sand. We got out of the car and went for a little stroll along the beach, dipping our feet in the cool water. It was a flawless day with the sun reflecting off the water, and the hot sand between our toes…quite different from the chills of Oxford. Along with his passport, Mitch had forgotten to pack his sunscreen so we didn’t stay at the black beach for too long. Next we headed to the red beach which was about a ten minute drive away. The red beach was amazing. It was not at all like were expecting. We parked in the dirt on these cliffs and carefully made our way down the rocks to where we could see the beach. The red cliffs rose sharply into the air and the little red beach lay at its feet in the inlet of a green and aqua blue bay. It was glorious. Mitch and I got our bathing suits and cautiously made our way across the cliffs and down to the secluded little beach area. There was this funny red door that sat at the bottom of the cliffs, almost like a door into the cliffs. I have no idea what it was used for but I felt like we were in the Lord of the Rings and Sam and Frodo were going to pop out of there on their quest to destroy the ring. WE spent about an hour or so laying in the red sand and wading through the water. We got to see a baby octopus making its way across the smooth rocks…Our next stop was the old lighthouse that lay at the very front of the island. It was weathered and blue but still flashing its light everyday. Along the way, there were old broken windmills that sat on top of the peaks. The majority of them had lost their mills (I gues you would call it that) over the years so they just looked like naked little houses. After our little off road exploration of the beaches, we headed to Fira for some lunch. That afternoon, we discovered one of the greatest secrets of the island: this little gyro stand on the corner of the street. It was incredible. 2.20 for a gyro with fresh meat, salad, tomato, fries, and paprika all rolled up in a soft, warm pita. Mitch and I both got 2 and loved the feeling of being full. With our fully tummies and happy faces, we hiked throughout the little town to see the different shops and stores that attracted so many of the cruisers that stopped by. There was beautiful glassware, statues, and paintings at each and every shop and it was hard to not buy everything you saw… good thing we are broke. It was starting to get late, and we didn’t want to miss the sunset in Oia so we drove back to head to our little seat on the old castle. The sunset was beautiful and we both feel extreme peace, happiness and gratitude for being so blessed at this point in our lives. We met some other kids who were studying abroad but seemed to be having quite a different experience than us…let’s just say a bit more party animalish. After our little conversation with them, we slowly made our way through the little white buildings and found ourselves at this incredible little dinner spot overlooking the whole island. I wasn’t very hungry because the gyro stand had really done its job for me, so Mitch got some spaghetti and I just took pictures. I know, story of my life. WE had a great little dinner under the starry sky…After we paid the bill we both realized that in our old age we were no longer party animals and at 7:30 it was high time for us to head to bed. And that’s just what we did. No if’s and’s or but’s about it.

Day Seven: We are turning into Greek Gods and Goddesses

It was our last full day in Santorini, so when our alarm went off we both hopped out of bed ready to take advantage of the beautiful sunny 85 degree day outside. We were checking out of our hotel today and checking ot our one “splurge” hotel of the trip which was located on a different part of the island. (When I say splurge I mean, 60 dollars each a night…hmmm). We enjoyed an incredible breakfast of fresh waffles in Thira as we had learned our lesson with the whole eating at the deserted restaurants thing. The waffles were crispy on the outside and soft in the middle and Mitch was in absolute bliss. I think he forgot I was even there. While we were sitting outside on the patio eating our waffles I thought about something and realized that Santorini lacked on thing…there were no bums, no beggars, no homeless people. It was strange, there was nobody laying in a gutter or an alley with a cup in his hands begging for some change. Maybe just because it’s the low season…Anyway, we loved our breakfast and were in such a great mood that we decided it was time to do a little shopping. We hit up the really cool tourist stores and bought a few things here and there while still remaining within the budget. On top of the town of Fira is a winding concrete path that leads about three or four hundred feet down to the Old Port of Santorini. It is where cruise ships used to dock before the new port was built. There were donkeys and cable cars ready to take people down to the bottom as it is a long way on foot. Mitch and I decided that this was one expense we could nix and decided that watching people traversing up and down was good enough. It was crazy how high in the air we were. Cruise ships were pulling in and out of Santorini all day long. You know how we love those cruisers…It was around 3 in the afternoon and Mitch and I were pretty worn out from heckling with the store vendors and climbing up and down Fira…but, I talked him into letting me go back to Oia so I could take some more pictures of the unique little town. Each and every house was different with its colored shutters and gorgeous flowers. I can only imagine what it looks like in the summer time when the resorts looks their best. We went down to the bottom of Oia which is called Amoudi bay. There were three or four seafood restaurants that lay at the bottom of the cliffs. The fish had just been brought in, the octopus was hanging on the lines, and the sun had begun to set. The food was so fresh and it all smelled so good but Mitch and I were still full from our waffles and gyros that we had eaten in Fira that we just looked rather than ate…The little bay was calm except for the occasional swell that cruise ships sent as they passed by. We sat on the edge of the pier and just stared out into the ocean. Life sure is precious. Rather than watching the sunset from Oia, we were going to enjoy it from our very own private hot tub on our balcony at our new hotel. WE had not checked in yet so we headed towards Imerovigil where Shine Hotel sat on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the caldera and the sunset. It was paradise. That part of the island was completely deserted and Mitch and I felt like we owned the hotel. It was all at ours. No tourists. No natives. Just the occasional cat or dog. It was crazy! Our room smelled of fresh diapers and the hot tub was warm and bubbly on the front porch. Kind of a weird combination, but hey we are in Greece.
. We had checked in as the sun was setting, so we got in our bathing suits and decided to watch the sun set from the comfort of our own Jacuzzi. It was incredible. The sun was slowing sinking into the sea shooting out purples, reds, and oranges and here we are lost in the bubbles on our balcony. Shine Hotel brought up complimentary chilled wine and a plate of fruit, we were beyond spoiled. Mitch and I sat in that hot tub until the sun had disappeared and the whole town of Oia lay asleep in the darkness. It was quite the view. After our incredible sunset and hot tub experience, we went back to our little gyro stand for dinner. Ironically, the only people we talked to on the island happened to be from Brentwood, TN (my hometown), and 2 people from OC (Laguana Niguel and Yorba Linda) which is near Mitch’s hometown. What a small world it is. They were studying abroad as well and were on a little break just like us so don’t’ think we are the only ones getting spoiled! Granted, they defintily didn’t have a hot tub on their balcony. We enjoyed a delicious waffle with chocolate syrup and ice cream for dessert. By the time we got back to the room, it was pretty dark and late so we decided to have one last dip in the hot tub before we had to head back to Athens in the morning. We finished up our wine and fruit and just tried to comprehend where we were in that moment…

Day Eight: Reality Returns

We woke up late. Rolled over, dialed 100 and had our fresh homemade breakfast brought up to us on our balcony. We felt like royalty and all for 60 dollars!! We sat out on our balcony in our PJ’s on a beautiful Greek morning enjoying tea, coffee, and freshly made breads and fruit. Gosh we were living the life. Our ferry for Athens left around 3 pm and we had a few hours to kill, so we put our suits back on and dabbled in the hot tub for an hour so. It was just warm enough with a slight breeze that you could sit half in the hot tub and be comfortable. We checked out around noon and headed back into Fira for some more gyros and a waffle. Mitch could not suvive without a waffle, he was addicted. We were both not looking forward to our 8 hour ferry ride to Athens so the waffle was a good distraction. We boarded our ferry around 3 and embarked on the long journey back to the capital. Lucky for us, we sneaked up into the more luxury seating area and got big huge seats to sit in rather than sitting in the restaurant. I mean its an 8 hour ferry, I can’t imagine sitting in the cold ona metal chair for that long. It was a long, long ride but we distracted each other with movies, memories, and pictures…we pulled into Piraeus port around midnight and jumped on the metro to head to our hotel. We were staying at Acropolis House Pension in Plaka, a big step up from where we were before. Anyone who has visited Athens in the last 100 years has probably stayed here as it is the oldest pension in all of Athens. It was a big huge creepy house, but the beds were comfortable and the people were nice, so Mitch and Tara were happy but very tired campers!

Day Nine: Homesick for Oxford

Athens just isn’t all its cracked up to be. We woke up to the cleaning people at our hotel playing hide and go seek in our halls at like 6 am. Not a fun way to wake up and we almost walked outside and ripped their heads off but we were just a little too exhausted. So, we laid there until the rumblings in our tummies forced us to crawl out of bed and stumble down the stairs to another delicious European breakfast of toast, olives, and tea. I mean really!?!?! No wonder everyone here is so darn skinny, they eat like freaking birds. I like my big fat American portions of waffles, eggs, hashbrowns, fruit and OJ. I mean I can hardly imagine the reaction of a European walking into Denny’s and ordering the Super Slammer breakfast. Poor Mitch is loosing weight as the days pass by. He looks like a deflated balloon as his muscles just keep shrinking due to lack of food and working out. But don’t get me wrong, he is still as handsome as ever with those piercing blue eyes and adorable smile. Skinny, fat, or muscled out he still rules my world. It was a really slow day in Athens and there really isn’t much to write about as Mitch and I literally just wandered the streets hoping time would move faster than normal. We were ready to get back to Oxford, and we were totally sick of Athens. It’s high time we returned to the brisk winds and the rain of England…
Our flight back to Oxford went smoothly and we made it back in one piece…extremely tired but so thankful for the wonderful memories and experiences we made in the last 10 days. This studying abroad thing is pretty awesome. I am really big fan of the abroad part, not so much the studying. ☺
Itinerary: PRAGUE next, November 6 -10!! Wahooo, it just never ends!

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