Mykonos and Santorini
I slept in this morning, getting up when Carrie and Erica went to the beach. I packed my bags, and then went to the bakery next door to buy a cheese pie. The bakery is in a basement made of stone, with tables full of cooked and uncooked pastries, huge ovens against the wall and the smell of baking in the air. The pie was still hot when I bought it, and I ate it sitting on a street corner watching the morning traffic pass me by.
My cheese pie
I then set out to deliberately get lost, which isn't hard to do in the pedestrian streets of Mykonos that have never seen a street sign. I found a couple of great shops, some cute churches and was actually a little disappointed when it was time to meet everyone for lunch.
Streets of Mykonos
One of the small trucks used to navigate the tiny streets of town
Windmills
Leaving Mykonos was not quick. Our bus was late picking us up, and then our ferry was late as well. The boarding process was a lot slower this time, too, but it was a high speed ferry so our travel time was cut in half. Instead of outdoor, free for all seating, we had assigned seats that were comfortable, but the lack of a view made the 3 hour trip seem much longer than that. But finally we arrived on Santorini, disembarking at the port at the bottom of the caldera, the huge cliffs of the island all around us.
Santorini
Santorini was once a oval shaped island, until the volcano that formed the island erupted 3,600 years ago and the entire center of the island sunk below the sea. Now it's a crescent shaped island with another smaller island nestled in the crescent that's a still active volcano.
Pension, the owner of our next hotel, met us at the port and drove us up the incredibly windy roads to Fira (aka Thira), our home for the next two nights. As soon as we'd checked in, Barbara gave us a quick walking tour to get us oriented. Well, it was supposed to be quick, but the sun was setting on the other side of the island, and the light on the caldera was too much for us to resist.
Fira
Erica, Me and Carrie
Sunset
Within minutes of walking out to view the caldera, Carrie and I looked at each other and both proclaimed, "This is my island!" We're both in love with it, and now I'm so glad Carrie talked me into staying an extra day!
Like Mykonos, Fira has a large area that mainly pedestrian traffic. The two main streets wind along the rim of the caldera and there's all sorts of outdoor restaurants, bars and lots of great shops. We had a wonderful dinner together, where I ordered a traditional Santorini dish - roasted rooster. Not surprisingly, it tastes just like chicken. The pasta it was served with the was the star, though. It was amazing. We ended dinner with shots of retsina, a liquor made on a nearby island from tree sap, and it was yummy.
After dinner a bunch of us made friends with Cristos the bartender at a nearby jazz bar. I fell in love with caprioscas, just like caphrinias, but made with vodka instead. We gossiped and giggled until we were too tired to continue and went back to our hotel.
Ruth, Erica and Ken
Cristos making our drinks
Sarah, Julie, me, Carrie and Ricky
June 28 Athens - Or How I Got Spit on My First Day in Greece
June 29 Ferry Trips and Bad Beaches
June 30 Exploring Tinos Island
July 1 Tinos to Mykonos - A Party Under the Windmills
July 2 Delos, Mykonos and Being Hit on by a Gigolo
July 4 Sunsets and Late Night Parties on Santorini
July 5 Red Beaches and More Sunsets
July 6 Bruising my Butt in Santorini
July 7 Taking in the Ancient Culture in Athens
My cheese pie
I then set out to deliberately get lost, which isn't hard to do in the pedestrian streets of Mykonos that have never seen a street sign. I found a couple of great shops, some cute churches and was actually a little disappointed when it was time to meet everyone for lunch.
Streets of Mykonos
One of the small trucks used to navigate the tiny streets of town
Windmills
Leaving Mykonos was not quick. Our bus was late picking us up, and then our ferry was late as well. The boarding process was a lot slower this time, too, but it was a high speed ferry so our travel time was cut in half. Instead of outdoor, free for all seating, we had assigned seats that were comfortable, but the lack of a view made the 3 hour trip seem much longer than that. But finally we arrived on Santorini, disembarking at the port at the bottom of the caldera, the huge cliffs of the island all around us.
Santorini
Santorini was once a oval shaped island, until the volcano that formed the island erupted 3,600 years ago and the entire center of the island sunk below the sea. Now it's a crescent shaped island with another smaller island nestled in the crescent that's a still active volcano.
Pension, the owner of our next hotel, met us at the port and drove us up the incredibly windy roads to Fira (aka Thira), our home for the next two nights. As soon as we'd checked in, Barbara gave us a quick walking tour to get us oriented. Well, it was supposed to be quick, but the sun was setting on the other side of the island, and the light on the caldera was too much for us to resist.
Fira
Erica, Me and Carrie
Sunset
Within minutes of walking out to view the caldera, Carrie and I looked at each other and both proclaimed, "This is my island!" We're both in love with it, and now I'm so glad Carrie talked me into staying an extra day!
Like Mykonos, Fira has a large area that mainly pedestrian traffic. The two main streets wind along the rim of the caldera and there's all sorts of outdoor restaurants, bars and lots of great shops. We had a wonderful dinner together, where I ordered a traditional Santorini dish - roasted rooster. Not surprisingly, it tastes just like chicken. The pasta it was served with the was the star, though. It was amazing. We ended dinner with shots of retsina, a liquor made on a nearby island from tree sap, and it was yummy.
After dinner a bunch of us made friends with Cristos the bartender at a nearby jazz bar. I fell in love with caprioscas, just like caphrinias, but made with vodka instead. We gossiped and giggled until we were too tired to continue and went back to our hotel.
Ruth, Erica and Ken
Cristos making our drinks
Sarah, Julie, me, Carrie and Ricky
June 28 Athens - Or How I Got Spit on My First Day in Greece
June 29 Ferry Trips and Bad Beaches
June 30 Exploring Tinos Island
July 1 Tinos to Mykonos - A Party Under the Windmills
July 2 Delos, Mykonos and Being Hit on by a Gigolo
July 4 Sunsets and Late Night Parties on Santorini
July 5 Red Beaches and More Sunsets
July 6 Bruising my Butt in Santorini
July 7 Taking in the Ancient Culture in Athens