If I ever run away you can probably find me in Santorini! So wonderful!
We arrived in Athens after a roundabout flight from the Emirates. We were supposed to have a rather long layover in Cyprus and hoped to leave the airport, but because of restricted airspace over Syria our flight was significantly delayed. Alas, no passport stamp for us.
We spent our first day in Greece bumming around Athens and enjoying time just sitting in some of the outdoor cafes (an instant indication that we were back in Europe)! The next morning we explored the Acropolis and hiked up to see the Parthenon. We’ve been to some pretty amazing and culturally significant places already on this trip, but the sheer history (and maybe relationship to western history) here was humbling. We spent the rest of the day wandering around the Plaka neighborhood nearby and just taking in the city sites.
The seven hour ferry ride to Santorini the next day was a bit long. We thought we knew what we were getting ourselves into, but the boat was packed and the whole experience was fairly unpleasant. Luckily, once we got to Santorini everything was great. Freddy, our hotel owner, was there with his son (Freddy) to pick us up. We spent the next few days lounging by the pool and exploring the area of Perissa beach near our hotel.
Towards the end of the week we rented a car for the day and drove around the island. We stopped first at the Red Beach and then drove out to the eastern end to see the lighthouse. Then we spent the afternoon in Fira before continuing on to see sunset in Oia. It sounds like a lot, but takes maybe 45 minutes to traverse the entire island so made for a very relaxed day exploring (ok, maybe slightly less relaxing for Greg who did the driving through the narrow streets...). Fira and Oia look just like every postcard I’ve ever seen of Santorini and totally lived up to the hype. The small streets winding up the side of the island were beautiful, with the white and blue house and gorgeous pink bougainvillea flowers. Oia was more crowed that Fira, but gorgeous, and we managed to see a procession of donkeys before we left.
The ferry back to Athens was much less crowded, more pleasant and fairly uneventful (in a good way). It turned out to be a nice way to end our trip before another overnight in Athens and then backtracking to Amman and then off to Moscow!
The seven hour ferry ride to Santorini the next day was a bit long. We thought we knew what we were getting ourselves into, but the boat was packed and the whole experience was fairly unpleasant. Luckily, once we got to Santorini everything was great. Freddy, our hotel owner, was there with his son (Freddy) to pick us up. We spent the next few days lounging by the pool and exploring the area of Perissa beach near our hotel.
Towards the end of the week we rented a car for the day and drove around the island. We stopped first at the Red Beach and then drove out to the eastern end to see the lighthouse. Then we spent the afternoon in Fira before continuing on to see sunset in Oia. It sounds like a lot, but takes maybe 45 minutes to traverse the entire island so made for a very relaxed day exploring (ok, maybe slightly less relaxing for Greg who did the driving through the narrow streets...). Fira and Oia look just like every postcard I’ve ever seen of Santorini and totally lived up to the hype. The small streets winding up the side of the island were beautiful, with the white and blue house and gorgeous pink bougainvillea flowers. Oia was more crowed that Fira, but gorgeous, and we managed to see a procession of donkeys before we left.
The ferry back to Athens was much less crowded, more pleasant and fairly uneventful (in a good way). It turned out to be a nice way to end our trip before another overnight in Athens and then backtracking to Amman and then off to Moscow!
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