After our time in Athens, we made an early trek to the port of Piraeus to catch a ferry to Santorini. When planning the trip we spent lots of time deciding between flying or ferrying and when we finally decided to ferry there we had to decide between the "slow" vs "fast" ferries. We went with the less expensive ferry which was supposed to take 3 hours longer but less chance of crazy sea-sickness because of the slower speeds. Anyhow, we boarded, found our seats and settled in for a day on the sea. Unfortunately it was not the best experience of our trip - we had screaming children sitting just outside our section and when they finally left they were replaced with whiny older American kids. Corey also got a bit queasy for the last few hours so he was pretty cranky.
When we finally landed we boarded our taxi to the hotel. We checked in and luckily one of the hotel employees lugged our bags down the 6 or 7 flights of stairs to our room. The hotel was built into a cliff overlooking the caldera. Our room was all the way at the bottom, right next to the pool. We were upgraded from a studio to a 1-bedroom so we had a small kitchen and sitting area, plus our own deck with unobstructed views of the volcano and caldera.
Our ferry - was more like a cruise ship than I expected
Entrance to the hotel from the street
Looking into our sitting area with the bed behind
Our patio
View from our patio
We then walked to get a late lunch. The front desk woman from the hotel (who is coincidentally from CA) recommended an absolutely wonderful location for our first meal in Santorini. Corey's favorite part of the meal? Trying a Santorini microbrew called Yellow Donkey - he proclaimed it the best beer of the trip. My favorite part of the meal? A delicious spread they served with fresh baked bread. Corey even made friends with a few stray dogs outside the restaurant. After lunch we spent some time relaxing on the patio trying not to fly away or freeze thanks to the crazy winds blowing across the island. I enjoyed just taking in the scenery and quiet.
Corey's brew
Delicious bread & spread (plus isn't that wine jug cute?!)
Trying to stay warm and not blow away in the wind
We watched the famous Santorini sunset from our deck then ventured off for dinner. We decided to walk from our hotel in Imerovigli to Fira which was just under 1.5 miles of winding, rocky and hill paths. After wandering along the narrow confusing streets of Fira, we decided on a busy place to eat. Despite crummy service our food was delicious. Unfortunately we made the mistake of walking back to our place. It was dark, windy and freezing cold. Plus we were walking uphill most of the way. Luckily we made it back in one piece and turned in for the night!
Sunset - pictures just don't do it justice
Looking back at Imerovigli from the footpath to Fira
After sleeping late, we got dressed for our only full day in Santorini and caught the public bus to the village of Oia. The "public" buses on Santorini are actually charter buses, however it was packed to the gills so we stood the entire trip up windy cliffside roads to Oia. We spent a few hours walking up and down the streets doing some window shopping and even stopped in a Greek Orthodox church. The church's plain white & blue exterior is nothing like its ornate and beautiful interior. We were even brave enough to ask someone to take our picture!
Greek Orthodox church
Windblown
That evening I had our hotel make reservations at a romantic restaurant in Fira with great views of the caldera and sunset. Unfortunately because the wind was so strong and cold, we couldn't sit on the rooftop deck, but did get some good views on the 2nd level of the restaurant. It was still cold despite a tarp blocking the wind, so the waiter brought me a blanket! The food was good but the views would've made it better. We learned our lesson from the night before, so we waited around for the bus and it took it back to Imerovigli and walked/ran the short distance in the bitter cold to our hotel.
The next morning the sun was shining, the wind was replaced with a calm breeze and it was gorgeous out. Of course, we had to leave the hotel before noon to catch our flight. But I took full advantage of a few hours to lay out by the pool and catch some much desired sun.
Although the weather was not cooperative and somewhat limited our "beach" portion of the trip, we still really enjoyed Santorini. It's an island unlike any other: rocky, windswept and quite barren in areas but the white buildings set amongst cliff-side views and crystal clear waters make it a beautiful locale. The food was wonderful and the people were friendly. How could you not love a place with views like this?
We woke up before most of the city and rolled our suitcases through the cobbled streets of Florence to catch our early morning train to Rome. From there we were catching our flight to Athens. Well, thanks to the earthquake in the wee morning hours, the train was late coming from Venice. We anxiously waited around, watching the delay time creep up from 30 minutes to 60 minutes then to 90 minutes. Frantically we did some mental math and decided to catch the next train that was slower but would still get us there earlier. Ultimately we missed our flight by 45 minutes...wah wah. After much negotiating, gnashing of teeth, tears and too many euros we were rebooked for a flight that night, meaning we had to figure out how to waste 6 hours in the Fiumicino airport. We finally went through security and boarded the flight to Athens. We nabbed the first bus into Syntagma square, walked about a mile through deserted streets at midnight and finally stumbled into our hotel with views of the Acropolis.
The next morning we ate breakfast on the hotel rooftop bar taking in the sights and sounds of the Monastiraki neighborhood. We then wandered around the streets, ate lunch in Syntagma square and navigated the metro and teeming streets of Athens to make it to the National Archaeological Museum. It was a small but great museum filled with bronze artifacts, tons of sculptures, finds from a sunken ship and much more. We also tried to explore the grounds of Kerameikos but it was closed for the day. That night we ate at the "must eat" place for souvlaki but were pretty disappointed.
Our view from breakfast each morning
People watching in Syntagma square
Stray pups all over Athens
National Archaeological Museum
My favorite piece in the museum - bronze sculpture
The next day we toured two major ancient sites of Athens - the Acropolis and Agora. It was sunny and pretty hot but we enjoyed seeing the massive structures and imagining what life was like back then. We stopped for lunch at a window of a restaurant selling souvlaki & gyros, it was the 2nd best meal we ate in Athens. That afternoon I dragged Corey to a huge fish and meat market which was fascinating. They literally had entire pigs or goats skinned and hanging from their stalls. Many of the merchants sold chickens with the heads still on. And even more offered every organ of each animal they had. I wish I got better pictures but I felt really awkward whipping the camera out when they were trying to sell me their goods.
Making our lunch
Chicken, tomato, onion, french fries, tzatziki all wrapped up in a warm pita
Acropolis
Taking a break in the shade
The Temple of Hephaestus
Spices at the market
Meat vendors at the market
That afternoon we ventured to the high rent area of Athens and did some window shopping. I was able to convince Corey that I needed a set of salad servers and a small cutting board made of olive wood (from olive trees). We then ducked into a bar we had seen in the guidebooks and websites. They are famous for making their own liquers, especially Ouzo, a very traditional greek drink. I tried it and hated it. Lets just say it tasted like alcoholic black licorice - blech! For our final night we decided to try a traditional Greek restaurant that had good reviews online. It wasn't the nicest or best lit location and the menu was completely in Greek, but our kind waiter patiently described every item in English and we had the best food we ate in Greece. It was a great way to cap off our time.
Shopping
M Brettos Liquer selection
Ouzo in the glass - definitely not my cup of tea!
Heading out our last night
All Greek menu
Delicious meal!!
We had a fabulous time in Athens. We were worried how we would be treated since we didn't know a word in Greek and with all their economic woes, we weren't sure how keen they were on "outsiders" if you will. However, our fears were unfounded. Every person we dealt with from our hotel staff to restaurant owners were kind and very welcoming. The streets were dirty, busy and noisy but the sights were amazing, the weather gorgeous, the locals lovely and the food amazing!
Sorry for the delay, life gets in the way of posting!
Where did I leave off? That's right, we took the train from Rome to Florence and arrived after dark. Thanks to modern technology (aka google maps on my iPhone) we were able to walk to our vacation rental apartment without getting lost - woohoo! After checking in we headed out for dinner and ended up eating amazing pizza. We wandered along the Arno River on the way back to the apartment.
Hooray pizza and vino!
Ponte Vecchio at night
Living room - loved the exposed beams!
Bedroom of the apartment
The first full day started with pastries and coffee at a little cafe near the Duomo. Since we were so close we decided to take the trek up the 463 steps to see unparalleled views of Florence's red rooftops. Corey almost killed me after the exhausting & claustrophobic climb and rather high heights, but we was a great sport.
Exterior
Inside Brunelleschi's dome
View of the Campanille from the top of the Duomo
Made it to the top!!
We then wandered around the winding, cobbled streets of Florence then along the banks of the Arno again until we reached the Pitti Palace. I had high hopes for this Medici residence turned multiple museums in one and gardens. Unfortunately it was pretty poorly put together with rather bad lighting but you live and learn, right?
Exterior of the Pitti Palace
That night's activities, however, made up for the lackluster afternoon. I managed to convince Corey to attend a performance of up-and-coming opera stars at St. Mark's Anglican Church. Neither of us had every seen an opera and definitely don't listen to it at home, so we weren't sure what to expect. It was amazing! We were literally in an old church with beautiful art and fixtures, seated around a small center area with a baby grand piano. A Viennese husband and wife team organized the show with every euro spent on tickets going directly to an orphanage in India. He played the piano accompanying 3 very talented young opera singers. The performance that night was famous arias from various operas like La Traviata, Barber of Seville, Don Giovanni and more. The best way to explain it all? Magical. We ended the evening with amazing gelato before heading back to our apartment.
Gorgeous interior of St. Mark's
The talented opera singers
My iPhone video of the best singer:
Best gelato of the trip!
Our final day in Florence was full but relaxed at the same time. We started off just wandering a bit then headed off the the Mercato Centrale - a large indoor food market. Needless to say, I was in heaven. We even saw a Shiba Inu! It was hard to tear myself away from the stalls of fresh produce, flowers, cured meats, olive oils, wine, pasta...you get the idea. In return for "suffering" through the market with me, Corey picked out a bar to visit with local microbrews on tap (pretty rare for Italy!)
Just like Lacey! (but better behaved)
Zucchini blossoms
On our way to explore the Boboli and Bardini gardens we came across a roped off street with throngs of people lining both sides. Eventually we discovered what everyone was waiting for - amazing cars! The 1000 Miglia was making its way through Florence that day - an unexpected but fun surprise! We saw more Ferrari's within a few hours than I have my entire life. Also saw lots of cute old cars in the procession.
The gardens were beautiful and offered great views of the city. The weather was beautiful that afternoon and we left just in time to avoid rain showers. After the gardens we dropped into a restaurant for lunch and had a great time watching the owner, his son and another man play cards at the table next to ours. We had no idea what they were saying or what game they were playing but they were fun to watch!
Duomo and Uffizi as seen from the Bardini gardens
In the gardens
Bardini gardens
On our final night we decided to try the famous Bistecca alla Fiorentina. It is a cut of meat you can only get in the region around Florence and is supposed to be unbelievingly tender and flavorful. Sadly, we weren't impressed.
That night it was an early bedtime because we had an early train back to Rome in order to catch our flight to Athens. At around 3 or 4 am, I woke up to the bed shaking and closet door rattling. It took me a few seconds to realize it was an earthquake! Just as soon as I woke Corey up and moments before I jumped out of bed to seek shelter, it stopped. Turns out the epicenter was about 40 km away from Florence. Luckily we were unharmed but we found out a few hours later it was going to mess up our travel plans in the worst possible way.
More on that and our time in Athens in the next post!
