Day 115: The Day I Recovered From My Fabulous Vacation

No work today for Easter. I didn't know I wouldn't be working until right before I left for my trip so it was a nice surprise to have a recovery day built in. The 17 year old flew home from China today and the parents woke up early to go get her. My door is right by the front door and usually they are really good about trying not to be too loud. Sometimes however I think they forget. So much for sleeping in.

For the first time, we had lunch on the back patio. It's amazing how much this place has changed in the last 2 weeks. All the trees have all their leaves and you can no longer see through the forest. The Dad also used the grill for the first time. We sat around the table for a long time talking about our respective vacations. Still jet lagged, they headed to bed and I finished unpacking. Lazy Mondays.

Day 114: or The Day My Fabulous Vacation Ended

I was unable to print out my boarding pass or check in online for my flight. I’ve had the flight booked for months, and I was 95% sure nothing was wrong, but none the less I was slightly worried getting back to Paris would be an ordeal. My Dad’s flight was at noon and mine was at 2:00pm, so we took the Metro and arrived at the airport around 10:00am. I couldn’t even check in until 11:30, so we sat and had breakfast and said our goodbyes. These last 2 weeks went by unbelievably fast. I burned time until check in and then went to deal with any possible problems. While in line to check in, a girl told me that Expedia, who I also booked through, had a glitch in their system. Her April 24^th flight home was changed to a May 24^th flight. Immediately I was sure that was what happened to me and pulled out my email. No, I was safe. After that last bit of panic I was sure I was fine. And I was. Got rid of my bag and sat down to wait another 2 hours.

Everything went fine and I made it on the first leg of my journey. I ended up with a coveted empty middle seat and enjoyed my free beer. Got to love European airlines. The flight to Zurich was easy enough and the layover was short and without complications. On the flight to Paris, they showed a hidden camera show without any audio. For most of the flight, no one really watched because they were reading a book or on their computer. But when it came time to shut everything down for landing, you could hear more and more people laughing. It was beyond silly, but of course I laughed even harder than I should have due to the fact that I have a genetic disease that causes uncontrollable giggling.


I landed in Paris and made the familiar journey home. The train's were packed with travelers returning from Easter and spring vacations. The family arrived home just a couple of hours before I did so the Dad was able to pick me up from the airport. They were all jet lagged and were all asleep by 8:30pm. Now all I have to do is recover from my trip. 

Day 113: or The Day of The Acropolis

In Athens, the monuments and museums all seem to close around 2:30pm. That means you need to be up and moving at a decent hour to get all you need to accomplished. We got moving a little later than ideal, my fault of course. My Dad’s jetlag was finally gone, meaning he gets up before me. It was good while it lasted.

We stopped at a café and had sandwhiches near the base of the Acropolis. We decided to go through the museum first to get our bearings. The museum is fairly new and very nice. W spent a little less than an hour looking at all the statues and marble work they’ve removed from the Parthenon to restore or preserve. It’s amazing how huge the statues were up close compared to how they look on the building. The Carytids are massive, and the replicas they’ve put in their place on the real building look no bigger than life size.

After the museum, we made our way up the hill. Being a holiday, it was free and therefore packed. Granted, I have nothing to compare it to and I’m sure it’s always packed. We enjoyed the view and the monuments and slowly made our way around and then down. We walked a little farther down the Grand Promenade and took the Metro towards the National Archaelogical Museum. We made it with only 30 minutes to spare, but were still able to get a fairly good look through it. They had a lot of jewelry and gold work, coins and weapons. Almost all of it was in pristine condition. Hard to believe it’s as old as it is.

When the Museum kicked us out, we explore for a bit and ended up at a street café on a very busy pedestrian street. Out of nowhere, there are 20 cafes where one street over there was nothing but small shops and office buildings. My Dad got the grilled veggie plate and I got another sandwhich. He also got a mango granite which is basically a pulverized mango. Quite tasty. I got a beer. I’m so predictable. But, I didn’t remove the tomatoes from my sandwich, so at least that shows a bit of whimsy.

My beer and my father's fruity drink

After lunch we made it back to our hotel for a pre dinner nap. I feel like this whole trip has been eating. All I seem to do is walk from eatery to eatery with a few monuments in between. I’m not complaining though, that’s exactly my kind of vacation. For dinner, we chose a place overlooking the Parthenon. We arrive just at sunset for our 8:30pm reservation. It wasn’t crowded, and we got a table on the roof. From the ground floor it doesn’t look like the Parthenon will be visible but you’re high enough up that it’s a straight shot and a great view. We took pictures every 5 minutes to get the different lighting and had another big meal. We got zucchini balls and yougurt dip, and greek salad, pork souvlaki, and my Dad got pork stuffed with peppers, sundried tomatoes and cheese. Again we were served free liquor. This version was basically Greek Tequila and it had a kick. Everything was good and we left with no room for dessert. We made it back to the room and crashed. The last day in Greece was pretty productive.

Our view from the table

Day 112: or The Day We Left The Island

Dad woke up and made sure we were prepped and ready for an afternoon departure. We took care of everything and headed out for lunch and a hike. We hadn’t yet made it to the town of Imergovigli. It’s the highest point on the caldera, with an hour long hike out to a point with another chapel. Everywhere you look there are chapels and churches. You don’t realize how high the point is compared to the other towns until you’re up there, looking down. Pretty awesome view. We grabbed a salty crepe for me and a sweet waffle for my Dad. He also ordered a banana juice. Interesting choice.

We found our way to the staircase down the hill and made our way around the rock. The point sticks out from the rest of the coastline and is basically a giant rock. There is a path about halfway up and you walk around the rock to the farthest point. There you’ll find a white chapel and not many people. The weather was great and you could see a good ways off. We took our time walking back, seeing as it was uphill and I don’t do well with going up hill. Being from Houston, I find I am well below average when it comes to inclines. I know I’m in much better walking shape since I moved to Europe, but hills still get me. Sometimes I’ll comment on a hill and whomever I’m with says they didn’t even notice it was a hill. Bummer for me.

We stopped off at Fira and my Dad bought a Santorini shirt and I bought an evil eye charm. I like buying wearable souvenirs, they are much more practical. We also stopped for our last gelato. I do love anything to do with ice cream or it’s many variations. The town seemed much busier today than any other day. I’m not sure where all the people came from, but the town seemed totally different.

We got back to the room and said goodbye to the landlord. The car rental guy drove us to the port and we boarded our 5:00pm ferry back to the mainland. The ride was much different from the first ferry. We took the high speed ferry, cutting 3 hours from the trip. We were able to spend a full day on the island which was nice, and we got in to Athens at a more reasonable hour. The only thing was, and I’m not sure if this was a speed thing or not, it was a very rough ride. I don’t get easily sea sick, and I still didn’t, but I could see how someone could. Usually I find boats soothing when they rock. This boat wasn’t rocking. It was about the same as rough airplane turbulence. Still, there is more space than an airplane or train and you can get fresh air if you need it.

We arrived in Athens later than expected  but made great time getting to our hotel. My Mom booked it for us and I was pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. I can sleep in a closet if need be, but this place wasn’t really anything to complain about. I was glad to finally have internet and am excited to see Athens a bit tomorrow.

Day 111: or The Day of The Volcano

Today was nice and sunny, but still windy. We made it down the 600 steps to the Old Port of Fira for our 10:30am boat tour. We were a bit early so we stopped and got a yogurt with honey. Greek yogurt is so good, and the honey is just enough to balance it. After that we headed to the boat, which was a traditional sailing ship of the area. Our first stop was the volcano island, Nea Kameni. It formed in the early 20^th century, and is due for another explosion sometime in the next 15 years. The guide told us a bit about the history, and we were free to walk around on our own. We saw the steam and smelled the sulfur. You could even feel the warmth beneath your feet, but it just felt like rocks in the sun to me.

Our next stop with the boat was the hot springs. We were all set to go, when she informed us of the temperature of said “hot” springs. To get there, you have to swim through normal sea, 16’c. Totally doable if your destination is warm enough. We were told to expect anywhere from 30’-35’. When we got there, the guide said it would be around 25’c. Not gonna do it, wouldn’t be prudent. I watched the crazies, and took some pictures of their misery. Honestly, I still would have done it had it not been that the trip wasn’t half over and sitting on that ship with wet hair for 2 more hours seemed like torture.

We stopped at the island of Thrassia for lunch and I had pork souvlaki and tzhaki. We were joined by the usual throng of cats. Have I mentioned that you don’t eat in Greece without cats all around your table? Well you do. The island isn’t touristy at all and is mainly the home of fisherman and and farmers. We headed back to the boat after we decided the staircase up the hill was much too daunting and started our journey back to the big island.

Your option up the hill is donkey ride, walking, or cable car. We chose the 3 minute cable car. Call me crazy, but I didn’t feel like smelling like donkey for the rest of the day. We headed back to the room for a shower and a break and then headed out for our last dinner on the island. We picked a place on the hill overlooking the whole island in the village of Pyrgos. The dinner was good and the view was great. The waiter acted very frantic even with only 3 tables. Hate to see how he acts when he’s actually busy. We ordered fava beans again, which were good, but our grilled vegetables came boiled and a good 10 minutes before the rest of the meal. Odd. We headed home, stuffed, after yet another huge meal.

Day 110: or The Day Second Day of Wine

The road up the hill

This morning was really windy, so we postponed our boat trip by a day. I feel like it must always be windy here, but some days are just worse than others. Today felt like monsoon season. After we got ready, we headed down to the beach for lunch. We tried the restaurant our landlord recommended, Ntomatini’s. It was a very traditional and they started us with complimentary Raki with honey and cinnamon. Not sure why they’re always trying to get us drunk, but it sure is friendly. I got a stuffed pork chop and Dad got a pasta dish. We also started with a spicy cheese dip that reminded me of really good pimento cheese.

After lunch we headed up the mountain to some ancient ruins that we knew were already closed, but we decided to check out the view anyways. This is where the wind really showed up. We took a really windy road up the hill, and when we got to the top, the wind actually pushed me backwards. I could barely open my door and was careful not to stand too close to the edge. On our way back down we stopped and walked a trail to a hidden (from the road), chapel and fresh water spring. The spring is in a cave and the travel books said it tastes amazing. A little too much of a risk for us though.

The puppy at the 1st winery

After the hill, we stopped off at a winery called Santorini Winery. We got the wine tasting of 4 wines and a small plate of veggies and cheese. Oddly enough, they gave us one glass. The women seemed slightly scattered, so we just went with it. She ended up only charging us for one tasting, and the wine was pretty good, but an odd little place none the less. We stopped at another winery, with an amazing view. Another recommendation from the landlord, Santo Winery is perched on the top of the rim of the caldera, with a panoramic view. We got a six wine tasting with cheese and tomato paste. The paste was, unappealing. It came with capers, so my Dad fished all those out, but even he didn’t really like it, for all of you thinking I’m too picky. May I remind you I ate fish eyes? Both wineries had the island specialty sweet dessert wine, Vinsanto. I’m not usually a fan of sweet wines, but this one was pretty good. Santorini has better conditions for white wines, and we agreed that their whites were better than their reds. They also grow their vines in wreathes on the ground for wind protection. It’s an odd sight to see all these circles of vines on the ground.

Second wine tasting, with nasty tomato paste

After the wineries, we headed back for a break before dinner. We had eaten so much cheese, bread, and fruit that dinner wasn’t even for certain. After a couple of hours, we headed back out after 9:00pm and grabbed a pita at a little bar in Fira. After a beer and some food, I was all set for some gelato. I was taught at a very young age that there is always room for ice cream. I got pistachio, which seemed to please the proprietor. He informed me it was the best, their first flavor. It was not disappointing. After that I was finally ready to go home, where I saw that I had not 1, but 2 Easter themed movies. Too hard to choose, so I chose sleep.

View from the second winery.

Day 109: or The Day We Ate At Katina's

First full day in Santorini was a fairly wet and windy day. We got up around 11:00am, seeing as how he didn’t get to sleep until 4:00am., and we made our way down the street for breakfast/lunch. I grabbed a sandwich and Coca-Cola Light; because I was too hungry too mess around with a risky order. I am all for ordering what is recommended and the local cuisine. But there comes a point in hunger, when you can’t risk a bad meal or just bad ordering. Dad got yoghurt and fruit because he wanted to make me look bad. But really, it looked good and was probably better than my sandwich.

We got back to the room in time to meet the car rental man. They brought it to us and offered to drop us at the port when we were ready to leave. We went into the room to rest after all we’d done so far and then headed to the Caldera side of the island. First stop was Fira. Fira is the main city on the island and has a lot of jewelry, clothing, and trinket shops. We stopped at one of the travel agencies and booked a sailing day between the islands for later in the week. We walked down the streets and saw the Catholic Cathedral. After a brief survey, we continued down the road to Oia, which is on the very top point of the island. It is known as a locale for sunset viewing and is a little smaller than Fira. Again, we walked the main street and stopped at some of the best views. There is the ruin of a castle at one point and you can see the whole length of the island. Just below Oia, is an old fishing port that now has a couple little restaurants. We were early for dinner again, but after stalling by walking down some paths, we grabbed a table at Katina’s. Katina was there, smiling and silently giving orders to the waiters. Before we ordered we were given complimentary grappa and fava beans. They make the fava beans into a paste like hummus and it’s a specialty of Santorini. It reminded me of mashed potatoes and was served with chopped onions. It was really good and we “jokingly” asked for the recipe multiple times. We started with fried calamari. Their version of fried is very light with barely any batter. It was some of, if not the, best calamari I’ve ever had. We ordered fish by picking which ones we wanted from a case. We picked a sea bass and a beetle fish. They were both grilled within sight and were quite tasty.  The waiters convinced us to try the cheek, eyeballs, and brain. They claimed they were the best part. The cheeks were good, but I wasn’t all that impressed by the eyes and brain, call me particular. At end of the meal, we got Baklava, compliments of “Ms. Katina”. Again, it was better than most I’d had in the states.

Katina's

After dinner we made it back to our side of the island and watched a movie. There are only 5 channels, and usually at night they’ll have 1 program in English. Being Easter week, the theme is Jesus. Tonight’s film was Joan of Arc. I watched until I needed to sleep, but it’s ok because I know how it ends.

Kiss me you fool