Greece Monkeys...

Well, I actually didn't see any monkeys in Greece and I'm pretty sure (but not 100%) that monkeys do not reside in Greece. BUT, I was in need of a clever title, I overused "Grease(Greece)ball" when I was younger. Anyways, this post is about the Greek leg of our Spring holiday trip. It was fantastic!

I had been to Athens before to chaperone a sports trip back in February BUT it was nice to be back somewhere familiar and to recognize the sights - mainly the sun! Upon arrival, we grabbed a late lunch around the corner from our hotel which was 200m from the Acropolis Metro Station - perfect! We spent the remainder of our first day enjoying some down time in our room and even ordered Greek pizza in for dinner. This also allowed me some time to edit my many photos from my trip so far.

On Day 2 in Greece, we did a disappointing bus sight seeing tour and then walked around the Acropolis Museum and of course, the Acropolis itself. The bus stopped at only the Panathenaeic Stadium and the Parliament building for 10 minutes each. Obviously, this didn't allow enough time to go into the stadium itself which is kind of a big part of the city's more modern history (compared to the really old stuff) and role in the Olympics; I guess being a PE teacher and lover of sports, it was important for me. Regardless, I'd been there and inside before and my mother and aunt couldn't care less if they had the chance to go inside. The Acropolis Museum was interesting and it was neat to see some of the original ruins from the Acropolis and Ancient Greece but I much more enjoyed the sight of the (not very original) Acropolis, seated up on top of a hill with panoramic views of the city below. I also hate to say this for fear of being shot by ancient historians and archaeologists, but I was much more impressed with the ruins, temples and remnants of the ancient world that I saw in Turkey. Eeeeee! After our 'guided' tour, we roamed over to Placa to eat some lunch and check out the many souvenir shops and flea market in the area. We thought we'd seen enough of Greece so at this point, I also emailed the travel agency through which we booked our trip, and asked if we could extend our stay in Santorini by an extra day, instead of spending an extra day in Athens before heading back to Germany. The rest of the day was spent anxiously awaiting a reply...and getting our stomachs ready for what would (hopefully) be our last feast in Athens.

Arch of Hadrian near the Temple of Zeus (which closes at 3pm F.Y.I. so I didn't get to explore this area)...further proof that I should be learning more about this Hadrian guy! - April 2013

The Parthenon (under construction) with an old piece of column - April 2013

A photo I took near Placa with Camera+ with the "Clarity" enhancement - February 2013

I'm currently reading a Bill Bryson book titled, "Neither Here nor There", where he recounts (with good humour) his ventures around Europe twenty years after visiting with his wife in the 70s. That being said, the book is about twenty years old now (first edition came out in 1991) so I found that a lot of what he was saying was different from experiences I've had around Europe today; I hope he'll come back to Europe and write another sequel to compare his insights of today to his experiences twenty and forty years ago. There was one paragraph that jumped off the page at me and I was in complete agreement with it:

Is there anything, apart from a really good chocolate cream pie and receiving a large unexpected check in the mail, to beat finding yourself at large in a foreign city on a fair spring evening, loafing along unfamiliar streets in the long shadows of a lazy sunset, pausing to gaze in shop windows or at some church or lovely square or tranquil stretch of quayside, hesitating at street corners to decide whether that cheerful and homey restaurant you will remember fondly for years is likely to lie down this street or that one? I just love it. I could spend my life arriving each evening in a new city. (p. 106)

I know I mentioned that I was excited to go back to Athens because it was familiar, but after a short time, I was itching to get back out into the unknown and explore somewhere new; this would be Santorini. My brother had been all around Europe while he worked on a cruise ship and Santorini was his favourite place and having just seen photos, I was pumped to get there. We were greeted at the airport and taken to our hotel, which looked amazing in the photos with its numerous pools. Well, the hotel did look pretty great but the pools were unheated and extremely cold and it was an incredibly windy and chilly day when we arrived! BUT, I still fell in love with the island!

I wanted to rent a 4-wheeler but I was advised to get a car instead because the weather wasn't looking too promising. So, we did. And when it arrived (5 minutes after we called) we headed off for lunch at a Mexican restaurant up the road...I was craving it! The food was great, the view spectacular and the service was commendable from a lovely American couple who had been on "The Rock" (not to be confused with Newfoundland) for 17 years. Afterwards, we took their advice and drove up to the highest point on the island for a view of what was below...except it was foggy and not so visible!

View from the highest point in Santorini; Perissa Beach area is below. - April 2013

After that, we drove down to see a beach and that made for some fantastic photographs but not so great beachin' opportunities! The waves were huge and and water levels were high from all of the wind and one fisherman was starting to get concerned about the water level around his boat. I put my feet in the water and it was still warmer than the water at home in the summer...at this point, I made it a mission to get in the Aegean Sea before leaving. After this, we winded our way back up the hill (lost of windy roads which I loved driving on!) to our hotel after a pit stop at a convenience store and settled in for some chilling out before our sunset dinner reservation at Kastro in Oia, the idyllic place in Santorini where the majority of the photos you'll see have been taken. Unfortunately, we didn't see a sunset and we froze our butts off in anticipation but the food was delicious (although it got cold very quickly)! I would definitely recommend this restaurant though as the servers stuck around, also freezing, to serve us and when we left (being the only ones eating there), they closed up shop...they didn't rush us out at all and I know this place would be jam packed during the summer months!

Angry seas on a windy day at Monolithos Beach! - April 2013

A concerned fisherman examines the rising water levels. - April 2013

Not cold at all! @Kastro, Oia - April 2013

My favourite photo (and not an original panoramic to take) with the bright and dark side of the island in view and the closest thing to the sunset on this particularly cold, windy eve! - April 2013

Just like in Turkey, the cats are plentiful! Meow! - April 2013

The next morning, it was rainy and windy again so we went for another drive down to the other end of the island to Perissa Beach area. There were more tourists in this area on a yucky day but the best part was seeing one dog running down the beach with a whole loaf of bread in its mouth and two dogs following behind. After spending some time exploring all the roads on the island, we returned the car and then spent the latter part of the afternoon exploring our resort/hotel and its immediate area.

Guess who's not the best at sharing... - April 2013

The following day, I got up, had breakfast then did the highly acclaimed Fira - Oia hike. On +TripAdvisor, it was suggested to allow 3.5 hours to get the hike done so I departed the hotel with that expectation. The hike was amazing and I loved it; it was easily the best decision I had made on holidays after the hot air balloon ride! I did it alone and loved putting in headphones, singing to music at the top of my lungs and admiring the amazing views all around me! I passed only two other couples on route and one man who yelled at me from above, commented that I was listening to music and said, "Have a good day, baby." as I increased my pace alongside the hilltop trail! When I reached Oia, after stopping for photos and taking my time down a couple of rocky pathways, it had only been 2 hours and 20 minutes since my departure. At this point, I figured that perhaps the 3.5 hours was to go to Oia and then back to Fira (almost 24k with some biggish hills) but then I realized, that couldn't be it and headed to the bus anyways. Because of my quick time, my mom and aunt were not in the room so I got to enjoy the pools at the resort afterall...well, my legs and butt did as I sat in the sun (yes, finally, sun in Santorini!) and cooled my legs. It was pure bliss.

Fira - Oia Hike AMAZINGNESS! - April 2013

The sea meets the sky! - April 2013

From pretty high up here...you can see a variety of colours from the volcanic rock and soil deposits on this hike! - April 2013

Bliss - April 2013

Later in the day, we got the car again, headed back to Perissa Beach for a delicious cocktail that we promised a bar lady we'd come for and then back up to Oia for attempt #2 with the sunset...and it was SUCCESS! It wasn't the most brilliant sunset I'd seen, but it was a sunset and it's what many, many people from around the world travel to Santorini to see. We had a nice meal at Blue Sky restaurant before heading back to our hotel around 9pm. The next day (our extra day that we were scheduled thanks to the amazing Kemal @Mediterra Holidays who hooked us up), we still had the car and we went to find the last roads that we hadn't travelled on the island and I went for a quick swim in the Aegean Sea! We visited Kamari Beach, which looked badly beaten from the winter, and I considered it the best beach on the island from all that I had seen. I did not get to go to the Red Beach because I wasn't sure how to and I knew my mom and aunt wouldn't be game, but I've also heard it was fantastic. We then explored Fira for our remaining hours in Santorini, I had the best gyros I've ever had (I'll add the name later when I remember!) and then we (sadly) caught our flight back to Athens at 8pm that night.

Sunset success in Santorini! - April 2013

Oia, Santorini - April 2013

Santorini was magical and I loved it. I can see why so many people love going there and rave about it as its architectural feats in designing and building homes and businesses on the sides of cliffs is pretty marvelous all on its own...then you have the fact that it's a volcano, it's in the middle of a beautiful ocean with incredible temperatures and all that other jazz to boot! I was bummed not to be able to enjoy the pools and beaches more, but then decided it was a better time of year to visit Santorini than in the summer because I'm sure the island is just completely overrun and mad with visitors. Driving wouldn't have been nearly as fun in those conditions either!

So, gather your lover (it's pretty romantic), your friends, or your mom and aunt OR even just your lonesome, and get over to visit the Greek for some delicious food and breathtaking sights! I'll definitely be back to explore more of these island gems! :)