Me in Santorini

Me in Santorini

This photo was taken through an opening in a display of frescoes in Santorini, Greece. I realized right away that the display was not an original and asked our guide to tell me where the original was located. She told me in Athens, so the next year I took a trip to Athens to see the originals. The above photo was taken by my niece on a Holland America cruise aboard the Noordam. A gentleman chastised me for taking this photo. He thought I was being disrespectful, but I really wasn't. I was just having a little fun! :)

More information on the Santorini wall paintings or frescoes can be found here. 

Akrotiri painting - handmade reproduction

Santorini Revisted

Typical architecture of Santorini

My niece and I were in Santorini on a cruise from Rome to Rome, doing the Eastern Med itinerary. I had already heard it was Heavenly from a friend who worked on the cruise ships for ten years. It was her favorite place on earth, she told me, and it has also become mine. (I commented on this in an earlier post.) Digging out my photos, I realized that my niece, Sarah, had taken some great photos of Santorini, so here I am revisiting Santorini.

View from up top

 We took a great tour from the ship that went to Oia and a winery. We then did lunch on our own after that was amazing. The food is as awesome as the view. After lunch, my niece talked me in to going to the black sand beach - which was really more like a black rock beach. Boy did those rocks hurt the feet.

Black sand beach, or is it black rock beach?

 I can not put in to words how wonderful Santorini is. First of all, the people are so warm and friendly. I will never forget the marvelous conversation my niece and I had with the kid who worked on the tender taking us back to the ship. He told us his whole life story in the 20 minute ride. I thought people from Naples wore their heart on their sleeve, but this kid was just the same way. I could tell he was smitten with my niece, but he seemed to like speaking to me (the old lady) just as much. 

Cruise ships below

Donkeys from Fira

Great food, architecture made in Heaven and sea and mountain views that go on and on.  When we finished soaking up some rays, we were tired and decided to try our hand at a taxi going back. Haggling was necessary as we were low on euros and the taxi driver did not want to accept dollars. In the end, he took a combination of both but was not very happy about it. We jumped in a taxi with some strangers. We were all shoved in the back seat and my niece took a photo of us. Splendid!

Taxi ride, me in the hat on the right.

Santorini: Our Favorite Place on Earth

Santorini (officially Thira)

View from up top by cable car (see it peeking out?)

I have had this discussion dozen of times. "What's your favorite place on earth?" Had it recently with my friend Jim (whom I have never met in person - yet.) That is the beauty of the internet. He is my facebook friend and what a friend he is. I write a blog post and put it on facebook page. A while later, a like appears and invariably it is from my new friend, Jim. Anyway, he and I were discussing and reminiscing, and Jim and I both love Santorini the most.

There is just nothing not great about Santorini, except maybe for the donkey sh**, which is why I took the cable car and not the donkey trail when returning to the ship. 

My niece Sarah walking the cobblestone streets of Oia

My niece and I spent a day on our Holland America Noordam cruise in Santorini. Approaching it, it appears as if there is snow covering the mountain peaks, but in reality, it is the white houses perched on top, all strung together so closely, like lights on a Christmas tree. It doesn't make sense the way it is laid out. We couldn't even get from one town to the other without getting on a cable car or in a crazy taxi, but it is truly Heaven.

Love the wheelbarrow

The architecture is so unique that now when I see a photo of Santorini, I know it is on this wonderful island in the Cyclades archipelago of Greece. This is what Wikipedia says about Santorini (or officially Thira.)

"Santorini is essentially what remains after an enormous volcanic explosion that destroyed the earliest settlements on what was formerly a single island, and created the current geological caldera."

For more info on Santorini, or Thira, click here

Fabulous door

Santorini workshop

My best find was a local workshop on the island. Kind of reminds me of our workshops here in Cozumel - I'm thinking it must be an island thing!