Category Archives: Trip to Greece

Day 8 : last day in Naxos and day 9 in transit

Sep 29

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We wake for our last day to high winds again.  It is really unfortunate that the weather is not cooperating for our last day in the Greek island of Naxos.  The hotel, pool and beaches are gorgeous and it would be wonderful to be able to take advantage of them. Last night at the restaurant, we are told that the hotel has lost some of its electricity due to the heavy rain and winds. It is reminiscent of St-Lucia !!!

Nicholas, one of our waiters tells us that last year the was so much salt in the rain water and sand blowing that they has to scrape it off the electricity lines to be able to get them to function again.
This morning most of the electricity is back. At the reception, they confirm that the blue star big ferry will be leaving for sure but the high speed that are built similar to catamaran may not. They recommend that we book our ticket on blue star at 6pm arriving at 11:30 in Athens rather than the 7pm high speed arriving at 10 so we go ahead with that. We are informed that the business class and seat numbers are sold out but we can try upgrading on the boat.
We spend the day reading and getting ready since our attempts to go for was are canceled as we feel like we will be blown off our feet.
We take an early taxi into Hora with the plan to walk up to the gate of Apolo and do a bit of shopping.
When we arrive there, we check our luggage and attemp the walk but we must walk on a pier that connects the small island where it stands and the waves are so high that they crash over the pier soaking everything. We settle with pictures for afar.

We walk in the very pretty old village and meet a very nice shopkeeper who tells us where to buy the best honey from the mountain. It must be thyme honey. The absolute best!

Back for a pizza by the port. Those Greeks love their pizza and pasta. I guess Italy is so close!

We find out that the boat is an hour and a half late so it will leave at 6:30 and arrive at 12:45 in Athens. The high speed is of course running on schedule. Oh well!!

Once the boat finally arrive we are told that we can not upgrade and must find a seat somewhere. We end up on the top deck partially covered where the strength of the winds and waves are very evident. It is freezing.  A group of young nomad musicians break into an impromptu concert complete with a bunch of young people dancing and singing. It is quite entertaining.

But when they pull out 2 bagpipes around 11:30 and start the whinny sounds, it is less funny. Now everyone would like to sleep!
We arrive at the hotel at 1:30 and in bed by 2. Wake up call at 4:30… Arghhhh
The flight to Istanbul  is without complications but we arrive to find our flight to Toronto is delayed by an hour and a half. The airport is much bigger than anticipated but I just want to sleep! Now we really want to be home. We hope to be able to sleep in the plane.
Chuck has been booked on a flight to montreal tomorrow morning for a meeting. Yikes!
All and all a wonderful trip!

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Day 7 in Naxos

Sep 27

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The This morning is every bit as stormy as they predicted. Rainy, windy and cloudy so we take our time with breakfast and getting ready. This morning at breakfast, I learn that Karimara is the greek greeting for good morning.
We leave with our rental car to visit some of the typical villages that were pointed to us, the Kytron distillery and the Zeus summit.
We drive towards Ano Sagkri and a temple in that area. After driving on a dirt road, we find instead the archeological site dating back to 500 BC, Yiroulia Sangri. On the same ground, a christian church was built as well. Great view from up there.

We continue on to Halki for the distillery. We find it in a small alleyway for pedestrians only. All the tools and machinery from 120 years ago are on the display as well the what they call “citron” which is not at all the same as our lemon.  It is a very large sour lemon and we discover that the liquor is made of the leaves and not the fruit! We get to taste the 3 different types, green for the sweetest, yellow for the most bitter and the transparent one in between. The transparent one is my favorite.

From there we continue on through Filoti on our way to Zeus cave and summit. The legend says that after Zeus was born on Mykonos, he was brought here to hide from the gods while growing up. We turn right at the sign and come face to face with a very skinny road going up a cliff and no guardrail. I am so glad I am not the one driving…Chuck is wishing he was not driving! Cars coming from the opposite direction would be really bad!
Finally we arrive at the spot where the road ends and there is a small area to leave the car. We walk to the towards a fountain and a sign that point up a very narrow trail with a gate that is close. We decide to risk it and open the gate and start climbing. I definitely am not wearing the proper shoes! The view is fantastic! Luckily while we are there, the sun is out and it is not raining….

We make our way down just as the rain starts and begin the drive down on the skinny road.
Our plan is now to make it up to Rotondo, the restaurant perched up high with the best panoramic view towards Paros.
Again up a narrow road, we finally arrive there. It is quite spectacular but windy and some rain so we have to eat inside.

The food is also excellent but when we want to pay we are informed that it is cash only but not to worry, we can come back anytime later on. Don’t change your plans, just come back when you can…Wow! We are thankful that we needed to find an ATM as we end up in Apiranthos, the village of marble.  It is so neat to go up the marble stairs and walk on the small roads. Again the view there is wonderful.

Naxos’ reputation as the island of many typical village is well earned. One could spend a few days driving up and down discovering new villages and tavernas and enjoying a great view atop the hills.
We return to the hotel and settle in to watch the storm…strong winds, lots of rain…no sunset tonight! Glad we enjoyed that yesterday.  We review the weather forecast with the receptionist for tomorrow and it appears that they expect some rain but a milder and nicer day with wind of only 6 in strength…what does that mean? Well strong winds but not the end of the world, we should be able to get out on the ferry back to Athens…cross our fingers. We are told that the ferry left tonight and the wind speed is 7 so we should be good.
We are told that the Cyclades are named after the gods of wind and that is a good example. Within the span of one hour, the wind can change direction 3 times. We witnessed the gods of wind in action tonight!

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Day 6: we leave for Naxos

Sep 27

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We wake up today to a cloudy sky and strong winds. They die down quickly and a bit of cloudiness still let’s through amazing light. I would think this would be a fabulous place for an artist to create. 

 
We enjoy our breakfast again on our terrace as I struggle with the wifi. 

 

Time to leave and we make our way to the port to await our high speed ferry on Hellenic.  Although the view was spectacular, I am not unhappy to leave.

We look forward to Naxos and resting on the beach for a few days. I am not sure if I would have wanted to stay in Santorini for a whole week as most people were doing that we met. Maybe not in Oia anyways, the view, caves and cliffs are spectacular, but it so busy and no beaches. The space is such at a premium that all the pools are very small, and there are definitely too many weddings! I forgot to mention that yesterday’s new word was Yamas for cheers but do not say it if you are not looking in each other eyes!
As we wait for our transfer minivan to arrive, we chat with the luggage guy who is from Romania and he tells us about his country. Sounds like we have to go to Carpathian. The region where the Danube meets the Black Sea and creates a delta. The region with Dracula’s castle!! He speaks 5 languages and just graduated with a degree in hostellerie.  Every summer he interned in a different country and has already experienced so much! Very neat!
We take the same road down to the port.

I am happy with the fact that the ferry ride is half the time but the business class lounge is definitely not as nice as on the blue star and not worth it. No electric outlets or wifi so I can not charge all my electronics or upload yesterday’s blog again. Drag!
The view from the back of the boat is again very nice. There is a dog trapped in a cage, barking constantly. Not happy!

We arrive in Hora,Naxos and again the disembarkation is quite something! Here we see the blue that Greece is so famous for. I do not know if it is the place or the temperature that brings this colour to the sea but it is magnificient.

 

Our ride to Pyrgaki is about 30 minutes, We drive though a very different scenery of hills and valleys and small village.  We arrive to Finnikas hotel via a dirt/sandy road to a beautiful hotel right on the beach.  We are greeted by a super nice receptionist who comes greet us at the taxi and are served Kytron which is a liquor made here on the island similar to Limoncello. The method of distillery and the liquor dates back to ancient Greece!

 

She explains all the different things to see on the island including the nearby secluded beach that you can reach only on foot and are within the nearby cedar forest. The sunset from the “Hawai” beach is supposed to be spectacular.  As she takes us to our suite, she points out that all the hedges and bushes are herbs that are used by the restaurant. We also come to a 900 year old cedar with a vine growing on it. The legend is that the marriage with the vine is what is keeping the cedar alive for so long.

After a delicious lunch at the restaurant where I experience the best fish soup I have ever had.

we settle in our beautiful suite and I go for a dip in the salt water pool and a walk on the beach while Chuck reads his book on the balcony.

 

Although it is quite windy and cloudy, we decide to walk to the secluded beach (about 10 minutes) and are well rewarded.
The beaches are spectacular, at the bottom of a small cliff, the sand is is great and the view awesome. Chuck decides to go for a dip amongst the strong waves and I take pictures. We stay until the sunsets and make our way back to the hotel.

We are excited to try the famous catch of the day at the restaurant for dinner. Each day, local fisherman bring fishes caught that day for this treat. The chef is a greek-canadian and specializes in fish. The waiter brings to the table a plate with 3 fishes that were caught that day for us to select. We try the Sfirava. They are from the grouper family and he tells us about each of the variety which are local to the mediteranean. The fish is then grilled for a few minutes and then put in the oven with a bit of olive oil and salt. It arrives at the table whole and the waiter then prepares it for us. It is accompanied with a butter-lemon sauce and local vegetable. Absolutely delicious. We do not leave one bite!

We are now told that a storm is coming and that Sunday they are not certain that the high speed boat will run. We have to decide tomorrow which ferry to book that will have more chance to leave!
We rent a car to go explore the island tomorrow and visit the Mountain where Zeus is believed to have been raised and hidden from the god as a child as well as the Kytron distillery.
Off to bed we go 🙂

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Day 5: Oia, Santorini

Sep 26

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Waking up to the view of the volcano and the sun rising over the cliff and Fira is quite the treat.

T

his morning, we take our breakfast on our terrace and are met by 2 very friendly cats.  I of course share some of the cold cuts and cheese with them which they love but when I try to give them some Greek yoghurt, absolutely not! 

Hummmm. They leave when they see we are done.  They think nothing of walking on the ledge behind the gate! Yikes!

We almost regret booking a 5 hour tour on our only full day here as we felt there is so much to see in Oia. We leave for our tour at 10 and meet up with another couple from New York on our way to the first wineries: Boutari.  Our driver / guide is Stamatis, a Greek from Corfu who currently lives in Scotland in the off season being a Sommelier at Glen Eagle. When I asked why would a Greek moved to Scotland, his reply is the exceptional opportunity.  Glen eagle had more than 600 variety of wines in its cellar that he gets to sample.  
We arrive at Boutari, we also meet up with 2 other couples that will join us for the rest of the tour. Another couple from New York and one from Dallas.

We finally learn why the vines are so different here. They are not trained up or planted on a row.  They are basically spread out and trained to turn into a basket in the middle. The goal being to provide shade and protection from the high winds that come here. They do not have irrigation system but rather a stone in the composition of the soil, traps the little water that they get a year, sometimes 150 to 250 mm annually! Also the regular mist rising from the sea provides them with moisture and gives the wine a very particular mineral aroma / flavor.  There are more than 400 local variety of grapes in Greece and more than 50 grow in Santorini.  I did not realize how big a producer of wine Greece is.  Apparently the protectionism in Canafa combined with the requirement to produce and ship a certain minimum number of bottles is the cause of the very limited Greek wine imported in canada.  The majority of the wineries here are …gseveral generation family owned and low producers.

 

Stamatis is fantastic at explaining the nuances and differences in aromas and tastes and the impact of acidity in the wine. We try wines made with Assyrtiko which an indigenous Greek green grape from Santorini. The difference is clear between the one that did not spend anytime in the oak barrel and the one who did. He also tells us that Santornini is not the official name of the island. The name is Thira. Santorini was given by the Italians who came a long time ago and dedicated a saint in the nearby island of Thessalina.
We then try the private reserve red wine which we really enjoy as well as the Vinsanto wine which is the traditional naturally sweet dessert wine from the island of Santorni. It traces back to Ancient Greek and is made from the same green grapes that are first sun-dried. We also try a different red grape based dessert wine. 
The winery pairs every wine with a different food to highlight the difference when tasting a wine with food and the importance of correct pairing. Well I guess that only matters in the first few bottles 🙂

 

We then make our way to the second much smaller winery that is family owned and run for 3 century.  The current winemaker is 4th generation wine maker at this place.  We try again 2 white from the same grape but the the lees (molded yeast) that is stirred in one and they east deposit only stirred in the other. Again another Vinsanto. We can not taste red wine here as the production is so small that it is not available for tasting. The Greek’s wine production is 80% white.
We very much enjoy our companions on this tour. A young couple from Long Island, Christine and Tim, a couple from Dallas and a couple from Albany who lived in China, Austria and several states.
Around 1:30, we leave for the restaurant where we will be cooking. It is Nichteri in The small town of Kamari on the other side of the island with the black beach. The restaurant is right on the beach and it is amazing to see how different the landscape is for such a small island.
I forget the Greek name of the chef but he tells us to call him Bill. Very unassuming pleasant guy. We begin with the Santorini salad which is a Greek salad with capers, caper leaves, rusk (dry bread) and the Santorini Cheerios tomatoes.

No lettuce of course. We have to let it sit for a while for the olive oil to soak up everything.

We then begin to work on the tomato fritters.  A really lot of Santorini tomatoes, onions, oil of course, fresh mint, salt and pepper and then the while thing is mashed by hand. We then add flour until the right consistence and start making the small balls that are placed in hot olive oil on a pan. No deep frying for Bill. He explains that deep frying will add too much greasiness to the delicate flavor and that because he uses as little flour as possible, it falls apart in oil too hot. Oil can not be more than 140C. Because of that fact also, less oil sticks to the fritters which makes them very light.  They are succulent!
We then begin the main meal which is pork stewed in Vinsanto.  He tells us that the Mediterranean Greeks eat meat maybe twice a month, too much effort and heat to run ovens.  They eat mainly small fishes such as sardines and lots of seafood, salads, cheese and olives.  Another neat fact: they only use peppers on feta cheese, nothing else.

 

He heats the oil to no more than 140C and then put the fresh rosemary and turns the burner off. He doesn’t want the fresh rosemary to over cook as it becomes bitter. He then coats the slices of pork tenderloin in the oil and rosemary and then turns the burner by one.  After a minute or two, he adds broth, sweet wine and tomato paste and let’s is stew for 10 minutes. The results is a very tender piece of meat with a rich and flavorful sauce…and no butter or flour!

 

We are then led to our table on the beach where the fruits of our labor are served to us. Absolutely fantastic. We enjoy a lively conversation, comparing commuting time, difference of laws between states and Canada ( the Long Island guy is an attorney), winter storms and….nfl football. Turns out he is also a big fan and was keeping in top of results and play by play on his ipad. The people who lives in a lot of places also lived in Minnesota and share a liking for the Vikings, well wouldn’t you know!

Around 4:30, we leave to go back to our hotels and share transportation with Tim and Christine whose hotel is next door to us. We find out she works at the federal reserve so more connections. Another new fact: the cell company in the States are moving away from unlimited data plan for phones, so Tim is refusing any phone updates in favor of buying his phones to not loose his. Imagine  now the Americans have to settle with 2 gb per month!
Upon our return, the plans to walk down the stairs (cliff) to the beach and go shopping seem much less appealing, especially when u see the prices of 250euros for earrings. I decide to go for a dip in the pool and reading my pool. Chuck of course strikes up a conversation with our Neighbours who are from Waterloo, Ontario. What are the chances.
We go for a walk to the side where the sunsets at 6:30 and of course the road and stairs are packed. The clouds are out tonight though so it is not a full sunset but beautiful nonetheless.

The guy at the reception who is from Rhodes island ( but half Greek) tells us that there are roughly 10,000 residents on Santorini but on some days in the summer, the population swells to 2.5million. I find it busy and crowded now and I can not imagine more people! Never travel there in the summer. We are told that more and more Asian come now and later in the fall so the island which now shuts now mid October May stay open a bit longer. He studied in Lausanne, Switzerland and has met there several students from George Brown who exchanged there. Interesting to know how well renowned this program is and in Toronto 🙂
 A few things we noticed, there are several roaming cats that hang around terraces and patios. They are not aggressive and very friendly and patiently wait for food.  Also lots of dogs roaming free on the street but none skinny. I realize that they are not stray dogs but they belong to a family, they just go wherever they want whenever they want! Oh And weddings!!! We have seen 4 in the 2 evenings we spend there. Apparently, it is non stop.  Lots of groups from Asia also who never seem to have enough pictures.
I am too tired to upload the blog that night and then discover in the morning that the amount of pictures I have causes trouble with the wifi for the upload. It gets stuck and I have to re-start and wait later on to upload it.

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day 4: arrival in paradise: Santorini

Sep 24

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We begin our day with the same intense winds which we heard all night. They do refer to Paros as the island to kite surf and I can see why!!! At midday, we embark again on the ferry but this time, destination Santorini. There are several stops along the way. One is Ios which looks quite pretty.

We continue on to arrive to the port in Santorini and  to a complete zoo. A ton of people packed in to disembark!  Never have I been so happy to see a guy with my name on a paper. Wow, worth every pennies. That is absolutely crazy.

And then the ascent begins. There is no doubt in my mind that Mathew would definitely be vomiting by now. The zigzagging road going up the cliff is worst that the road going up to Chamonix in the French Alps AND the road going down to Monaco in the French Riviera. Christine, Annie t’en souviens-tu? Pire j’te dis!!! Je prends une photo demain.

Eventually we arrive in Oia. Thank goodness I didn’t listen to all the travel tips and stayed somewhere else to save money on the room.  Staying here is worth every gazillion pennies.  The view has got to be one of the most astounding breathtaking landscaping view I have seen anywhere in the world. My point and shoot camera can not give it justice but it is worth a try. First some shots from our room and the stairs at the resort. The whole village is built on a cliff remember!

 

Our room in the Armeni Villages is great with our patio overlooking the volcanoes and the remainder of the island. If you can imagine a croissant, we are at the tip of one of the end and can see all the rest.  The village is carved on a cliff. And what a cliff! To the right of us is where the sun sets,  it is referred to as one of the most magnificent sunset in the world and we catch a glimpse of it tonight to see why.  We walk through the pedestrian streets with innumerable shops which of course prompts chuck to remind me that I am to shop on my own tomorrow!  No problems there!

We end up at the end of the island where it opens up to a wide open view of the sun setting!  We will be back tomorrow.

 

We eat at the Skala as recommended by our bus boy and here is my new word for the day.  It means stairs and boy is it perfectly names. No need for a stair master here!

 

We have the best smoked trout, vegetable soup, cheese and olive pie appetizer.
We follow by the sardine and artichoke main dish. While chuck us at the bathroom, I take pity on a skinny cat and give him some remnants of the sardines. Who wouldn’t! He loves us now but not in a pushy way. 🙂

 

We make plans to go down to the small port tomorrow sitting on the patio of the restaurant as we read about the donkey who carry supplies up and down and ignore tourists.  We hear them coming!! Right by our table, there they are. More than 20 of them.  Quite a sight!

 

Bill, if I was a sailor, this is where I would want to moor at night and sail during the day!
We are back at our room for a quiet evening looking at the starry night and getting organized for our wine and food lover tour tomorrow. I get to cook with a local chef!  Yay!! Get ready for a Greek night at the Murray! Plus we found bottles of Metaxa to bring back to sample with Iona. You know like a tasting samples night, scotch versus Metaxa !
If I had know this before, I would have skipped Athens all together and come here for more nights. This is the place to be!!

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Day 3: Paros

Sep 23

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 On se réveille ce matin avec un vent à faire écorner les bœufs mais une vue magnifique. Marc-André regarde ce que je trouve sur la table de buffet du déjeuner. Un gros pot de miel et de Nutella. C’est fait sur mesure pour toi 🙂
 
We decide to walk the 2.5 hilly kilometers into town. A good walk there with gorgeous lookout and sections on the beach.

We get into town and immediately locate the famous Church dating back to the 4th century.   It is one of the best preserved Christian churches in Greece: Panagia Ekatontapiliani.

 

After our visit, we decide to explore the city and stumble on splendid alleyways with shops and cafés. Chuck and I are salivating but for different reasons. 

We discover that Paros makes several types of honey, specializes in growing olive and loves capers and liquors.  After a bit of shopping, I am instructed that Jewelry shopping will have to wait. Time for a gyros and a Mythos beer. We walk back to the beach to enjoy our lunch at one of the patio there. And wouldn’t you know, we encounter our first official extreme speedo sighting! Had to happen at some point in Europe. Why is it always the old guy wearing them???  Of course, there were also the customary dark brown sun-worshipping leather-skin retired couples and the beet red oblivious guy. That one is going to hurt!!!

By then we are hot and the legs are getting tired so we take our time enjoying our lunch before our long walk up the cliff back to the hotel.

 

Time to quickly change into our bathing suits and make our way to the beach to enjoy the Agean sea and then back to the pool area and the comfy couch calling our names. 

 

I have also been trying to learn a Greek word evey day. So far I am pretty good at thank you. I am now working on “Yasou” for hello and “Yasus” when it is with people you don’t know, there is also “Paragalo” for you’re welcome or please. So there you go, one word, two uses 🙂 
We went back to town for dinner. Capb driver recommended a Greek place so we went with it. Saganaki and olive pâté folliowed by chicken in lemon sauce with lamb chop for chuck and FINALLY a baklava. Yum!

 

Another kitty cat at the restaurant. There are several cats roaming around and although they don’t seem to belong to anyone, they all seem well fed and quite content. We think that is why there are no rodents here!  Lots of dogs as pets also. Nice to see !

 

I must say I am surprised by how many French  people and quebecers are here. I now understand why all menus are also in French. I think the Greeks speak as much French as they do english!! Good for them. I love to see how Europeans speak several languages. Mist can speak at least 3. The Romanian girl at the hotel speaks English, French, Greek some Spanish and some Italian. And we worry about learning 2 in Ontario! Really!   I told my kids could speak French and English and guess what she said??. Good for them they can speak the 2 main languages!!! 
 
 

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Day 2 – on our way to Paros

Sep 22

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We were booked on a 5pm ferry to Paros today and had made tentative plans to visit Athens some more.

After sleeping in and catching up on our jet lag  / lack of sleep the previous night, we had breakfast on the rooftop again. The selection was awesome and of course the view of the Acropolis!
We walked through the national gardens across the street. Quite pretty, coming across more ancient ruins.  The humidity and heat however is almost unbearable and I must say the city of Athens is not the prettiest city I have seen.
After a while, we decided to return to the hotel and take advantage of the nice pool area to relax / nap / read our books. I am reading “All the light we can not see” right now. Absolutely awesome so far. Thanks Nancy 🙂

 

Made it on this gigantic ferry. Couldn’t believe how many people came out of that ship!

We had purchased business class tickets to try it and although the comfy chairs were great and the service very good, the show was in the back of the boat on the open deck. The side windows of the business lounge did convey the beautiful scenery. With the refreshing breeze coming through and the sun setting on the Aegean Sea, not sure the economy tickets were not the best deals in town!

 

We arrived at Paros after dark so we can not see the sea but the short ride to our hotel revealed awesome restaurant terrace on the beach with straw roofs and beautiful lighting. Can’t wait to eat there tomorrow. I think it will be all about food here!!! Our hotel is also gorgeous in the dark so can’t wait to see the view tomorrow. Perched on a cliff overlooking the sea.

Had an exquisite dinner opening with eggplant rolls and sea pies… Yum !!!

 

Having a grand marnier on our very large balcony. Pretty heavenly!!!

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First day in Athens

Sep 21

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We had a very uneventful flight from Montreal to Athens after a bit of a scare as to whether we would make the connection.  A young crew of very enthusiastic quebecers served us on board led by Marc-Andre….what are the chance!
Probably the easiest customs process I have ever been through. Come on in basically…. Arrived at hotel Grande Bretagne.  Very spectacular hotel and the room is superb. Champaign, ice, tea, Perrier at the check in…great start!
Didn’t sleep much on the plane but wanted to get at it so we started with the high tea service. Quite the selection. I had the vanilla roshoi herbal tea and chuck the Mao Feng green tea…oh and the little sandwiches 🙂

 

Walked through the national garden towards the Acropolis. We came across a roman bath excavation that was discovered as they were digging for the subway. Very neat.

 

We went through the acropolis museum on the recommendation of Francis and it was well worth it. We then entered the Acropolis via the south slope where they are still working on some sections.  Not an easy walk but well worth it. I must say that when you get to the top and walk on the grounds of the acropolis, it is quite breathtaking.  To think that this was built almost 3 thousands years ago with the rudimentary tools of the time is incredible. Amazing view of the city and the sea. Absolutely loved it up there.  The pantheon, the temple of Athena Nike, the erechtheion, the Propylaiya were all very imposing.
Back down via the marble stairs!  Pretty but slippery.
 
We had passed a taverna before arriving to the museum that was calling Chuck’s name somwe stopped for our first Mythos beer, Greek salad , saganaki and stuffed vine leaves…yum, yum. So far so good. 
 
I am also trying to learn Greek. The waiter write thank you on the table for me 🙂

 

The view from our table at the rooftop restaurant. The acropolis at night. Daniel, j’ai besoin de tes habiletēs avec la camēra!!!  🙂   Absolutely gorgeous and the food to die for. Well worth the expenses.

 

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Getting ready for Greece

Sep 19

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Monday I booked the last item left on my list: the ferries. I used ferriesingreece.com and I must say the process was painless with all different ferries listed, types of accommodations, where to pick up the tickets etc… Great site!
Chuck and I are so excited to be embarking on this trip in just a few days. We will spend a total of 8 days in Greece and have decided to divide the trips in 4 destinations of 2 days: Athens, Paros, Santorini, Naxos and then back home. I will post updates and pictures as access to the internet is available (cross my fingers!) For now this is the picture (Santorini) that inspires us.


As you know I like to be organized so this is the binder with all the hotel reservations, plane tickets, notes on each island and ferries. So when Chuck booked the plane a few months and we said we would just wing it…..who were we kidding! This is me we are talking about 🙂 Here it is!

Most hotels were booked using the wonderful scotiarewards point. So we were able to treat ourselves. I have been in contact with each arranging for pick ups. Chuck is very keen on the guy standing with his name waiting for him at the airport / ports. Should be fun. They have been more than helpful so far so my expectations are high 🙂
Made some meals for my boys, my wonderful sister Lorraine is coming from Sunday to Friday to hang out with them. Neighbours are expected to be on watch for the other days…hint hint Janine and Heidi so we are good to go.
Now if I can only get rid of this cold and at least get a little bit of sleep on the overnight plane.
More later.

 

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