Ciao everyone! Or should I say, "Χαίρετε" (that is "hello" in Greek for any of you wondering. If you're really feeling daring, go ahead and try to pronounce that one). This post is going to detail the trip that I took to Santorini, Greece! In case you haven't noticed already, I am quite behind on blog posts, so just for reference, I took this trip from September 8-10. Caroline and I flew in to Santorini and met up with another Providence College friend, Jackson Gany, and a group of his friends from his program in Athens. We all stayed at an Airbnb that was in the town of Perissa, toward the bottom of the island of Santorini. The hotel was brightly colored, with all blue and orange furniture. It had hammocks hanging outside the main office, and cats that roamed freely. We learned very quickly that animals were more than welcome in Greece, where many stray dogs and cats hung around wherever they pleased, and were treated kindly by all the locals. The hotel was only a two-minute walk from the black sand beach, where it had its own section of the beach with lounge chairs and huts for the customers. Suffice to say, Caroline and I were VERY excited. We arrived before Jackson and his friends, so we spent the time waiting lounging on the beach. I will say this, I picked the wrong trip to forget to pack a pair of beach flip flops. The thing about black sand is that it is HOT. Like a thousand degrees hot. I managed only to cook my feet to a medium well roast, but I will admit I looked like an idiot every time I got up to walk to go in the ocean of to the beach bar. My strategy was to all out sprint to my destination as fast as possible to spend as little time on the sand as possible. The good news is, the beauty of Greece is that people just don't care. I have never been somewhere so relaxed or comfortable making a fool of myself. As I continue to detail my trip, you will see exactly what I mean!
That night, Caroline and I decided to take the bus to Oia, which is the upper part of the island. We initially were trying to make it in time to watch the sunset, but the bus ride ended up taking so long, we were there long after the sun went down. On the plus side, we made friends with a wonderful married couple from the United States, who were with the mother of the wife, because she was from Greece originally. They were so sweet and helpful, especially since the wife and her mother (Yaya, which means grandmother in Greek) spoke fluent Greek. They recommended restaurants to us and helped us find our way through the bus system and the town, and then offered to set up arranged marriages to their sons for us! 😂 Overall, the night did not go as we planned, but not in a bad way!
That night, Caroline and I decided to take the bus to Oia, which is the upper part of the island. We initially were trying to make it in time to watch the sunset, but the bus ride ended up taking so long, we were there long after the sun went down. On the plus side, we made friends with a wonderful married couple from the United States, who were with the mother of the wife, because she was from Greece originally. They were so sweet and helpful, especially since the wife and her mother (Yaya, which means grandmother in Greek) spoke fluent Greek. They recommended restaurants to us and helped us find our way through the bus system and the town, and then offered to set up arranged marriages to their sons for us! 😂 Overall, the night did not go as we planned, but not in a bad way!
The second day in Greece we all took a Catamaran cruise around the island, and Caroline and I were the ones to go book the boat. This was pretty stressful because we were trying to organize an outing for 15 people. The travel agent helping us book it continually told us, “Why are you stressed? You are in Santorini! Go to the beach, have a drink, relax! You are on vacation! I will take care of this for you”. And the following day, when we actually arrived at the dock for the boat cruise, the company asked for the receipt to prove we were the group that purchased the trip, and of course I had forgotten it. My stomach absolutely dropped, seeing as there were 14 other people dressed in their bathing suits ready to go, counting on my to have brought that receipt! Before I even finished saying I didn’t have it but could run back to the hotel to get it, they waved their hands and told us no problem, not to worry. They trusted us. All I can say is, these are my people. I may not have any Greek blood in my veins, but I’m starting to wish that I did! Once we boarded the catamaran, we were beside ourselves with excitement and disbelief that we were actually about to take a private boat tour around Santorini. It was a small crew of only three people, two to handle all things sailing related, and one who stayed in the kitchen and prepared us all lunch to eat on the boat. Sailing along the coastline was absolutely beautiful, and we got to see the cliff line of the island from the water, which was unlike anything I have ever seen before. Our first stop was to sail by the red sand beaches (Santorini has red, black, and white sand depending on the area), followed by a stop at the volcanic hot spring. Yep, you heard me right, I went swimming in the hot springs of an active volcano! It was truly amazing. Because of the materials in the rocks and earth around the volcano, the area has a pungent smell of sulfur. So, while the swim was breathtaking from its beauty, it was also breathtaking from its stench. It can best be described as swimming in a pool of the hard-boiled egg smell. It was fine though, because the view was amazing, and the water really was hot the further into the spring we went! At the shores of the hot spring we found a group of people also exploring, and they were all covered in a completely black substance. It turned out that they had rubbed the black, silt material that makes up the shores all over their bodies! Naturally, as disgusting as this is, we thought this was a great idea and proceeded to paint each other black with the silt as well. Even after swimming back to the boat and scrubbing ourselves in the water, we all remained tinted black for the next few hours! We looked ridiculous but made a very cool memory in the process, and I like to pretend it was just like giving ourselves a natural mud mask. The rest of the day was spent swimming and lounging on rope beds on the boat, taking in the views and soaking up the sun. It was an unforgettable activity that I enjoyed every minute of!
After our time on the boat we went back to the town of Oia. We made it in time to watch the sunset over the classic white houses with blue roofs, and we followed that up with a dinner outside overlooking the water. The food was excellent, and surprisingly I had the best risotto ever while I was there, even better than what I have had in Italy! In general, I cannot rave enough about the food in Greece. Every morning I had fresh, local, authentic Greek yogurt with honey and nuts, and it was the most delicious thing ever! They also had a lot of vegetarian options, which I was pleasantly surprised to find! My favorite meal was bell peppers stuffed with vegetable rice, and I also learned that I love tzatziki sauce! I enjoyed that along with pita bread, hummus, and a roasted almond and red pepper dip that was outstanding! I made sure to get some baklava for dessert as well, and it was heavenly! Greece gets a 10/10 from me as far as food goes…I loved it!
The plane ride home from Greece ended up being another travel nightmare, because our plane was delayed by two and half hours, which caused us to arrive in Rome so late that there were no more trains back to Florence until the next morning. Luckily, Caroline and I did not have classes until late in the afternoon on Monday, and we had friends studying abroad in Rome who let us sleep on their couch for the night. We took the earliest train back to Florence, and were able to sleep a few hours before class. Overall, a great trip and I cannot wait to explore more of Greece someday! I will be back if I can help it 😊
After our time on the boat we went back to the town of Oia. We made it in time to watch the sunset over the classic white houses with blue roofs, and we followed that up with a dinner outside overlooking the water. The food was excellent, and surprisingly I had the best risotto ever while I was there, even better than what I have had in Italy! In general, I cannot rave enough about the food in Greece. Every morning I had fresh, local, authentic Greek yogurt with honey and nuts, and it was the most delicious thing ever! They also had a lot of vegetarian options, which I was pleasantly surprised to find! My favorite meal was bell peppers stuffed with vegetable rice, and I also learned that I love tzatziki sauce! I enjoyed that along with pita bread, hummus, and a roasted almond and red pepper dip that was outstanding! I made sure to get some baklava for dessert as well, and it was heavenly! Greece gets a 10/10 from me as far as food goes…I loved it!
The plane ride home from Greece ended up being another travel nightmare, because our plane was delayed by two and half hours, which caused us to arrive in Rome so late that there were no more trains back to Florence until the next morning. Luckily, Caroline and I did not have classes until late in the afternoon on Monday, and we had friends studying abroad in Rome who let us sleep on their couch for the night. We took the earliest train back to Florence, and were able to sleep a few hours before class. Overall, a great trip and I cannot wait to explore more of Greece someday! I will be back if I can help it 😊
No comments:
Post a Comment