TRAVEL THROWBACK: SCENES OF SANTORINI

Is there a place you've been to that holds a special place in your heart?

I have a bunch of them -- what can I tell you, I've got an enormous heart!

The island of Santorini is one such place.
My heart goes a-flutter whenever I think about it. 

Santorini was at the top of my bucket list for such a long time.

The many pictures I'd seen of white-washed buildings with turquoise trim,

the purple bougainvillea, the deep blue sea.......

I was itching to go to Greece so badly, I could taste it.

And by taste it, I meant that literally, especially the baklava. 

In June of 2007, I got my chance.

Mr. GS, Junior GS (who was not quite eight years old), 
 Aunt GS and I hopped across the pond.

We started in Athens (read about that here), and then flew to Santorini.

One of the first glimpses of Santorini's breathtaking beauty 

was when we rounded a corner and came upon this view.

The town of Fira is built into the cliffs of a crescent-shaped caldera.

It stole my heart right then and there.

I didn't think I could be more in love...........until dusk fell.

 Looking over the cliff, the view was a different kind of spectacular.

I didn't know a thing about Greek food growing up.

My culinary education in that regard began in college when my friend, Chris, 
who is Greek, shared her mom's care packages of home-cooked meals.

(I told you about her here).

The food in Greece exceeded my every expectation.......
Mousaka, pastichio, dolmades, Oh My!  
The Greek salads, with sweet, ripe, red tomatoes

were as satisfying as a piece of galaktoboureko.

Okay, that's not really true, but they were delicious in their own right.
And I'll take a Greek pastry over Italian or French any day.

The ambiance at every restaurant we went to was picture perfect.
When I'm in Europe, I wish that my stomach was a bottomless pit,
so I could go from restaurant to restaurant all day long, 
to soak up the atmosphere, and enjoy the food.........
without gaining a pound, of course.

For dessert, Santorini serves up eye-candy in the form of bougainvillea,

which grows like crazy all over the island.

I don't think I'd ever go indoors if I lived in one of these houses.

One thing I love about Europe is that you never know what you'll find around each corner.

Sometimes it's ancient ruins, sometimes it's.......

Oh, hello, Donkey-Hotey!

As charming as Fira was, there was a lot more to see on Santorini.

We drove up to the top of a mountain

for a fabulous view of the famed black sand beach, Kamari. 

We had some company up there on the mountain top.

After viewing it from afar, we had to go down to "see level."

 We unknowingly saved the best for last........

On our last night, we went to the town of Oia.

 It is forever etched into my mind how spectacularly beautiful it is.

How is it that some people get to live there........

and I get to live in New Jersey?

\

I love going on throwback vacations..........

Half the fun of traveling is looking at pictures and re-living the trips.

But that always makes me want to go back for real.

LINKING WITH:
Take Me Away

TRAVEL THROWBACK 2007: ANCIENT ATHENS & TRAVEL "FIRSTS"

 

Temple of Hephaestus: Construction began 450 BCE, and opened in 415 BCE.

When was the first time you went on a major vacation?

Thinking back on my travel "firsts,"  
my maiden voyage outside the US was when I was 15 years old.

Granted, it was by bus, but that teen tour to Montreal and Quebec City 
made such an impression on me, 
I can pinpoint it as the exact moment I was bitten by the wanderlust bug.

The first time I flew the friendly skies was at 22 years old,

when a friend and I jetted down to Florida
to frolic with Mickey and Minnie. 

That's me, on the left, in Disney World.

The first tropical vacation I took

was to Acapulco with my sister, when I was 23 years old.

Me, in Acapulco, Mexico

It took me 34 years to cross the pond to Europe,

when I tagged along on a friend's business trip to London.

Looking back, why oh WHY did I wait so long?!?

 

Me and the Queen's Guard, outside Buckingham Palace in London (OMG, my HAIR! I could have flown to Europe on those wings!)

In contrast, Junior Goo Shoes was 6 years old 
when we took him to Italy for his first European adventure.

And, two months before his eighth birthday, in 2007,

we vacationed in Greece for 10 days,

which brings me to this Travel Throwback.

Our journey began in Athens.

We had no idea when we got off the plane 

that we would be there for record-breaking temperatures.

 The "European Heat Wave of 2007" literally arrived in Greece the same day we did.

Temperatures soared to 111F° and didn't stop there.
Three days later, the mercury hit 115°.

I have never been so hot in my life.

The Old Royal Palace, completed in 1843, has housed the Parliament since 1934.

The plan was to spend our first jet-lagged day in Athens at the Acropolis.

We had a perfect view of this ancient landmark from our hotel,
and it beckoned us to its summit.

But, as luck would have it, the workers were on strike,

and access to the site was closed.

This was a huge disappointment, since we were leaving for Mykonos the next morning,

and the only other time we'd have in Athens was the afternoon of our last day in Greece.

This turned out to be a blessing in disguise,

because I'm sure at least one of us -- perhaps all of us --
would have passed out atop the Acropolis in the heat of the mid day sun.

With our plans foiled, we spent the first sweltering day in Athens at the rooftop pool,

and inside our air-conditioned hotel room.

View of Acropolis from our hotel -- so close, yet unreachable.

In the evening, when it cooled down to about 100°,

we took a stroll to a lovely pedestrian area called the Plaka district.

I took a peek inside Brettos Bar,

which was truly the most beautiful bar I'd ever seen.

Too bad my photography skills were not that terrific back then,

but I did manage to get this photo.

 

Brettos Bar, the oldest distillery in Athens, opened in 1909.

Nine days later, at the end of our time in Mykonos and Santorini,

we were coming back to Athens.

Our flight was to leave Santorini in the morning, 

leaving us the entire afternoon to visit the Acropolis. 

But.......our plane was delayed........

and delayed..........

and delayed.

We didn't land in Athens till almost 6pm. 

Our Acropolis window was shrinking by the minute.

How could we have come all this way,

and go home without seeing the Parthenon?

We got a taxi at the airport, and asked the driver to wait at our hotel 
while we dropped off our luggage, and then take us up to the Acropolis.

He was insistent that we wouldn't make it --

it closed at 7:30pm.

We insisted that he try.........

and we made it just in the nick of time.

Parthenon, built between 447 and 432 BCE.

We got there at 7:00pm, and literally had just 30 minutes to take it all in.

Erechtheion, constructed between 421 and 406 BCE.

Caryatids - architectural columns in the form of standing female figures.

Junior GS and me, circa 2007, at Erechtheion.

Another side of the Erechtheion......

And another -- I think!

Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a magnificent open-air theater built between 160 and 174 A.D.
that is still used today.

Granted, we felt a bit rushed,
but we were so happy to have had even a little bit of time.......
just enough to take our requisite photos,

and go home with the satisfaction of seeing 
one of the world's most famous archeological sites.

I guess you could say our trip ended in ruins.......
and that was a good thing!

LINKING WITH: