El Greco A Resort Bookings Member Fira

... greek buildings forming a fantasic backdrop! Oh and Noma loved it even more cause she got to pull out her best impressions of cats cause there were plenty of them on the Island!! Lots of baby kitties!<br><br>Santorini has very famous sunsets so the last stop of the day was in a little village / town called Oia. What was little strange was the fact that the boat dropped us off at the base of some cliffs and said "Yep everyone it's up there!" They must have been about 200m high ...

Well, a very enjoyable last night in Santorini. had dinner at a lovely restaurant overlooking the sunset strip. Pity it wasn't the clearest of nights but still spectacular.<br>Dinner consisted of grilled pork with pureed red pepper and potatoes with cheese and Souvlaki Lamb with baked potato.<br>A 5.00 am start got us on to the flight to Athens then Rome.

After a sleep in we wandered into town to choose a suitable location for our anniversary dinner tonight (21 years!).<br>As usual we just had to take more photos ~ don't worry, after a few more tonight this will be all of Santorini.<br>Next, Italy where the forecast is 0 to 14 degrees. BRR BRR

... After an hour or so walking over the lava flows we motored on to some hot springs where hardier folk than us braved an icy plunge into the sea to reach the warm springs.(Hey we're used to tropical waters!)<br>Soon we moored at Thirasia Island for a couple of hours for lunch and Mythos at waterfront tavernas which are still much as they were 50 years ago.<br>Tomorrow is our last day here so we are making the most of the sun, as the forecast for Italy is bloody freezing

... island is so beautiful and looks like it is covered with snow but it is actually the white houses- all of the towns are located up high on the mountain rather than down at sea level. The donkey ride up was hilarious! Women were screaming and the greek men were trying to make them understand that they were scaring the donkeys and needed to shut up. It was a little bit scary because the donkeys got really close to the edge of the pathway and they didn't care if ...

... that the tidal wave/tsunami resulting from this tremendous event may well have caused the ancient Minoan civilsation at Crete to vanish completely!<br><br>After leaving the museum, we hit the local grocery shop to stock up on some cheap essentials for the next few days, including rum of course! We enjoyed a couple of quiet drinks from our private little hotel room balcony as we watched the famous Santorini sun sink below the horizon ...

... was finally shining on the Greek Islands so we scooted over the the famous Kamari beach - it has black sand which is a bit of a shock at the start but you get used to it. I found a chinese man offering massages so I grabbed him as soon as we got there - it did my neck wonders (even if Matt thought it was the funniest thing he had seen when he started winding my arms around and cracking my fingers).<br><br>We had booked a 3 hour cruise ...

... all special about it, but it was just a regular neighborhood which was nice. If Athens reminds me of anywhere, it would have to be Portugal, but only for the fact that in both of those places, I didn't know what to expect, therefore every new thing encountered was like a pleasant surprise. For two of my favourite countries, Italy romances you, and Portugal just enchants you. That's kind of the way I feel about Athens, it is very enchanting. So many people that I've talked ...

... between the two???) and quoting Shrek donkey-isms. You finally reach the port, get on a boat straight out of Pirates of the Caribbean (kind-of), and they take you to one of the islands where you can hike up loose volcanic gravel paths to seee a couple of different craters, but especially this main one, created only about what, 67 years ago? um, that's really not that long ago. For a volcano, it's pretty darn recent. greaaatttttt..... but it was cool ...

... they'll kick!" she kept saying over and over, "I am not going through there, no way" she repeated with her thick accent. I sat in the open on the stern of the launch back to the ship, it was a beautiful day, clear sky, blue water, bright sun. It was a bit rough, but fun actually. Again I was struck by how fortunate I am, and grateful for all that I have, including my supportive friends back home. Once aboard, I had lunch up on the Lido deck, the taco ...