Rome and Santorini
Trip Start
Sep 02, 2008
1
8
9
Trip End
Oct 03, 2008
Santorini,
Cyclades,
Greece
Saturday, September 27, 2008
We're currently on the astounding and breathtaking island of Santorini in the Cyclades. It was quite the endeavor to get here, but entirely worth it!
Prior to coming to Santorini, we had two days in Rome. We traveled by tram from Sorrento and by train from Naples. I had a good second look at Naples (this time in the sunshine) and it still seemed pretty unsettling. Mom found a USA Today in the airport, and even in the 6-page international edition one of the headlines was that 900 extra police had just been deployed to Naples to quell the mafia's recent violent outbursts. We were happy to move right along to Rome where we had a quick walk from the train station to our hostel. We dumped our luggage and dove right in to the city.
We started that afternoon with a trip to the Colosseum. We opted to take the guided tour with an archaeologist. A lot of the structure is not original, but it is still an amazing sight to behold. I always thought it was circular, but it's actually a big oval.
Next we trekked through Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. I think I must be jaded because the ruins on the hill were kind of boring - just some insignificant looking bricks. The Forum was much more exciting: columns still standing, columns that were toppled over, steps that led to something that no longer stood. It was much easier to imagine guys in togas working and living in what used to be there.
After the ruins it was on to the Spanish Steps, a wide and magnificent staircase that sits opposite the 5th Avenue of Rome.
Bougainvilia and a door - Santorini
At the bottom is a bathtub-shaped fountain (that people drink out of - ewwww). We hiked to the top as the sun was getting ready to set and could look over the rooftops of Rome in the dusky light. In the last bit of daylight, we made it to the Trevi Fountain. It's an absolutely enormous fountain with an amazing mixture of straight lines, human forms, natural rock shapes and water. We had dinner then came back in the dark and it was even more spectacular when it was lit up. There is a picture of it posted, but it doesn't really do it complete justice.The following day we heeded Lonely Planet's advice and got up around 6am to go to the Vatican to beat the crowds. We got there just as the sun was coming up and the buildings of St. Peter's just glowed. Inside, masses were going on in many of the little chapels inside the larger basilica. It's one of the most amazing structures I've ever seen. The height of the dome and the width between columns seem like they shouldn't be possible. Add to that many intricately carved marbel statues and beautiful colors and St. Peter's really is awe-inspiring.
The Sistine Chapel was equally as impressive when we visited the Vatican Museums. We decided to purchase the audio tour there, and the commentary was great to help explain Michaelangelo's most famous works: the creation story on the ceiling (with the well-known fresco of the touching fingers representing God reaching down to create man) and the judgement scene on one wall.
To give our feet a rest, we hopped a city bus tour with audio commentary.
Colosseum - Rome
It was nice to sit out in the sun and see the city without having to walk it all! The rest of the afternoon was a bit of a bust. We learned that our flight from Rome to Athens the following day had been delayed two hours, which was just enough to make us miss our overnight ferry to Santorini. That meant we had no place to stay that night, and we would lose an entire day in Santorini until we could catch the next ferry. We spent the rest of the night unsuccessfully trying to get ahold of Olympus Airlines. Even when we made it to the airport the following day, they couldn't do anything for us there. It wasn't until we were finally in Athens that the Olympus staff was able to help. It took our most assertive arguments, but we finally got them to give us free hotel accommodation that night, as well as dinner and airport transportation to the hotel and back. We decided to fly to Santorini to make up for the time we would have lost on the nine-hour ferry, and they also discounted our flight. The very sour situation turned into quite a nice one, as we ended up staying in the nicest hotel of the trip and had a very nice meal as well! Our half-hour flight to Santorini left at 6:45am, so we arrived before the island really woke up. We had scoped out a few places on the island that we wanted to stay, but hadn't booked anything in advance. Lots of internet research told us that hotel representatives met planes and ferries to try to recruit you, so we had decided we'd just wing it and see what happened.
Inside the Colosseum - Rome
The hotel hawkers attacked us as we exited baggage claim and we were able to wrangle a good deal with a place that looked pretty decent. It wasn't in Oia on the tip of the island that we planned on staying, but this looked like a good alternative. It also included airport or ferry transfers, as well as breakfast which is something we would have had to pay extra for if we had ended up where we originally intended to stay. The man carted us off in his van past the main city of Fira to the next town, called Imerovigli. We had to wait for someone to check out before we could scope out the room and give our definite yes or no. We sat up on the rooftop terrace while we waited, and I think the few hours up there sold us: we had a beautiful view looking down into caldera with cruise ships and boats coming in and out. (Santorini used to be a solid island with a volcano in the middle, but it blew up creating a donut-shaped island with steep cliffs going down into the center. The myth of Atlantis started here - Atlantis is supposed to be somewhere in the caldera.) Our waiting paid off and the room we ended up in is beautiful with a private balcony looking into the caldera, our own bathroom (woo hoo!), a mini kitchen, and two bedroom areas. Breakfast is served on a tray every morning on our balcony! Yesterday we took a six hour bus tour of the southern part of the island. Mom and I both agreed it was the best money we've spent on the trip. We had an excellent tour guide and the tour included lots of great stops: we saw everything from the top of the island's mountain, had ice cream in a little beach cove, saw where the ancient settlement of Akrotiri was, stopped at a winery for a tasting, and had lunch on the black sand beach of Perissa. Quite the day!
Today we're catching up on Internet stuff then heading to the opposite tip of the island to see Oia, which is supposed to be the most picturesque place in Santorini. The blue-domed churches and white cave dwellings are prolific everywhere here, but apparently they are even more beautiful there. Both sunsets we've seen here have been amazing, but we're hoping to catch a world-famous Oia sunset tonight.
We're enjoying ourselves so much here that we've decided to cut Mykonos out of the travel itinerary. It's a minor bummer to miss out on that island, but what we're seeing and doing here outweighs the cost of having to pack up and spend the time moving to a new place.
Be sure to check out the pictures of Santorini. This is the place you see on the calendars in the mall kiosks!
Two more nights here, then it's on to Athens to meet up with my cousin Megan and her boyfriend Scott for a few nights before we head back to the US. As much as I need to do laundry, I'm so not ready to go home!
Amanda
Comments
Wow!!
What great pictures. I wish I was there! It looks like your weather is cooperating too! enjoy your last few days, we will see you when you get back home. Toby is learing to be a true farm dog! Those alpacas are still a bit scarry, but chasing the cat is great fun!! - Cindy
Santorini
Thanks for the armchair tour of one of my favorite places from my youth. The story of the creation of the caldera at Santorini was such an exciting one, that I've dreamed since of visiting it. Your description is lovely and much appreciated!! Sherry
:) :) :)
oh butts!!!
i dont want you to come home either because i think you are on the most beautiful place on earth. i miss you soooo much! but more great adventures to come :) say hi to mama butts for me. love you and miss you. enjoy every moment :) there is a great strip in athens with restaurant after restaurant that gets packed every day of the week. try to check it out its overwhelming :) and drink ouza and say 'sag a po' (i love you) hehehe.
No offense to your writing...
No offense to your writing, but the pictures say it all! Santorini looks gorgeous, especially in those dusk and nighttime shots. After talking to you on the phone and reading your post, I get the impression that you are very enthralled with the area. I can totally empathize with your feeling that you don't want to leave, but at the same time, I'm looking forward to seeing both you and Mom when you return home and I come back for fall break. Keep having fun and be prepared to tell me all about it!
Brother Brian