Magical Mykonos

06/29/2012

Mykonos was the first place where we had no formal plans. The area of the island which we were docked was basically the area to explore and the rest of the island (I assume) is more suburban. We spent a lot of time exploring Little Venice which is known for a few things: maze-like tiny streets, a large gay community, and windmills. It was a really neat area for taking photographs and I found myself reaching into my inner artistic soul and wanting to capture and create. So I basically made some art in Mykonos!

Windmills of Mykonos

Although it was fascinating to feel lost within the maze of streets, after a while I began to feel claustrophobic. I don't often feel claustrophobic in that sort of situation, there usually has to be a crowd of some kind to set me off, but this time was different. A part of me was wondering if we had any intention of a place we were trying to see or if we were just wandering aimlessly or if we were actually lost.

Little Venice

Eventually we emerged from the maze and had a nice Greek lunch. More stuffed tomatoes, some souvlaki (at last, and oh how delicious), and moussaka (which I much preferred in Turkey). The food was alright, but the best food we had in Mykonos was this tiny little bakery called "Seven Sins" or something along those lines. We had several pastries from there, including a local specialty called Kremidopita which is an onion stuffed pastry and was mouthwateringly divine, and I also had a dark chocolate cookie/brownie thing that was out of this world. I enjoyed my brownie while walking through the sea, barefoot, squishing my toes in the sand and it was a most enjoyable experience... and one of the rare ones I had alone on the trip.

Stunning Santorini

06/28/2012

Today we arrived in Santorini which is absolutely breathtaking. We were up in time to watch the sun rise and it was supremely gorgeous. We had a lovely breeze alongside the hot hot weather! Santorini is sort of divided into three parts. In the center there is Fira which is the main "city" of the island, where you take donkeys up or down, or in our case the funicular. Then at the south end of the island is the ancient city-site of Akrotiri and there are some beaches, a beautiful red beach. At the north end of the island is Oia (pronounced ee-ah) which is where the picturesque white-washed houses drape over the cliffside.

Red Beach

Because the island is only 13 miles long, we saw most of it by car in our one day there. We rented a car in Fira and picked up a guide along the way to visit Akrotiri. Although what they've found in Akrotiri is incredible, it wasn't too fascinating aesthetically (like in Ephesus for example) and there was so much history to consider that it was really hard for me (personally) to concentrate on what we were looking at and attempting to understand. At this point in the trip I was definitely starting to feel like saving my energy for Pompeii was more worthwhile than visiting this site that needs tons of archaeological and restorative work still. However, I'm glad to say that I did visit there and it was interesting enough. (I wrote that the visuals were underwhelming and the history was overwhelming... not the best balance).

Church with a miniature model of the church. The tiny model was a promise for the church to be built in honor of someone, sometimes a son who is away in the army or something along those lines. Many families have their own "family church".

We drove from Akrotiri up to Oia to have lunch and look around, in the process depositing our guide back in Fira. The views from Oia were breathtaking. We found a restaurant that had seating outside and a view of the sea and it was so beautiful. I was very excited to eat on Santorini because they had some interesting local specialties that I was looking forward to trying. One dish was fava beans prepared "Santorini Style" where they have been boiled and puréed and topped with shallots, capers and olives and maybe a little olive oil. It was a delicious paste for bread or just to lick off the spoon. We also had these meat-free meatball like things called Tomatokeftedes which are basically tomato meatballs. I really loved how they tasted, but mom wasn't too pleased. We also enjoyed some stuffed tomatoes (which I love and want to make all the time), marinated olives, and eggplant stuffed with some kind of cheese. We enjoyed a bottle of white wine with our lunch, one of the local wines. Wine in Santorini is really fantastic, so if you have a chance to drink some wine from Santorini, DO IT!

Oia

We wandered around Oia for a while before eventually ending up in Fira, returning the car and finding our way down. Mom and I waited in a 45 minute line for the Funicular while Dad, Mike and Kit braved the stairs down (which are crowded with donkeys). They had quite the experience and I really wanted to have that experience, but since my mom doesn't have the greatest sense of direction (sorry mom, I love you) I didn't want to desert her and take the stairs (although I suggested it about 15 times).