We woke up early in San Diego on Independence Day to begin our journey to Santorini which would take many hours involve many plane rides and many airplane meals beginning with this meal for Suzanne
and this for me on the flight to Newark
where I also had this Diet Coke
and then on the flight to Heathrow this was my meal
including a vegan cookie
and Suzanne's meal before we drifted off to very little sleep because there were movies to watch and excitement in the air.
On the way down to an easy landing, this breakfast came to convince us that we weren't having jetlag.
Once at Heathrow we said good bye to Ben
and had our drinks
while waiting for this board to tell us that our long layover was over.
On the flight to Athens, this was my meal
and Suzanne's which proved that Aegean serves better meals than Continental.
Once on the ground, we made our way to Piraeus where after 27 hours of travel it wasn't surprising that the room
and toilet both seemed dark.
But we needed to stay awake if we were to adjust to the local time, so we went for a walk. We recorded the building down the street from us so that we could find our way back (if we could find our way anywhere)
and then the church we walked by after checking at the pier to see where our tickets would be the next morning. Little did we know that the church was the marker where we turned the wrong way
but that didn't prevent an obligatory phone booth picture
and a view of the next church
and of the sunset as we wondered why we had been walking so long without any sign of Microlimeno.
Luckily for us, Elizabeth appeared at this point and insisted that we let her escort us to where we were trying to go.
So we rode the #40 bus and the #20 trolley and then found ourselves at the row of restaurants we had anticipated and Suzanne
and I were happy to be sitting down
with bread service
and wine
and water
with lemon for the water
as we had our first Greek salad
our fava beans
and saganacki before calling it a night.
The next morning we were up early to admire the wall painting to Renaldo
as I picked up our ferry tickets from the booth
so that we would be able to board ship
as Suzanne minded our baggage
and once on board, I took these pictures of our departure
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as we headed away from Athens
with the sandwiches our hotel had prepared for us
and after some time we were at Milos looking at a Fage yogurt truck
and then we stopped at Folgandros
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for our drive to the Hotel Akrotiri where this was the room
and the view was as I remembered it from 3 years ago
and once down on the deck we ran into Carol Oberto
and Tim Weyrich
and Suzanne chatted with Dimitri Gondicas
as we decided to begin the walk to the Red Beach looking out at a ship at sea
and the restaurants along the way
before Dimitri led the descent
followed by Suzanne and Carol
and Dimitri
Carol and Suzanne
settled with is on the beach
as the boat to the white beach pulled in
and we admired the backdrop
and the boats at sea
as Suzanne looked out at the water
and I watched the waterman (karpulzi) salesman
and the people waling the beach
and the anchored beach chairs for rent
not to mention the people on the cliffs
and on the beach
as watermelon was purchased
and delivered from this basket
with the dog underneath
as Suzanne
and Carol emerged from the water
and Suzanne found her way back to the towel
while watermelon continued to be sold
and Suzanne
enjoyed the view
before we made our way back up the hill and admiring the views below
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and then we marched on
to the last food (or, in our case, the first food) by the beach
and then we stopped at the beach Nikolas restaurant and Dimitri and Carol
Suzanne
and I
settled in for Greek salad
bread
and Santorini salad
while watching the children and the dog on the dock fish
before this free dessert of yogurt and eggplant jelly came to us.
After a shower and a rest, we met Benedict Brown
Antonio Garcia Castaneda
Hijung (Valentina) Shin
and Lara Laken who were preparing to go to Nikolas' restaurant in town
as we decided to return to the local Nikolas and have an appetizer mixing many of the local appetizers (stuffed grape leaves, eggplant, fava, tomato balls, feta cheese and salad) as advised by Elizabeth in Piraeus
Suzanne got this fish
I had saganacki
and again they brought us yogurt with eggplant jelly
and also a taste of the special bean dish that the group at the next table had ordered in advance.
The next day we headed off to the Akrotiri site with Lara and Carol leading the way
and after the talks we were able to visit the excavation first from a distance
and then after Dimitri
Suzanne and I
Valentina and Corey
Suzanne, Dimitri and Carol
and then the whole group (adding Lara, Luc, Johnny and Andreas) modeled helmets
we were allowed in to admire the site seeing broad views around the Xeste building
looking into the rooms
and the paths
and avenues
and into rooms
where it was possible to see wall detail
to the town square (actually a triangle)
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pottery near a room
and a few more views
before seeing an overview map
and heading outside
past the flowers
and some of the local capers
before people gathered into cars
and headed to the black beach
where among the sales people
our swim continued
as Suzanne enjoyed the shore
and we noted a boat at sea before heading to a lunch where we forgot to take pictures but did hear from Professor Doumas about the purpose of clinking glasses (before having a drink (it adds one more to the list of senses with which you can experience food).
After a break, we drove into the town of Fira and parked here
turning at this corner
and then saw a sunset
before going to Nikolas' restaurant in Fira (maybe the best on the island)
for a dinner of Greek salad
bread
white wine
water
chicken with lemon
and a vegetable dish.
The next day was Thursday and I began the day with a picture of Andreas
and then of Tom as he gave his talk.
Once the talks were done, we went on an excursion beginning with a group gathering for lunch at Raki in !!, one of the traditional villages
where Benedict
Marty
Antonio and Tim blocking one another
Tim
Antonio and Suzanne
Cody
Cary
Paige
Tom
Szymon
and I
were enjoying the bougainvillea
as the bread
came accompanied by various dishes some vegetarian
and some involving animals
with Greek salad
chicken
and tomato balls noticeable
along with elegant skewers of souvlaki
before the waiter took some photos of the group
and after I admired the flowers (which we would also see in Turkey)
Suzanne took this picture of me
I took this one of Tim
the Funkhousers looked one way
I recorded the statue
and the flowers
before Tim took this photo of Suzanne and me
and after one more picture of the town
and one of a local windmill
some of us headed north to Oia (pronounced Ia) where we admired the first glimpse of the sea from the end of the island
and noted the path to the top
as we enjoyed the views from the area where we parked
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and we began our walk along the shore
loving the blue green waters
and the hill with the path up
on which donkeys could be hired (but more about that later)
and on we walked
until we saw a crab in the water
and in the background was the town of Oia atop the hill
and a windmill
with the restaurants below
as we walked on along the path with people occasionally stopping to pose but mostly we were enjoying the water and the cliffs off shore and above
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and Paige climbed on a rock
as we eased forward
and Suzanne took this photo of me
and the walking continued until we reached the end (at least for us)
before Suzanne posed
as the Funkhousers gathered
and people climbed the nearby cliff
from this boat
and then one of them jumped (others jumped but not while the camera was ready to record their jumps)
after which Tom took these photos of Suzanne and me
and I recorded the Funkhouser family spread out on the rocks
and observed Tom
taking a photo something like this
before he headed to the edge of the point where we had gathered
and we all observed the boat with the houses of Fira in the background
before the children climbed high on the cliffs
causing Antonio to climb
to where Paige was and help guide her climb down
as we recorded scenery
and then her climb
as we noted the decaying rocks along the pathway
and the accompanying wild flowers
and the views back along the cove
and of the city above
as I attempted to take a photo for the Funkhouser holiday card
and some local views
before we began our walk up the steps to the town of Oia
stopping for the occasional view
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observing the greenery growing along the way
and walking on
with scenery below
and above
as we felt that we were making progress because the bottom was far away
but our legs were tiring
and so we still needed the scenery
to inspire our walk
until the steps were numbered as we neared the top
and we felt that we might make it
and so enjoyed a last view (from this vantage point)
as the town spread out before us
and the next town was down the sea from us
in startling views
as we reached the fortification with good views of the town
where a social event was beginning with various foods
but we admired the sailboat
and the caldera
as Suzanne posed
and we admired the (not so) distant islands
and the marvelous scenery on the island where we were
along with another blue rooftop
keeping an eye out for the setting sun
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as I took an obligatory phone booth picture
and recorded the church with its bells
and the beautiful purple flowers
before we headed to this appropriately named place
and watched the sun set
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Szymon and Antonio
kept watching the sun as I experimented with photos
and the windmill reappeared
in context
as the sun kept on its path
and we got these nuts
from our Polish waiter
and took a break from the sunset
for some self portraits
as the sun continued its downward path
over the white houses
and after a few (well maybe not so few) more pictures of the sunset
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and having found them settled in for dinner
which notably included grape leaves
saganacki
and tomato balls which made this plate for me
along with sea food enjoyed by some of the others (perhaps it was octopus).
The next day was Friday and I began my day with a photo of Andreas wearing his Princeton T shirt.
After the talks, Suzanne and I headed off to do some errands and recorded the car as we parked it in Piergos, another of the traditional villages,
and then walked through the streets of the town
with awesome views
and made our way up the narrow lanes
until Suzanne found a gift shop to explore
after which we climbed further up the narrow lanes
until we reached the traditional church
and recorded the views below
the saints in the church
the baptismal font
and more of the interior paintings
before we admired the exterior
and began the walk down
finally passing this staircase
on this named street
and then heading to this restaurant
overlooking the town
before the bread came
which amused Suzanne
as we noted the oil and vinegar
and ordered our Mythos
and water
before toasting each other because we now knew the purpose of clinking glasses
and then settled in to a lunch of salad with Santorini capers
saganacki
a lettuce based salad
and this eggplant dish
before having yogurt with honey saturated raisins
and a pastry to end the meal.
After getting some fruit from this store
we went back to Akrotiri and had a rest and then Suzanne
and I were ready for the boat ride
but the local dog seemed to prefer to sleep
as people gathered
and I recorded Benedict and his drink
as people headed to the boat
and boarded
with captain Andreas
and Antonio in the lead
as we sailed out
capably led by the skipper who we thought was named Popeye (or should have been).
We passed the red beach
and then the white beach
as the Funkhouser children watched
along with their parents
and then sailed on through remarkable bits of scenery
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as I noted once again the colors of the frescoes in the rock
and we sailed on
wondering if Tim's photo of himself with Andreas worked
and the scenery continued
as Tim recovered from a splash
as the seas
encouraged Tim to pose for this magazine spread
and then through the scenery
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and views of the coast
before the second swim which Suzanne embraced
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and some sailboats
and houses built into the rocks at red beach
and more scenery
before we saw the Hotel Akrotiri in the distance, a truly remarkable setting
and as we came to shore I recorded a rowboat
and a final view of the hotel with the excavation behind it
as we disembarked from the boat.
Suzanne and I decided to go to a bar along the caldera for a drink to watch the sunset before returning for dinner and we found a place that was certainly a legend in its own mind as these signs show
and we admired the caldera and the sea below
and the views across
before noting the sun's position
and the broad context
as Suzanne settled in
amongst the flowers
and we looked out towards Fira
and at the clouds
and the sun
before our drinks -- a mojito for Suzanne
and ouzo for me -- arrived
enabling us to focus on the sunset
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before returning our focus to the sunset
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and then it was back to the sunset.
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and then we could gather at the table
and order appropriate drinks -- wine,
water,
and Mythos
not to mention this collection of vegetarian appetizers
as the fish emerged with spinach
and we met the cook who had prepared it so well
and those who had worked on it proved to have done an excellent job
and so were rewarded with the standard dessert.
Saturday, I began again with a photo of Andreas
and at the break we visited the fresco lab
and at conference end, there was the standard group photo for which Szymon rehearsed the cameras.
as we were preparing to leave, we captured Johnny, Lara and Antonio
and then the rental car at its return spot
as we waited to check in for our flight to Athens and then on to Istanbul where much excitement awaited us.
Once Suzanne had checked her bag
we made our way to the local taverna where this diet coke
made Suzanne
and me
happy as we dug into our Greek salad
and this feta, olives and tomatoes sandwich
which along with the bread
accounted for our bill.
After recording this building at the end of the Santorini airport
I took these candies from the stewardess
said good bye to the island
and we headed to duty free shopping in Athens while awaiting our next flight.
