Santorini - day 29 - more R & R

I just didn't know which way to face to relax......decisions, decisions. It can be hard sometimes deciding. So...

I chose this way again....

Looking out to sea was really good too...

Looking back at our unit was also great...

Tony saw how much fun I was having deciding on where to relax he decided to join in...

But Tony couldn't decide either.....this was proving a dilemma......

Ahhhhh! Perfect spot

That was the morning taken care of. We went into Fira after lunch......as I said a 10 min walk or 30 mins if you stop to shop on the way.......to get an ice cream and we were treated with the donkeys coming up the pathway.

The steps were numbered too....just in case you wanted to count along......this wasn't even the top.

Here's a treat for you........a 360 degree view of where we are staying. Just stunning.....I never get tired of it. It was windy this morning so you may not hear some of my ramblings. Enjoy!!!!

Sunset day 3.

Tomorrow????? Still more of the same! I'll have to get creative to keep you interested in my blog!



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Santorini - day 28 - Lots of Relaxation

We are staying in Firostephani just near Fira which is the capital of Santorini. It's a 10 min walk into Fira.....30 mins if you get distracted by all the shopping!



Here is a short history lesson of Santorini:

Santorini is essentially what remains of an enormous volcanic explosion, destroying the earliest settlements on what was formerly a single island, and leading to the creation of the current geological caldera. Its spectacular physical beauty, along with a dynamic nightlife, have made the island one of Europe's tourist hotspots.

A giant central lagoon, more or less rectangular, and measuring about 12 km by 7 km (8 mi by 4 mi), is surrounded by 300 m (984 ft) high steep cliffs on three sides. The island slopes downward from the cliffs to the surrounding Aegean Sea. On the fourth side, the lagoon is separated from the sea by another much smaller island called Therasia; the lagoon merges with the sea in two places, in the northwest and southwest. The water in the centre of the lagoon is nearly 400 m (1300 ft) deep, thus making it a safe harbour for all kinds of shipping. The island's harbours are all in the lagoon and there are no ports on the outer perimeter of the island, and the capital, Fira, clings to the top of the cliff looking down on the lagoon.

Enough with the history lesson here are some more piccies from our relaxing day today.



Mmmm! It's a tough life.


Lots of cruise ships in the harbour today which made for a very busy and crowded day in Fira




The cable car that takes you up the top to Fira from the port


Or you can take a donkey ride to the top








You just can't get a bad photo in Santorini


Tony relaxing with his computer


Tony relaxing with a lovely couple staying in the next room...they come from New Farm in Brisbane. A small world


Sunset on the second day in Santorini.







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Santorini - day 27 - Our flight from Venice to Athens then to Santorini.

Can you guess where I'm penning my blog from today? I'm sitting here on our balcony overlooking the Caldera on Santorini.


WE MADE IT to Santorini! I mentally kissed the ground when we got off the plane. Ok! I have a small confession to make......I'm not too good with flying! I know I've just been half way round the world on 2 big flights. I get a bit nervous with flying but it's not enough to stop me. But the flight I was really nervous about was the little flight we just went on from Athens to Santorini. As it turned out it was a fantastic flight with in flight service of a drink and nuts.


We left Venice this morning without a hitch and caught the bus to the Venice airport for our flight to Athens.....which took about 2 hours. The flight from Athens to Santorini.....for those of you who know your planes.....was on a De Havilland Dash 8. It had propellors. As I said it was a fantastic flight over the water with many islands below and it took 30 minutes.

We were picked up by out lovely host Nek, who whisked us safely back to the Sunset Hotel where we are staying. WOW! Is all I can say. The view is just spectacular. I will do a video of our view for you in the next few days.


Nek our host at Sunset Hotel.


A big special Happy Birthday to my gorgeous girl, Kate, she turns 28 today (29th). Sorry we are not with you for your birthday but we will have an Ouzo for you. Cheers! Have a lovely day and will try and ring you tonight your time.





Kate's favourite flowers are lilies.

We have a resident cat who I made friends with and he decided to come into our room. There are cats everywhere in Europe. I think dogs have a great life in Europe they can go anywhere with their owner. I saw a lady take her dog into Chanel in Paris. But poor pussy cats it seems like they have a harder life here. They breed like crazy and are wild. In Sorrento they were there in the hundreds trying to get fed by the tourists. If I lived here I think I'd be the cat lady and feed all the cats.


I'll leave you all with these beautiful photos of Santorini.


This is the view from our room


Our room


This is our room


View from our room








Sunset on our first day in Santorini......I have to keep pinching myself.

Tomorrow, I'm afraid there'll be more of the same.





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Venice - day 26 - Last Day in Venice

I'm penning my blog this afternoon at the laundromat....not the most exciting place but I have 1/2 hour free so I thought I'd use the time wisely.



The highlight for the day would have to be the Gondola ride this morning. We went past Casanova and Marco Polo's houses and past various churches. Very interesting and good fun seeing Venice in this way. Our driver didn't speak English very well so the info was very limited but still a lot of fun. I have a video or two to show you, of course!




Going past Marco Polo's House



Going past Casanova's House



Sailing in the busy Grand Canal


Tomorrow we are jetting off to Athens and then onto Santorini where we will be in relaxation mode for 7 days. We have been really lucky with Internet so far but I'm not sure how we will go in Greece. I think there will be wireless Internet at the hotel we are staying at on Santorini....cross fingers! You will see some great photos and videos in Greece.....I'm so excited!

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Venice - day 25

I was right Tony was in fine form today and took a zillion photos!


We did a lot of exploring around Venice today and getting pleasantly lost at times. The crowds throughout Venice are huge......the tourists, including us, are everywhere. It's a wonder Venice doesn't sink. It's worse than Cavill Ave on the Gold Coast.


I'm one of many in Venice!



We are staying where the red dot is.


Italian hot chocolate....amazing!


We went back over to the railway station area to find put more about getting to the airport on Wednesday morning......it's like getting blood out of a stone. And smiles are pretty rare! We found out most of the info on the Internet while we had lunch.
We took a water taxi round to San Marco square and then walked back to the Rialto Bridge. It's just fantastic walking everywhere in Venice......every corner is a surprise.



Us at San Marco square.



These painted egg shapes make up this.........


How amazing!


There are lots of beggars in Italy.



Narrow alleyways.


I was trying to be arty....not bad!


Relaxing at the end of another big day of exploring.


More exploring on the cards tomorrow plus washing!





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