Saturday, May 21, 2011

SANTORINI DAY 3

The hotel here is absolutely gorgeous – it is built on the side of the caldera in the town of Imerovigli that overlooks the island of Thirassia and the town of Oia. To our left is the volcanic island, Nea Kameni – needless to say the population there is 0. The views from our balcony are spectacular – but omg the stairs are nasty. There are actually 200 stairs from the reception desk up to street level. On the way, there are 2 elevators that probably cut out about 60 stairs – if that – but one hardly notices. The only good thing about the stairs is that if we make it up to street level in the morning…and then we are out and about in the sun touring around, the stairs are all down when we get back to the hotel.

When we first arrived, they did not have the notation of twin beds for our reservation, so they put a cot in for the first night and then yesterday, we were shown to our new room. Turned out to be a suite with two bedrooms, a living room, 1½ bathrooms and its own hot tub. So we are very comfortable now….and yes life is so tough!

We rented a car for 3 days to help us get around a little easier. We were able to get from one end of the island to the other. There are many places to stop along the way and enjoy the scenic views and the typical blue and white that Santorini is noted for. When you drive in Greece, you have to be very cognizant of the fact that pedestrians walk out in front of vehicles, cars cut corners, motor bikes turn on the inside left of you, streets are often too narrow for two cars to pass (sometimes there is backing up involved) and drivers are aggressive in general.

Saw the best graffiti ever….it was collections of white stones placed on black volcanic earth. It looked so nice – we didn’t add to the collection, just stopped the car for a minute to get a picture. It was on the way to Oia (pronounced eeya). It was a beautiful drive right to the end of the island. This is the place that people go to watch the sun set. From our hotel in Imerovigli, we see the fabulous sight right off the balcony, so haven’t seen the need to drive there.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What could be better than a balcony with a sunset over the sea or scenery!

I am glad you have found a special place and a chance to enjoy it for a bit. There is no doubt that Santorini has a very special past and you are enjoying much of it - red, black and white sand beaches arranged in a ring with black volcanic rock backgrounds and the turquoise blue of the Aegean.

I await more pictures!

Lots of love,

Brian

Anonymous said...

Wow!!! Gorgeous view and stunning colours!

Sheila