We spent 10 days in Greece at the beginning of May.
Not knowing what to expect, aside from a lot of rock and little shade, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
I don’t do well with the heat. We only had 2 days where the sun blazed down on us. One day in Oia, and on our last day. It was only 20 degrees, but in the sun it felt like 35, at least to me.
All in, it was a pretty great trip. I may have gotten cranky a couple of times, but we won’t talk about that…
I tried Greek coffee for the first time and was immediately sold. So much flavour and not ruined by cream. I’m going to get the required pot and make my own.
Day one
Day one consisted of an AM layover on May 6th in Munich.
Talk about culture shock. Aside from all the bread and sandwiches, I was surprised to see people drinking beer at 8 a.m. This isn’t allowed in Canada. At least not in Toronto. The bars need special permission from the city just to serve alcohol before noon.
It was also difficult to find a traditional breakfast. We did find something close to it at a restaurant called Dallmayr…
Dallmayrs
Fried Eggs and ham, no beer
Once we landed in Santorini, we picked up the car, drove to our Airbnb, and then went for groceries. We spent 23 euros on items that would have cost $60CDN. Impressive. We’re off to a great start.
It was evening in Greece so there wasn’t much time to do much.
By the way, if you’re looking for an Airbnb while in Greece, I highly recommend Martynou View in Pyrgos. The host is amazing and the unit is pretty much perfect, with an awesome view.
Highlights
While writing this blog, I decided that doing a play-by-play beginning on Day 1 would take too long. So we’re just going to hit the highlights. And there are a lot of them, so buckle up.
We began with Tsigrado Beach, or Ladder Beach as I ended up referring to it since I could never remember the name.
We saw videos of this beach on YouTube. And every one of them told the same story. This beach was difficult to get to, but worth it.
I have to agree. It was difficult to get to, but worth it.
I don’t mind saying that I was stressed about it even before we left Toronto. I typically don’t do well with climbing. And from the videos we saw, and in this order, there was a rope, a ladder, a walk through a narrow gap between rocks, another rope, and another ladder.
When I first came up on it, I could be heard saying, “I don’t think I can do this”. Even though I really did want to. If for the only reason of being able to say I did. I also didn’t want to let Sheri down because I knew she was looking forward to it.
It was a nice beach. Small, but nice. The water was cold. I only went up to my knees. But Sheri swam a couple of times. Cold sea water doesn’t phase her I guess.
Check out the pictures below. I hope it gives you a good image of what that beach looked like.
It was an experience I won’t soon forget.
Sensyo Home
“Soundscape” cave-suite panoramic Caldera sea views!
Spacious private terrace cave-suite with sea views, inside feel’s like a big hug, the round room give’s you that warm feeling. The studio has organic and minimalistic black & white look. Cool during summer, with glossy black floor and white walls is a magical getaway for two! Caldera views even while in the bath-tab, with a huge oval window overlooking the Caldera bay. The private terrace makes the junior suite unique with endless unobstructed views!
“Imagine the views being 250 meters above sea level, on top of the unique volcanic Caldera rim, looking out at the spectacular crater island “Kameni” and across “Thiriassia” island.”
This is where we stayed on our last night in Greece. And I know I already said it, but all gratitude goes to Sheri for choosing this Airbnb. It was amazing with epic views.
Mind you, it did have a fair amount of stairs to gain access to it, but it was was worth the climb.
Aside from the apparent heat stroke I may or may not have experienced, I quite enjoyed. The sunset on our last night was crazy.
I highly recommend this Airbnb if you’re looking for a place to stay with epic views.
Franco’s Cafe
This place was so good we almost became regulars.
It’s near the top of the peak in Pyrgos and it comes with epic sunset views and the village below.
We visited it twice. The first time just by chance. I won’t go into that. But it was near sunset so we ended up staying for a while.
You should however be aware that depending on the time of year, it gets hella windy up there. Luckily they have blankets, and some of us (me) needed multiple.
The second visit to Franco’s was for Sheri’s birthday. They wished her a happy birthday with comped drinks and treated us like royalty.
Franco’s knows how to treat their clientele. Cheers to them.
And the sunsets? Well, see for yourself…
Penelope’s
Penelope’s is another spot we visited more than once. The first time for breakfast, as we just happened upon it during our exploration of Pyrgos. The second time was also for breakfast since the first time was so good
We decided to come back the next day for breakfast. It was one of the few places where I could find a close-to-traditional breakfast. Or so I thought. The bacon turned out to be ham but that was at least consistent with the other restaurants we visited during this trip.
Interestingly enough on this occasion, a busload of tourists passed through, totally clueless to the fact that it was a restaurant and people were trying to eat. Needless to say, the staff at the restaurant were none too pleased and gave them a verbal shellacking. After a bit of hesitation from one or two photo takers, they moved on and we continued to enjoy our breakfast, amid high winds I might add. What’s with the wind anyway…
All of Milos
Literally all of Milos. What a difference between the landscapes of Santorini and Milos.
From our Airbnb to the beaches, it was pretty epic. Papafragas Caves, Firiplaka Beach, Sarakaniko Beach, Tisgrado Beach, Klima. I would love to visit Milos again.
The next time I’ll be sure to back up my drone footage shortly after I fly.
Obligatory Food Post
What would a blog post be without all the things we ate? From Grilled Cheese at Brusco, “bacon” and eggs at Penelope’s to Gyros at Mythos Tavern to Sea Bream at Remvi’s it was all so delicious. And some firsts for me.
I’ve never had Sea Bream, Gyros, Moussaka, or Greek coffee. Basically, everything I ate while in Greece was a first. Except for eggs I guess, but even they were different than here in Canada. Check it out…
The Wrap Up
All in all and lost drone footage aside, Greece is pretty amazing. I’m not sure I could adapt to that lifestyle, but I could definitely visit again and hope to.
If you’re looking for some tips, I don’t have many. Prepare yourself for a lot of stairs and uphill climbs, travel light if you can, wear a hat, and stay hydrated.
Oh and hopefully you have an awesome travel and life partner like I did. She put up with my periodic crankiness and mood swings. So yeah, love you for that Sher.
Until next time…
