4 days in Santorini with family were wonderful. We ate, drank and enjoyed the lovely views to the fullest. We didn’t eat a single bad meal.. I think it was because of the fresh ingredients used in the dishes as well as the friendly, welcoming attitude of everyone around us. We were pleasantly surprised at how gracious the Greeks are towards visitors- one would think, with everything happening to their economy, people would be in the dumps… they chose to look at the positive and enjoy life.

After parting ways with my extended family, we made our way to Athens. We got there within 45 minutes and went straight to the hotel. After unpacking, we ventured out into the lovely city. I am not sure what I was expecting out of Athens, but found myself liking it right away. To me, it is a great mix of Madrid, Rome and parts of it remind me of Delhi… overall a great feel. Very quaint with lots of little cafes and loads of Greek yogurt joints! BTW, we enjoyed the yummiest Greek yogurt gelato in Santorini … will do the same here.

We usually use the trip advisor app to help us find a restaurant, as we were doing that, we walked around and looked at some eateries in the Plaka (Soho like) area…. Lots of people were trying to beckon us into their restaurant, but as they figured out we were looking for another place, they immediately started to help us- even drew a map on back of their business card! I was very surprised at how helpful they were even though they were not getting out business! The Greeks remind me of the people in Turkey and Portugal- they were all super friendly and very genuine.

We made our way to a local restaurant and had a traditional Greek meal, which included stuffed grape leaves and Greek salad, etc.

Mixed Hot Appetizer Platter

Greek Salad

The next morning started with a scrumptious breakfast including delicious breads, cheeses, eggs, pastries, fruit and Greek yogurt and an amazing view of the acropolis. We wanted to make our way to the acropolis museum to be indoors as it had already become quite warm. After a good amount of exploring we stopped for a glass of wine and a snack. We tasted a delicious plate of kebab served with pita and Greek yogurt and a plate of orzo and shrimp cooked a saffron and dill sauce- almost like a risotto…they were both delicious…

Orzo

Kebabs

A warm walk back to the hotel led us back to a gelato place we had discovered called Le Greche Gelato around the corner that had just opened 4 days ago. We went back to get the most delicious hazelnut gelato and headed back to the hotel for a siesta…

In the evening we took a train tour all over the city and then ventured into a lovely little neighborhood for a yummy dinner. I had a delicious salad and gyros- really, really yummy! It was a lovely evening .. can’t wait for tomorrow!

Green Salad

Gyros

Day two started with a delicious breakfast of bread, cheese, eggs, coffee, Greek yogurt and fruit. We lingered on for a few hours after breakfast as it was getting hot and we were very comfortable under the umbrellas… we sat and we sat and then decided to go to a beach near by. It was quite hot, but we made our way there and sat under the umbrellas and had some ham and cheese sandwiches… After a necessary stop at the gelato place, we reached our hotel rooms and took refuge in our cool rooms for a couple of hours.

After a refreshing shower we walked out to the Oia downtown to find a dinner place. We got a recommendation from our hotel people and they suggested a few places. We ended up at a local Greek place which had amazing food- again, all fresh, delicious ingredients. The evening had finally turned cool and the weather was perfect. We started with a bunch of appetizers and a few entrees. The onion pies were yum- an onion mixture with feta was covered with delicious phyllo dough. A cracked wheat salad was marinated in wine and tossed with a light dressing and topped with Greek yogurt. The baked feta was excellent as usual.. this particular restaurant did not have pita.. not sure why.. so we had regular bread to pick up all the yummies off the plates. We also ordered the tomato fritters.. these were yummier than yesterday- very flavorful..

Onion Pies

Cracked Wheat Salad

Tomato Fritters

Baked Feta

Green Salad

Stuffed Calamari

Mousaka

Lamb

Dinner consisted of Moussaka which is a Greek style shepherd’s pie, stuffed calamari and lamb. The lamb dish stood out. It was fork tender served with potatoes cooked in olive oil and lemon juice- absolutely delicious…. we of course enjoyed another dry house white wine. Did I mention Greek wines are really good?? Haven’t had a bad one yet! The evening ended with some yummy dessert and another stroll in the gorgeous weather….

We will stay in Santorini for another 2 nights and then head over to Athens for a few days. I will report back from there on Monday.

I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July holiday. Have fun with friends and family and most of all- eat something delicious!

The morning started early for me… even though jet lag is there, I still wake up early.. I don’t want to miss out on the lovely morning sleeping.. I especially wanted to take in the gorgeous view of the ocean from our balcony. I could see the hotel people setting up breakfast outside that would start at 8 AM. I love staying at places that include breakfast- its a great way to start the day and one doesn’t have to rush out of the hotel room looking for food.  Two things I require on vacation- breakfast at the hotel, unless we have rented an apartment.. in which case I am happy to cook my own; and wifi. Unfortunately there was no wifi at the Munich hotel and so I could not blog from there… well, there was but they were charging a ridiculous amount for it…

Anyway, I digress. I woke up early again.. and anticipated breakfast.. but before that I did a ten minute exercise routine so I can be ready to eat whatever I want through the day. Buffet breakfast consisted of bread, Greek cheeses, olives, eggs.. and the usual suspects. We sat outside and enjoyed the lovely view and went down to the pool to relax. After a while, we walked into town and eventually made our way to a local restaurant overlooking the water and had delicious Greek Salad, Grape leaves, Fish Souvlaki…The food was fresh and delicious… especially the Greek salad- the tomatoes were bursting with sweetness and the fresh feta was yummy- quite mild. The grape leaves melted in our mouths. We washed it all down with a delicious glass of Rose!

Greek Salad

Grape Leaves

Fish Souvlaki

We had a leisurely stroll back to our hotel and got ready to leave on a high speed ferry to Santorini. As we flew into Greece, I was very surprised to see Athens and the rest of the islands as very arid and desert like- I wasn’t expecting that.. Santorini is similar. After an almost 3 hour ferry, we docked by a huge cliff in Santorini and saw loads of buses and cars going up the sharp turns up the hill…After about half an hour we reaches a town called Oia, which is at the north end of this long island. We hiked up to our cave hotel and saw the spectacular ocean view below.. it was breathtaking. After unpacking, we found our way into the main area, a few minutes walk from our hotel and walked a narrow lane filled with restaurants, hotels and shops. Dinner was at a traditional Greek restaurant. We decided on sticking with appetizers and salads- tapas style. We had an eggplant salad, the traditional tzatziki sauce, tomato fritters, baked feta and lots of pita.. oh, and a delicious pitcher of white wine.

Eggplant Salad & Tzatziki

Tomato Fritters

Greek Salad

Everything was absolutely delicious- especially the tomato fritters- bursting with juiciness…We walked back absolutely thrilled with the ambiance, food and the super friendly people.. can’t wait what tomorrow will bring!