Last Days in Greece

Friday 21st we moved to our next location in Santorini - the town on Oia which is on the northern tip of the island. Oia is known for spectacular views of the sunset, houses built into the cliffs, narrow cobble stone streets and the traditional white washed blue domed churches. 

We spent several days wandering the streets taking photos, and also trying to avoid the most crowded areas. Not always easy, especially at sunset when the streets were full of people. We did apply our technique to handle busy areas - we found a cafe with great views and ate desert while the streets cleared of people! One evening we had a lovely time wandering around and getting some night shots of the town and also the moonlight on the caldera.

Sunday 23rd was our last day in Santorini and we decided to splurge and take a sunset cruise. This was a highlight of our time on the island. We left mid afternoon and boarded a large catamaran with 14 other people. The boat left a marina on the south of the island and cruised up to Oia, stopping at two beaches where we could jump off the boat and swim. The final stop was the hot springs, where we again jumped off the boat and swam close to the shore where the water was warmest. Finally we were treated to a full Greek bar-b-que, before enjoying the sunset view from the peace of the boat. It was a fabulous ending to our week in Santorini.

Monday we headed back to Athens, and the next day  spent the morning in the Plaka area. We really enjoyed watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was an impressive ceremony and very moving.  Sara also found some local cats to feed on the way back to our hotel! 

We arrived home Wednesday 26th after an overnight stop in Madrid. The trip was exhausting at times, but truly memorable, with so many great locations, fun people and of course fantastic food.

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Athens and Santorini

Sunday the 16th we took the morning train from Venazza, with a quick stop in Monterosso and then on to Milan. We were sitting on the platform in Monterosso congratulating ourselves on being early, and sitting exactly where our coach was expected to stop when we heard the announcement that the train to Milan was going to be on platform 2 in 5 minutes. This required a mass rush for everyone to go down and then up the 4 flights of stairs to get on the right platform. "This happens every day" the platform official said shaking his head! Note to self - time to buy smaller bags so we pack less!

After an overnight stop in Milan we flew to Athens Greece on Monday 17th.  We had a free afternoon so after checking into the hotel we headed out for what should have been a delightful late & quiet sunset explore of the Parthenon. Unfortunately the area closes an hour earlier in September, and although we had our pre-purchased tickets in hand we were told to come back in the morning.  Never mind, we enjoyed a pleasant walk around the outside and found a lovely little cafe to enjoy of course a gelato and cake!

We got up early the next morning determined to visit the Parthenon, so back up the hill and steps we went, with John muttering about being on a forced march. This time we were able to enter and were really glad we went back to explore. The Parthenon was constructed between 447 and 439 BC, and is also surrounded by other temples and theaters, all located on a rocky hill above the city. Collectively the area is called the Acropolis and is a UNESCO world heritage site.  There is a major restoration effort ongoing to restore and repair the area, which is amazing well preserved for being over 2,000 years old!

That afternoon (Tuesday 18th) we returned to Athens airport for the short flight to the island of Santorini. Greece has thousands of islands in the Aegean and Ionian sea, with over 200 that are inhabited. Santorini is known for the iconic blue domes and spectacular sunsets over the caldera, a protected bay created by a volcanic eruption over 3,600 years ago.

We picked up our rental car and headed to our first hotel, and immediately realized Santorini is very busy, has small narrow roads full of cars, coaches, ATVs, scooters and pedestrians.  We were really glad we had rented a small car, a sentiment we repeated numerous times, including when we scraped the wing mirror on an alley wall!

We arrived at our apartment to a very warm welcome. We found everyone in Greece to be incredibly friendly and helpful, which is impressive when we found the majority of people supporting tourism work 7 days a week for 10-12 hours a day.  We loved Julie and Emma who ran our first apartment; for the next three days they gave us plenty of tips on where to explore and find the best photo locations.  

We spent the next three days exploring different small towns, and also spent an afternoon on the beach. Santorini is very busy, especially when there are cruise ships in town, so we worked to find areas that were less crowded. We also fell into a pattern of getting up late, having breakfast, then heading out early afternoon to explore, have a large late lunch and then just desert in the evening. Quite a perfect approach really! 

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Last Days in Cinque Terre

After two busy days exploring the towns of Cinque Terre we decided to spend the day in Vernazza, avoiding the crowds and trains. Before 10am the town was fairly quiet, and it was nice to breakfast at one of the many small cafes. We explored the town and walked up the narrow alleys and stairs to the castle, which has some nice high views of the town and harbor. The stone stairs and constant up and down were hard work, so we rewarded ourselves with fish and chips for lunch and took a rest back in the apartment. Sara had a lovely time swimming off the harbor beach and along the shore which was being enjoyed by many people.

For the evening we hiked up one of the trails and found a great spot to enjoy a picnic dinner while we waited for sunset and the chance to get more sunset shots of the harbor and town from a different angle. The path was pretty rocky and had a lot of stone steps, and we both marveled and how John is now able to walk after being restricted to a wheel chair last year. We walked back to town as it was getting dark and stopped for our evening gelato!

Friday the 14^th we enjoyed another slow start to the day. Sara decided to check out a different swimming spot off the small pebble beach on the other side of town. The water was a bit rough on this side of the coast and she failed to recall her Mum’s advice given as a child to keep away from the rocks! After getting scrapped up a bit, and thinking “This is how tourists are drowned”, she returned to the protected harbor with a scuba mask and had a more sedate time swimming around and watching the many fish under the water.  In the afternoon we returned to Manarola, to follow a perfect afternoon plan designed by John. Swimming for Sara while John took sunset shots, followed by at the restaurant overlooking the harbor and then some night photography of the town as the lights came on. It was a wonderful afternoon, finished off with of course gelato before getting the 10:30pm train back to Vernazza.

Saturday we enjoyed a late lunch and then Sara persuaded John it would be fun to rent a small boat to drive up the coast to see the villages from the sea. The sea was a bit choppy, and the guys looked a bit concerned about allowing the two of us out on our own, however we rowed out of the harbor (no engines allowed inside), and Sara was given some basic instruction and showed she could start the boat and safely handle the outboard engine, so off we went!

Once we got over the apprehension of being on a small boat and worked out the smoothest ways to drive with the waves we spent a lovely few hours going up the coastline to take pictures, a bit tough since the boat was rocking the whole time. We dropped the anchor in a small cove and Sara jumped off the boat for a swim. After a small moment of fear trying to start the engine - think hard pull on a lawn mower but on a rocking boat - we were off again. We started to head to the town of Monterosso, but the sea started to get really rough so we returned to Vernazza.  It was a perfect end to our time in Cinque Terre!

Click here for the photos of our last days in Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre, Italy 2018

On Sunday, September 9th we headed out for our European adventure to Italy and Greece. Thirty six hours later, after two flights and three train rides and minimal sleep we arrived in Vernazza, one of the small towns in Cinque Terra, Italy.

We've wanted to visit the area for a number of years as there are plenty of photo opportunities for John and lots of sea swimming for Sara (who grew up on the coast of England). Cinque Terra stands for "Five towns" and is a string of five fishing villages high on the Italian Riviera. Until recently the only access was by train, water, or the footpaths along the top of the cliffs.  We had rented a small apartment for 6 nights in the town of Vernazza, and planned to use the train to explore each village, including finding the best spots for sunsets.

Tuesday we got up fairly late and after breakfast headed out to explore. First stop was the town of Corniglia, which is perched high on top of a cliff. Along with the other train passengers we disembarked and headed along the footpath following the signs to village center.  About 35 flights of stairs later we reached the top. Since John wasn't walking last year this was a major achievement on his new knees!  The first thing John said at the top was "If there's a bus we're taking that down". Turns out there was a bus, included in the three day pass we had purchased, we took it back down to the station later in the day!

We spent several hours wandering around the town, taking pictures, and also stopped for a fabulous lunch. One of many great meals we were to have over the rest of the trip. The towns are small, with typically only one main street and many smaller alleys, all without vehicles. The area is very busy with other tourists, and we were glad we hadn't visited in peak season.

After Corniglia we got back on the train and went to the next village of Manarola. This town is on the coast, and has a main street that leads down to a harbor, and a great swimming area. It was a really hot day and Sara immediately said "I'm taking a swim". The water was wonderful and it was a lot of fun swimming around the rocks in the harbor area where a lot of people were having fun. After swimming we walked up a path to an area that had an awesome view of the town and waited a couple of hours for sunset. It was a perfect end to the first day.

Wednesday (12th) we went to Monterosso for the morning. After a quick walk round town (it was hot and busy) we went to the beach for a few hours. We both swam, and Sara rented a stand up paddle board, and ventured out along the coast for about an hour.  After our sea activities we ate a late lunch overlooking the sea, another great meal! 

To finish off the day we went to Riomaggiore, the last town in the line and explored the small town and of course took some photos. We bought some food for a picnic dinner and headed home. Of course when we got back to Vernazza we stopped for Gelato, which was to become a daily habit! More to come on the remaining day, but for now click on the hyperlink below to view the photos!

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