2009 Greece

April 2009, Spring Break. We spent 10 days exploring Athens and Santorini. The weather was just warming up to be pleasantly perfect. Athens was our first stop. We were soon delighted to find a mixture of ancient, old, recent, and very new -- all mixed together.

ATHENS

Here I am, on the rooftop patio/restaurant of our hotel, the Athens Gate Hotel. After our long flight, a glass of wine was a good way to unwind. The hotel was in a perfect location - just on the edge of the Plaka, the old town area, which is situated just below the Acropolis.

Our hotel room overlooked the Temple of Zeus, a Roman installation -- quite a view!

The Temple of Zeus. Notice the more elaborate capitols on the columns -- this is the Corinthian style of column.

A typical Athens street.

Sign in the Plaka district. I loved the image and the color, but have no clue what the sign reads.

We came across a square where many students and locals just hung out. We found this "drunken dog." Note the other interesting juxtaposition of the girl behind the dog who's head is framed by the arch, like a halo.

The Psirri neighborhood -- a cool outdoor hangout.

Pastry shop - baked pastries with cheese filling - yum!

SANTORINI

Sitting at the edge of the world... Santorini is a crescent shaped island, the remnants of an old volcano. There are a few towns along the top rim, and various settlements on the outer sides. There's even a couple of sandy beaches, with black volcanic sand. But the views are the best from the top of the rim. This is a view from Imerovigli.

This is a view from our hotel - in Oia. Many cave dwellings are built into the side of the volcano that date back hundreds of years or more. Some have crumbled from earthquakes, but new or rebuilt dwellings have cropped up. Most of the buildings have the white-washed exteriors, which is so well-known on Santorini.

A view through the town of Fira. Fira is the largest town on Santorini. Many cruise ships dock below, and visitors can either catch a taxi up to the top, or you can ride a donkey up a steep path. It doesn't sound too appealing to me...

Another way of getting around Santorini, is by water taxi.

A beachside restaurant sign. I like the dolphins!

Pristine, well-kept family chapels are all over Santorini. This one is in Oia.

This is our spot - Alexander's, in Oia, in a cave room. We met a couple of American teachers who were under contract teaching Westerners in Lebanon, (who tried to persuade me to sign up). We had a riotous time that night, eating and drinking -- maybe they had to let loose after their contained life in the Middle East?