After a gorgeous sunrise and a few more hours of sleep we were ready to take on the day. We went to The Buddha Bar and we were incredibly impressed with the breakfast that they had for us. We were served different types of breads with spreads, then had a whole menu to pick from that was complimentary. If you wanted to pick a little more extravagant breakfast than it would have been an additional charge. What they had as options were more than enough. Just a few of the options were waffles, scrambled eggs and Greek yogurt and with each item you were able to add the five plus items to make the options that much better! We had waffles with nutella and maple syrup, my boyfriend had Greek style scrabbled eggs while I had a side of Greek yogurt with apricots, mango, figs, goji berries and honey. It was incredibly tasty and one great way to start off the morning. We headed back to our room and got ready to explore Santorini.
We walked out our door and started the climb up and down, twisting around the white cave homes, blue domed churches and walkways on the edge of shear cliffs that lead us to the island center, Thira. There were stray dogs that followed us around that were adorable, so much so you wanted to adopt them for the day. They would follow you for a while until there was a human with food or someone who gave them a little more attention. The loyalty you had felt quickly dissipated and you continued your journey without your new found friend until the next one came along. After a little over a mile, we got into the city and shopped around. We looked at the scarves with all sorts of colors, shirts with the island and all the cities labeled, then funny penises that stuck out to us on key chains or bottle openers colored brightly with beautiful patterns on them. We joked around who we would give it to, and definitely one thing we should have came back with but did not. We then decided it was time to go wine tasting so we hopped into the taxi and asked them to take us to the vineyard on the highest point of the island.
We walked into Santo Wines and sat down in front a large window looking out to the whole island below, it looked like a croissant with the volcano in the water, center of it all. We ordered 10 wines to taste, it consisted of two champagnes, 2 roses, 3 whites, 2 reds and topped it all off with a dessert wine made from sun dried grapes. Each glass there were delightful aromas that were a mix between crisp whites and soft roses and rich and robust reds. Each with their unique and distinguished taste. We enjoyed the wine and I enjoyed my company even more.
We decided to walk to our next winery, Venetsanos Winery which was a little less than a mile away. Once we found the entrance to the winery, we were ready to get our next tasting going. The winery was built into the mountain with beautiful views of the cliffs around. We went outside for a little to see the beauty of the landscape however the wind was whipping so we were not out there for long. We went back into the tasting room surrounded by others who were enjoying their wine along with some cheese and crackers. We had 5 different wines. Each wine was described by our sommelier which gave each glass a personal touch. Each glass we went through the somm made each one stand out from another, described it as either delicate, intense or complex, noting the characteristics, acidity and tannin. We had such an incredible experience and our sommelier was very knowledgeable and kept us captivated making the experience that much better. We met some friendly people as we finished enjoying the wine, and ended the conversations because I wanted to make it back to see the sunset back at our hotel. We asked for the lady who we paid for the tasting to call us a cab. After ten minutes of waiting for her to get in touch with someone. We decided to walk a little ways to see if we could catch a cab along the way.
As we made our way, it became blatant that there were no taxis that were going to come remotely near us. We made it back to the first winery, that is when I realized with the pace we are going and the time it was we were definitely missing the sunset. Also I had just ran a marathon the fatigue was setting it and my stomach was rumbling, my boyfriend was feeling it too. We both were not in the greatest moods. However as we chugged along at the highest point of the island I decided I was not going to miss the sunset. We walked off the road to the cliff where we would be able to catch a beautiful view as the sun setting. Through the clouds the sun shone and it was absolutely gorgeous. The sun left a golden pink outline onto the dark purple clouds filling the sky. The rays of sun were piercing through onto the ocean. As you looked out to the island you saw the collide of dark blues and purples sliding into the evening while the pinks oranges and reds faded away. We soaked in the last of the light of day and quickly realized we better continue on our way. After much aggravation and walking nearly three miles we got to a gas station where they were able to call us a taxi.
We arrived back in Thira with our stomach ravenous, we needed some food to eat! We went to the one place that was recommended to us by fellow friends who had came on island before. Lucky’s, a souvlakis restaurant where we were ready to inhale some gyros that were freshly shaven off the rotisserie. We were absolutely content after a long haul to get to this point, we enjoyed the first and already had a second gyro on the way. I had chicken then tried the lamb gyro whereas my boyfriend did the opposite. We were in food heaven and shortly after food coma. Each gyro was wrapped with love by the owner of the establishment and you could tell he was passionate about his food and the way people enjoyed it. We talked to him for a little and got some good insight about him and how he does things around his joint. Needless to say we were excited to go back the next day.
We went back to the hotel where we got together with our new friends we had met the day before, Amrit and Sunny. It was so incredible meeting a couple who we had so much in common with. We enjoyed wine and conversation, which led into the evening and for dinner we ordered personal pizzas from Taverna El Greco. The pizzas were fantastic, I had ham and veggies on mine and everyone else got their own unique additional toppings. After long talks getting to know each other and many laughs into the late evening we called it a night. We were exhausted from the days adventure on foot but already looking forward for the following day. The guys went to the front desk earlier to order the pizza and in doing so had also ordered two four wheelers to arrive in the morning so we could ride them around all day. They were making sure we did not have to walk the 5 plus miles in Santorini again!
Live Well and Run 