Naxos - island of Zeus

The jetty is connected to the portara's island and is surrounded by aqua water.

In mythology, Naxos is where Zeus was raised, so the island has many sites dedicated to him, but the most prominent memorial is to Apollo. The portara sits at the top of a small hill that is connected to the mainland by a narrow walkway, so it makes a little island. The portara is the only thing on the island hill, which sits elevated from and away from the town, so you can see it from most places.

Our hotel owners, Michael and Irene, were so wonderful to us. Irene made some traditional Greek dessert topped with creamy, caramel ice cream. She insisted that we stop to enjoy some dessert before heading out for dinner. We loved Hotel Adriani!! http://www.hoteladriani.com/

Blond Beaches of Naxos

WOW! Why don't we have beaches and sunsets like this? It's not fair!!!


Our hotel owner gave us a ton of info when we checked in, including a book about the history of Naxos. He also provided us with a "city plan" (map) to get around. He highlighted the sites and beaches and told us that Naxos has beautiful blond beaches. I'd never heard white sand called "blond" before. But I guess I also hadn't heard a map called a city plan either. I love being immersed in a new culture and having to adapt to new ways of doing things. It is humbling to have to ask questions instead of assuming you know everything.

Happy Father's Day from Greece

We miss our dads and hope they have a relaxing day today!!

We love you!

New Best Day Ever

Kamari Beach

Red Beach


The pictures don't do them justice, but today we visited the two best beaches ever! I am in awe of how gorgeous Kamari (black) beach and red beach on Santorini are! It's like God took a paintbrush and used totally different colors to create two beaches so close to each other.W

We ate dinner at Volcano Restaurant tonight. It sits on the caldera and has views similar to those in yesterday's landscape pictures. Look at the delicious appetizer we shared!!



Anyone know what it is?

The Best Day Ever

Santorini. Anyone who has visited the island knows that there is little that can be said to accurately express the beauty and charm it has. Also known as Thira, the island is said to have been formed by a volcanic eruption. It is believed that one side of the island collapsed, giving Santorini its famous caldera views and unique shape. Other people believe Santorini is the lost island of Atlantis.

Whatever you believe, everyone agrees that Santorini has breathtaking views and interesting history. Other than the ruins in Crete, the ancient site of Akrotiri has the most well-known Minoan ruins. Some of the frescoes found at Akrotiri are now at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens (which we visited).

I just kept taking sunset pictures from the same place every 15 minutes. Look at all the different colors. Don't miss the tiny sailboat in the last picture!


We are staying at Villa Romantic, about a 10 minute uphill walk to Fira's city center. The hotel is not on the caldera but has great views of the other, less touristy side of the island. I would have loved to book a hotel built into the side of the island with caldera views but they are quite pricey! Plus, we had the benefit of a great host, Kosmas, who picked us up from port and provided plenty of maps and tourist info. He also told us to let him know if we ever wanted take out. He said he can call it in and make sure we get what we want without leaving the hotel. Great offer, but we didn't come all the way to Santorini to eat in our hotel room. We like to wander and discover our own places.

We ate lunch at Noussa and I tried moussaka (there are pictures of Mike's moussaka in Delphi). Moussaka is a traditional Greek dish that looks like meatloaf and is filled with meat, tomatoes, and eggplant. Tasty!!
http://www.santorini-villa-romantic.gr/

Book Review

I finished my first book on the trip - Burning Up by Caroline B. Cooney. I normally love her books, but this one was not one of my favorites. I went along for the ride and really appreciate the way she writes, but I felt like her topic was forced. It was almost as though she said, "Ok, what haven't I written about before? Great, I'll do that." It didn't feel inspired.

With that said, I would still count her among my favorite YA authors and I wouldn't dissuade anyone from reading it. Actually, I'd love to know what other people think about it, so if you need a quick read try Burning Up and then let me know what you think.

Maybe my opinion was influenced by all the traveling and I didn't give it a fair shot?!?!

To The Islands!

Mike and I boarded an Aegean Airlines flight this morning at 11:15 am to fly to Crete. The flight was only 34 minutes. Our plane landed on a landing strip about 50 feet onto a cliff, so all of our descent was right above the Crete Sea...kinda freaky! I thought we were making a water landing.

We toured the Knossos Palace this afternoon and Mike made a good observation - it's very similar to Mycenae. This similarity has lead some to believe that the the people communicated with each other and were related. The landscape was similar (dry and dusty) and the construction of the building bears a resemblance (rock buildings, no marble like other places).

Why Crete? Well, Crete is where Theseus defeated the Minotaur in a courageous act to save the fourteen youths that his father, King Aegeus, was forced to sacrifice to it each year. Crete is also the home of the Minoans, one of the first great civilizations. The Knossos Palace was once home to the Minoans as well as the location for the Minotaur's great labyrinth. I was privileged to visit Knossos Palace, so according to mythology, I walked where the Minotaur lived and where it was eventually killed by Theseus!! Crete is a gold mine of Greek mythology!

Unfortunately, archaeologists are not sure what all the ruins used to be so as I wandered around Knossos Palace I had to imagine what things "may" have been.