Before we forget, some lasting impressions:
Istanbul
Horns honking, cats meandering, the smell of kababs cooking, mosques and domes, cobblestone alleyways and roads, call to prayer, thick coffee, apple tea, turkish delight, baklava, lots of people everywhere...
Santorini
blue and white, hazy vista, swirling mist wafting past, sheer cliff face, blue water, buildings perched on the precipice, narrow cobble streets and huge buses winding through, dry and barren/brown...
Today we did some beach hopping, which necessitated the hiring of a car, a somewhat stressful experience - we paid more than we should have, had to concentrate on driving on the 'other' side of the road, try to read signs quickly, backtrack, navigate the narrow winding roads and the large buses that take up all the space, figure out why 10 Euros of petrol doesn't move the gauge , etc.... Miss
Santorini's volcanic history means black sand and pebbles pass for a beach here. Red beach, Vlyxada and Perissa gave us a sample of red and black sand, cliff faces, deck chairs and umbrellas. Johanna and Colin plunged themselves into the Aegean Sea....Hit
We stopped for some lunch at a restaurant/cafe at Perissa Beach, chose comfy seats in the shade with a great view...Hit
The food was ordinary, our first less than superb experience here...Miss
The water is warm...Hit
The wind blows a gale in some places and directions....Miss
The cafe at Vlyxada had non squat toilets...Hit
The smell was so bad Johanna almost gagged... Miss (P.S no toilet paper goes into the toilets here, it all goes into small bins)
Most days are a mixture of Hit and Miss, generally the Hits outnumber the Misses, and when it sometimes gets too much we retreat to the sanctuary of some quiet/down time at our hotel, recharge and prepare to enter the 'fray' once again. We are mindful of how fortunate we are and resolve to make the most of whatever each day brings.
P.S Johanna has made a friend,
