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Friday, July 31, 2015

Thursday Night Dinner

This week's Thursday Night Dinner at Flavor Bistro had a few new items. 4 courses with 4 wine pairings for $24.95. How can you beat that?




Gamberoni Con Fagioli--Grilled Marinated Jumbo Prawns in Brodetto Di Vino Bianco Flavored with Organic Toy Box Tomatoes, Sweet Basil, Garlic & Cannellini Beans, paired with 2013 Sean Minor Chardonnay, Central Coast. The prawn was delicious but the cannelloni beans were even better and I'm not a fan of beans.


Pasta Al Savor--Organic Macaroni Served in Prosciutto Sauce, Escarole, Finished with Ricotta & Walnut Gremolata, paired with 2013 Tenuta Sant'Antonio Scaia Corvina I.G.T., Veneto, Italy. This was a new dish. I loved the prosciutto sauce and could have eaten a huge bowl.



Bistecca Ai Ferri--Grilled Marinated Flat Iron Steak Garnished with Stone Oven Roasted Radicchio, Balsamic Glaze, Garlic Candy, Sweet Corn Passata in Sage Brown Butter, paired with 2013 Easton Wines Zinfandel, Amador. The sweet corn passata was delicious. It was sweet and so creamy.




Crostata Di Fico--Fig Galette Served with Vanilla Mascarpone Cream, paired with 2011 Bonterra Vineyards, Bartolucci Vineyard, Late Harvest Muscat (Organic), 
Lake County. Galette is served often but we've never had a fig galette. This had a nice sweet gel with the fresh figs.



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Thursday, July 30, 2015

The Eastern Beaches--Perissa & Kamari

We then explored the eastern beaches. Perissa is a popular destination. There is a main road with beaches on one side and tavernas and hotels on the other side.

We had lunch at The Volcano.




Sour cherry juice—€2.70


Stuffed Grape Leaves--€3.40.


Calamari Stuffed with Cheese--€10.50. My husband liked this dish. It had a nice flavorful cheese.


Grilled Sardines--€7.50. These were pieces of some of the largest sardines I have ever seen. They were tasty though and didn't have too many bones.

The next beach up from Perissa is Kamari. This is perhaps Santorini's best developed resort area. It was full of Brits on package tours. If you like your beaches lively and crowded, this is the place to go. The fine-sand beach is backed by hotels and tavernas and the walkway is pedestrian-only. Nearby is the ancient ruins of Thira.






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Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Red Beach

The caldera's edge on the western side of Santorini doesn't have many beaches but the eastern and southern end have plenty. Near Akrotiri is Red Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in Santorini.


There is free parking at the end of the road. There are vendors selling fresh fruit and drinks.


Hike along a rocky path then down to the beach--about 10 minutes from the parking lot.


You can see why the beach is called Red Beach when you see the red cliffs above the beach.


Nice, wide sandy beach but there isn't much shade. During the tourist season, vendors rent chairs and umbrellas.


Right next to Red Beach is a black cliff. You would think this is Black Beach but Black Beach is actually further along the coast, near the tip of Santorini. In the cove next to Red Beach is White Beach, which is apparently more secluded. We didn't make the trek.


The water is crystal clear but the water's edge has pebbles instead of a sandy bottom.



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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Ancient Akrotiri

Ancient Akrotiri is an archaeological site in the southern part of Santorini. The ruins are thought to be a Minoan city which was buried by volcanic ash in 1613 BC. The museum is open every day from 8 am to 8 pm in the summer (4/1 to 10/31) and 8 am to 3 pm from 11/1 to 3/31. In the winter it is closed on Mondays. Admission to the site is €5. There is a parking lot near the museum for €3 but there is also free parking on the street.


A building covers the ruins.


Excavated buildings.


It's hard to believe these buildings are 3500 years old.


Pottery inside the buildings.


More rooms with pottery.


Ancient toilet.

Only 40 buildings have been uncovered and it is thought this represents just 1/3 of the ancient city. Some believe Akrotiri is the lost city of Atlantis.



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Monday, July 27, 2015

Megalochori

Our hotel arranged to have Santo Moto deliver a rental car to us. Cost for 24 hours was €38. We drove south from Oia and stopped in Megalochori, a village in the southern half of Santorini. It was a quiet village with few tourists. The streets were very narrow and it was easier to park the car and walk.


Bell Towers of Megalochori.


The village is very photogenic.




Requisite church with blue dome.


In Megalochori, you can find Vedema Resort, a Starwood resort. Rates start at €320/night or you could cash in 25,000 points for 1 night.


Found this sign in the village. Not sure what it said but my guess is "no donkey parking."



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Sunday, July 26, 2015

Ammoudi

Ammoudi is a tiny port located nearly 300 steps below Oia. It's a nice walk down but you do have to watch the donkey dung. The climb back up isn't as bad as you'd think.


Boats bobbing in Ammoudi Bay.


There are numerous tavernas at the water's edge. We chose Ammoudi Fish Tavern because it was the top-rated restaurant in Ammoudi. At the base of the steps, turn right. We had our hotel call ahead to reserve a table at the water's edge.


Octopus hanging to dry.


Nice view of the red cliffs of Oia from our table.


Toasted Bread with Olives--€2


Agiorgitiki Eggplant Salad--Baked white aubergines with garlic, onion and parsley, extra virgin olive oil--€5.50. Delicious. It wasn't served with any bread so the toasted bread we ordered helped.


Saganaki Mussels--€12. This was also delicious although it was not a huge portion.


Sun-dried Octopus, Grilled--€14. This had great flavor and was the right chewiness.


Linguine with Seafood--€19.50. Another delicious dish but again not a huge dish.


Loukoumades with ice cream--complimentary dessert.

Ammoudi Fish Tavern was worth the walk down to the port. We had just enough food with 2 appetizers, 2 entrees and the complimentary loukoumades.



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Saturday, July 25, 2015

Oia

Oia (pronounced ee-ah) is the quintessential Santorini village. Its population is 962 but swells to thousands during tourist season. It's located at the northern end of the island and is built into the cliffs of the caldera. There are many hotels built into the cliffs, each with beautiful views of the sea. Such beauty comes with a hefty price tag.

Oia is a pleasant 20 minute walk from Finikia. Part of it is along the road but soon the walkway reaches the caldera's edge and passes through shops, galleries and restaurants.


Walkway along the cliff's edge.


Hotels and homes built into the cliffs of Oia.


Another view of Oia.


Typical white-washed church with blue dome.



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Friday, July 24, 2015

Hotel Villa Agnadi, Finikia

On Santorini, we stayed at the Hotel Villa Agnadi in Finikia, 0.6 miles & 10-15 minute walk from Oia. The bus from the port stopped in front of the hotel so it was very convenient. Private parking is available, if you choose to drive.

The hotel has views of the eastern side of the island, away from the caldera. If you really want a room with a view of the caldera, you'll need to book in advance an stay in Oia. Cost for the Hotel Villa Agnadi in late May was €59.40/night for twin occupancy.


There was a beautiful pool on the premise. The breakfast room overlooked the pool. Breakfast was served after 7:30 am--bread, rolls, hard boiled eggs, deli ham and cheese, fruit, juice, tea & coffee.


Our room was clean and huge. A bonus was that wi-fi worked well from the room.


There was a small deck off the room with table and chairs. Our room didn't have much of a view but other rooms had views of the ocean in the distance.


The bathroom was large and modern. There were no shower doors or curtains so bring only what you can afford to get wet into the bathroom.



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Thursday, July 23, 2015

Ferry to Santorini

We took the slow ferry from Naxos to Santorini. It cost €19.50 and took 2 hours.


We made 1 stop in Ios and picked up more passengers.


On the slow ferries, disembarking passengers gather in the lower deck as the destination nears. The doors are lowered and once we are docked, everyone walks off. Once all the passengers have disembarked, the new passengers board and the ferry takes off. The whole process can be as fast as a few minutes.


The Athinios port in Santorini is at the base of a steep cliff. Public buses meet all ferries. The majority travel to Fira for €2.20. There are also buses which travel to Oia and cost €3.80. Ask the drivers to find out where each bus goes. There are car rental agencies in port and of course, you can find taxis.



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