Milano - Italy

Our flight to Milano was rather uneventful, apart from a dodgy African guy being escorted from Mykonos airport by security. We arrived early afternoon and made it fairly easily to our hotel on the train. After dropping our bags we headed out for a look around Milano. We were quite impressed, possibly as we did not have huge expectations for Milan. After wandering around a nice park we headed to the main square and the Duomo Cathedral. This Cathedral was amazing. It is the largest gothic cathedral in the world and according to lonely planet it has 3400 statues, 135 spires and 155 gargoyles. The marble columns were massive and there were so many stain glass windows which were reflecting the setting sunlight onto the stone walls. Milano is known for its fashion and high end shopping. There were certainly some very nicely dressed people around the city. We headed to what is referred to as the Golden Quad which is a few city blocks of shopping streets, lined with brands so expensive that we didn’t recognize the names of many of them. “oohhh look that top is only 700 euro!” Feeling poor we ate spaghetti for dinner and then headed back to the hotel.
Our one full day in Milano we were up early and headed for a café/bar of croissants and coffee. Our plan for the morning was to organize our transport to Lake Como for the following day. We headed to the Central Station which wasn’t too far from our accommodation. However after a few hassles we found out that this was the wrong station. After a bit of a walk, that showed us some nice parts of Milano including pizza and coffee, another station that was not the correct one, we made it to the right place and bought our tickets.
Conveniently the station was just beside the Castello, which was next on our intinery. We started by having a rest in the gardens, the sun was out so it was quite relaxing. There was not a lot else to see, an arch at the back of the gardens, a courtyard in the castle and moat. We did not go inside which contained some galleries. Damien was excited as after we booked our flight to Milano, we realized that the Sunday we were there was going to be the final day of the Giro D’Italia, a 2 week cycling race. It was a 30km time trial which wound its way around the city to the finishing line in the main square by the Duomo. We spent the afternoon watching this from a few places, starting at the castle and ending up in a grandstand in the main square for the final riders and the presentation. While the winner was pretty much decided prior to the final day, it was still a good crowd and atmosphere.
After the presentation we wandered through the nice shops and a garden on our way back towards the hotel. We ate pizza in a pizzeria nearby and were impressed by the Italian guy next to us’ pizza which had tomato paste and French fries on it. The reason that we came to Milano was we were able to get cheap flights there from Greece, and we did not expect much from the city. We are pleased to say that we did really enjoy it here but were glad to be heading to Como tomorrow.

Mykonos

We think we are finally getting better at packing all our assorted belongings up. We had a slow breakfast; Damien has started brewing us Greek coffee, and then we were packed and ready to go. We were dropped off at the ferry about an hour early and then the super fast ferry was half an hour late! On Mykono’s we were once again picked up from the port and taken to our accommodation. After the Santorini debacle we decided to stay in the main port town, and not near the nicer beaches. The villa we stayed in turned out to be a bit out of town, but was within walking distance. Our hostess Maria was lovely, happy to help us out with a map, directions and some recommendations of things to see and do. She also arranged for a quad bike to be dropped to us at the hotel, however we had to ride it into town to pick up helmets that actually fit, and had to change the bike over the following day as it was not in very good condition. After a quick lap around town on the bike and a look at the famous windmills of Mykanos, we headed down the road to Ornos, where we watched the sunset and had dinner in a small restaurant by the sea. We enjoyed a local delicacy of squid stuffed with chunks of tomato, peppers and cheese, all cooked on the grill. Being motivated for a change, Damien was out of bed early and took the bike into town. Maria had mentioned that the fishing boats return in the morning and sell their catch on the docks. Unfortunately this was only partially true, it seemed like the boats must have stopped somewhere else, sold most of their catch to the restaurants and shops. What was left over was then bought around to the port on the back of a motorbike. There was only one type of fish, which made the choice quite easy I suppose, and a little more pricey than anticipated. Returning home Damien prepared breakfast and coffee before we headed into the main town Hora for an explore. The town is lovely, small houses and churches accessed through a tight and winding web of paths. It is touristy, lots of nice shops and also plenty of touristy shops. Christine bought a new bikini and Damien found a Mykonos t-shirt that he liked. There were also a number of Souvlaki shops, however we found one called ‘Jimmy’s’ and knew with a name like that, it must be good.
Our plan for the afternoon was to visit and laze on the beaches. We still attempted this, however the weather was not so nice so it wasn’t as we had hoped. After riding along the coast for a while we stopped in Ano Mera for a coffee and watched as heavy rain and a thunder storm arrived. After waiting for the rain to stop we continued along the coast to the baech called Lia. The good news is it was as nice as we had been hoping, and deserted, however the wind was quite strong meaning after bit of a walk we had to leave without a swim. We called it quits after Lia. Heading back home, so Damien could cook his fish, which was going to involve scaling and cleaning the fish, as the guy at the pier wouldn’t do this for us. It was a feast, fish cooked with garlic, vegetables, bread and tatziki. We had a bottle of wine and then finished off the cherry liquor we bought in Naxos, with the chocolate cake Christine had bought at the bakery. All of this was accompanied by a lightening display over the water, thanks to a series of thunderstorms that passed in the evening.
The following morning it was still raining. We stayed in bed. After a big sleep in, we took the bike out for one last spin and visited Paraga and Paradise beaches. Paraga beach in particular looked quite nice, although it was practically covered in sun lounges and umbrellas belonging to the bars and cafés on the water front. Again it was a bit chilly for a swim, and we were amused by the people trying to look like they were enjoying a beach holiday, lying on sun lounges, huddled for warmth and wearing thick jumpers. We considered visiting one last beach, Super Paradise! But figured it would be much of the same, and we were due to return the bike shortly. After dropping off the bike we had another walk around the old town and revisited Jimmy’s for a late lunch. Then it was time to head back to the hotel to get ready for Italy!

Greece: Wow is it really three weeks already since we left London? Greece has been amazing, better than we expected, and we had only heard good things! The beaches have been nice, the towns beautiful and the locals more than friendly! Who would have thought that we could eat so many souvlaki, and I think I might be sold on the whole potato chips in your souvlaki, contraversial, but not too bad! But wait a second, where is the Lamb? We did not see one Lamb Souvlaki, only chicken and pork...hmmm.

Naxos - Party Pension!

Ferry arrived at Naxos and were picked up from the port. The pension we had organized at a discounted rate over the internet, sent us to it’s sister hotel which was a bit strange and a bit disappointing when we realized it didn’t have breakfast. All was made better by the afternoon tea of olives, feta cheese and rose wine from a huge barrel. The room is very nice with a small balcony and kitchenette which is all we really need. We got talking to another Aussie, Anthony and decided after a quick, cool swim,to head down to the Temple of Apollo to watch sunset. The temple is on a small headland and has an impressive doorway which remains standing. After sunset we had a big Greek feed for dinner then headed home. We hired a car with Anthony the next morning to check out some of the small villages and archeological sites around the island. The first stop was to see a couple of Kouros. This should have been easy to find but we found very difficult thanks to the signage being rather confusing or nonexistent. After a few detours, short walks and river crossings we made it. The Kouros turned out to be very old giant marble statues of men. Next stop was the town of Halki which is famous for the production of a local spirit called Citron. The Vallindras Distillery still uses the equipment from 1896 to make the Citron so it is very interesting to see where it is produced. We tried the three different types of Citron as well as an Ozzo and Cherry wine they made. While we were in town we also visited the L’Olivier gallery which showed work by local artists. There was lots of beautiful pottery and jewellery as well as some amazing marble sculptures. By this stage we were getting pretty hungry so we into a very cool looking bar but all they could offer us was ham and cheese toasted sandwiches. The Baklava and coffee made up for the simple lunch. We then stopped off at one of Naxos’ many beaches Plaka. This was a beautiful stretch of fine white sand and crystal clear water, it was just a pity that it was a bit too late and chilly for a swim. It was then time to return the car and head back to the hotel for Yani’s, the owners, birthday party. We arrived back at the hotel and were told we were too late for all the food but would have to drink. This seems to be a favorite hobby of the island people we have met. It wasn’t long before we were both supplied plates full of greek salad and a few leftover meat skewers. The food, although cold was very good. We ate, drank and were merry for a while but jumped at the opportunity to go for a walk as we were slowly being smoked out by the locals. When we got back the party was still going, we think it had hit the 10 hour mark, and had a couple more drinks before everyone called it a night. The next morning Damien headed out for a quick swim as the hotel was only 20 meters from the beach. Much to our families delight the free Wifi at the hotel made it possible to have skype chats with everyone. It also meant it was a pretty slow start to the day but exactly what we needed. When we did finally get out of the hotel we headed up the hill to the old town. This was a maze of small, twisting alley ways, low archways and stairs leading to painted doors. It was fun to get lost then try to find our way out again. Apparently it was designed this way so that invading pirates would get confused and loose their way making them easier to defeat. It was then time to get organized, next lot of accommodation, food for breakfast and ferry tickets. Jobs completed it was then time to laze on the beach, not a bad day. Naxos is a popular island due to it beaches. Today’s task was to get on a public bus, find a beach and not move much for the rest of the day. We did exceedingly well at this task. We caught the bus to Agia Anna, found a nice spot, swam, read our books, reapplied sunscreen and that was about it. We hadn’t intended to do as much sightseeing as we have on the Greek Islands as we were hoping to actually have a relaxing time and this is the first time we have actually succeeded. We headed back to the hotel, had showers and prepared to head out for tea but were persuaded by Yani’s and his friends to stay, drink, eat and dance, Greek style. It was a very funny night but when a couple of German girls, Lisa and Melinda suggested we go for ice cream we couldn’t say no. It turns out the girls were supposed to be camping at one of the other beach areas tonight, but when they got there the place was empty. They then returned to the hotel to stay a couple of nights, but there were none available, meaning they will be sleeping on the rooftop balcony tonight. Hopefully it doesn’t rain.
Ooops, shouldn’t have said that, sorry girls. It was windy and did rain a bit last night so our two German friends on the roof didn’t sleep so well!

Santorini

I could really get used to the Greek way of doing things. All the hotels have port pickups which makes it so much easier especially with all our stuff and the narrow winding streets. We were mobbed by people trying to sell us accommodation at the port so it was nice to see the name of our accommodation waiting for us. We hadn’t realized it yet but Perissa, the area we are staying in was not our favourite part of the island. Our accommodation was cheap, but ok, if not a bit funny. It was a 2-storey apartment with tiny kitchen and bathroom on the lower level and a small bedroom upstairs. We lazed around at the hotel, and went for a walk around town. The reason we choose Perissa is that it is on the beach side of the island. We were not overly impressed by the beach, especially after seeing so many great beaches yesterday. Perissa beach has no sand, rather small pebbles, and it is black. As if that wasn’t bad enough there was earth moving equipment driving up and down the beach moving large rocks around. The front of the beach is dotted with cafés all with sun lounges and umbrellas on the beach. We had a paddle in the water and then returned to our room for dinner. Next day we hired a quad bike from the son of the hotel owner. The hotel (John and Katerina’s Hotel) was nice and they were friendly, but there sons business next door was a bit shifty. Firstly despite staying in the hotel, they made us pay for wifi, they told us that the small supermarket next door (probably another family member’s) was cheaper than the big one down the street, which it wasn’t as we had suspected, and the bike they hired us was old, slow and struggled to make it up the hills.
Nethertheless we did make it up to the monastery and then up the biggest hill on the mountain to an ancient village remains. The ruins were very cool, unlike many ruins which are often only the foundations of one or two buildings, this was in fact a whole town. There were hundreds of buildings, lane ways, squares, a theater and preserved carvings and even an intact 6th century BC church. We had a late lunch in Kamari where again we got taken for a ride. We ordered a couple of cheap takeaway souvlaki’s but somehow ended up eating in, and getting more expensive meat plates. The food was good, but we were still a bit annoyed. After lunch and a walk along the beach we headed to Thira, which is the main town on Santorini. This was when we realized we had stuffed up, and were on the wrong side of the island. Thira is amazing, one of the most beautiful towns we have visited, reminding us of the Cinque Terra in Italy. Thira is built on the side of sheer cliffs that drop steeply into the bay. The whole island is actually a volcano crater, so the cliffs are various layers of volcanic rock. The villages are like postcards, with tight winding lanes, white buildings and blue domed churches. We didn’t stay long as daylight was running out and we wanted to visit Oia for sunset. Again we were a bit short on time here in a village very similar to Thira, narrow laneways and white buildings perched atop the volcanic cliffs. We found a good viewing spot and enjoyed a Frappe as the sunset. It is not peak tourist season yet but there were still a lot of people about, it would be very busy come July and August.
After the ride home, which took ages on our little bike, we grabbed a souvlaki from the place down the road. I think the best bit about where we are staying is that there is a 24hr bakery and good cheap souvlaki shop just down the road!
Next morning we headed back to Thira, our plan of hitting the beach delayed by wanting to explore the narrow laneways. We parked the bike near the main square and headed up the hill. The area we had been in yesterday had a huge volcanic rock formation jutting 200m out from the sheer cliffs. The walk to this took us past blue roofed churches with views of the volcano in the middle of the bay. We also got to see some very nice hotels and pensions, many with pools and spas overlooking the bay. We walked out onto the rocks, which surprisingly at the very end, had a tiny little church. Over the next week or so we started to get used to the concept of tiny Greek churches in the most inaccessible locations imaginable. The rest of the afternoon was most unusual and frustrating! Wandering through the laneways Christine suddenly had to run off to find a toilet, nothing serious, just too much coffee in the morning. It then somehow took us 3 hours to find each other. Damien waited where she had left him, while she waited back at the bike. After an hour Damien walked up the road to the bike in case she was there, but Christine had taken the laneways back into town. Heading back into town Damien grabbed lunch in the main square which was where we were headed next anyway. Then it was back to the spot where we had last seen each other and finally back to the bike where we found each other! Our time in Thira just wasn’t meant to be. Christine had a late lunch and we headed to the red beach. After a coffee and relax in a seaside café it was time to head to the lighthouse at the southern tip of the island for sunset. Christine had quite a successful shot at riding the quad bike, I think she is coming around to letting Damien get a bike back in Melbourne. Sunset was better than the previous night. There was only a handful of people and a clear view of the sun hitting the water, although it was nice having the white buildings in the foreground last night. Another souvlaki near home and a few beers were a good finish to a strange day. Our final day on Santorini we took a boat cruise to the small volcano in the middle of the bay. Again we booked through the place next to the hotel, and soon wished we hadn’t. It didn’t end up too bad, but after heaps of pickups in the bus we were on the boat, for some more pickups. We were on the boat early and got seats, but after the last pick up the boat was so full that some people didn’t have seats. On the volcano we had to wait for everyone (easily over 100 people) to pay the entry fee. This was good in some ways as a lot of the people walked of to start climbing the volcano. There was only one guide, who had to speak in multiple languages. We stopped 2 or 3 times on the climb with the guide giving different talks at each point, despite the big crowds he did do a good job. There are theories that the story of the lost city of Atlantis is based on Santorini. He also gave the history of the volcano’s eruptions and how Santorinin is thought to have looked hundreds of years ago.
The next stop on the tour was another island to swim in hot springs. This was fun but jumping from the boat into the cold water to swim to the warm water was tough! This time of the year the hot springs are only warm, but still about 10 deg warmer than the sea water. After a mud bath we swam back to the boat for our last stop on another island for lunch. We had a quick souvlaki before walking up to the top of town, which again is high up on volcanic cliffs. The tour finished as it had begun, with heaps of drop offs in different ports around Santorini. The ferry from Santorini to Naxos was an early afternoon ferry, which meant that we had the morning to look around Perissa. Since the first afternoon we hadn’t spent much time here. We wandered along the beach again and then visited the local souvlaki shop for one last time. Then it was time to head to the port.