Santorini Day 2: the mad dash around the island

Being the person with the fancy SLR camera and the artistic tendencies, it turns out that while I photograph many scenes, candids of people, nature, etc, that something is missing. I am never in any photo. So, I contacted Nikos at https://santophototour.com/ to remedy this. We had not had any decent pictures taken of us since the wedding, and we are starting to feel a bit older, so this was a great way to preserve the moment in a gorgeous place.

Niko picked us up at the hotel at 8:30a to head first to Oia, the most photographed location on the island due to its orientation of white houses and blue domes on a steep cliffside. If you are able to catch the town early before the tourists emerge from their boutique suites, it's like taking a trip back in time. He gave us some basic information about the town, people, the odd flying dress photo shoot we saw on many rooftops (which, the dress isn't really flying...theres a lady at the back of the train whipping it around so the pictures look like the dress has wings).

Next we went to Imerovigli, a lovely smaller village in the middle of the caldera rim. We will go back to Imerovigli on another day as well. The blue domes, the perfect white houses dug into the cliff, it's almost like cheating it is so easy to make a picture look decent. Nikos, however, presented us with stunning photos from all locations. Truly money well spent in my opinion, although Tim still contends that this was very weird and self absorbed thing to do. But whatever, he looks good in them too.

Nikos was nice enough to drop us off at his friends restaurant for lunch as well, a lovely place on the caldera called Rastoni before our next adventure. Pictures with a private photographer in one of the most picturesque locations is not cheap, but completely 100% worth it in my humble opinion!

Our bellies were still a bit funky from the travel, but we ordered several mouthwatering starters to get things rolling. Grilled octopus in a tapenade over fresh greek fava (split pea hummous), bruschetta with the biggest capers I have ever seen. Perfect brunchy start to the day.

Then we rested a bit, right? WRONG.

I had hired a car service for the day so we could literally see the whole island in one day. Specifically so we could decide which things were must dos. If you are able, a driver will cost several hundred dollars, but they are locals who know what to show you and it is totally worth it. Theodore was a quite guy but full of interesting tid bits. Things we learned

1. the main varietal of grape is assyrtiko, a small white wine grape that thrives in the near desert climate. Because it gets so hot there in the summer months, the vines are managed in a unique way to prevent the plant from burning and allow the dew to get trapped and slow evaporation. So, they arrange the vines close to the ground like baskets to protect the whole vine and grapes from the elements.

2. Pistachios grow on trees and theres a lot of them in Greece. You can eat them off the tree

3. Pomegranates also grow on trees and are good for food, some medical salves, dye for clothes.

4. Capers are everywhere; you can eat them AND their leaves once brined

We visited Akrotiri, an ancient village with impressive ruins, the lighthouse beyond that (you can see the entire caldera from here), and a tiny town called Megalachori which is just a perfect hilly town with narrow cobblestone lanes, cave homes, and a castle. Additionally, we drove up to the Monastery at the highest point of the island for views, wine, capers with the monks at their store.

Once it started nearing sunset, he suggested a trip to Santo Wines which was near our hotel. This is a big establishment with a chapel and wedding venue as well as one of the best sunset views possible. The tasting of 12 wines was lovely, and true to the stories, the sunset was outstanding. We also watched a wedding ceremony that ended in fireworks (seems dangerous to me but hey, to each her own).

Finally, to end the evening, our driver dropped us off in Oia at a restaurant called Ambrosia which a blogger named Santorini Dave also mentioned. By the way, thank you Santorini Dave for all of the information on your blog as it was super helpful!

I did not take food pics at Ambrosia, but it was overwhelmingly lovely on the rooftop, eating octopus appetizers, lobster risotto, and a delicate sea bass with pistachio cream and an artichoke puree. Drool. And, save room for dessert, for real. We then retired to the hotel after a little taxi drama but the hotel sent their preferred company to get us.