Family of 5 just back from Italy and Greece
Oct 9th, 2006, 07:12 AM
#41
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Hey Anamaria - looking forward to the rest of your trip report! Because of you, I'm now thinking of staying at Astra for our trip next year. We have stayed in Oia on previous trips but i like the different view of the island from Astra, especially the rock!
Oct 9th, 2006, 09:11 AM
#42
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Thanks Ally Pally, Yes the Astra was marvelous. I can't think of one thing that was bad at the Astra. I really enjoyed the breakfasts in the morning. My 17 yr old and I would go on a run up the "Rock" ( it has a name), just can't remember the name. Anyway we would go up the rock at the very end he would climb up to the top, which can be done. I did not do it. It was quite a work out. The whole run climb thing would take us about 40 minutes. 1 hour if you were walking. My husband couldn't go because he had broken his toe in MYK at one of the beaches. Be careful when walking in a beach you never know where a rock will be lurking. Anyway he did not tell anyone about his toe until we were in Santorini and he said he had to pass on the run/walk/climb to the "Rock". We were exhausted after those workouts. My son was determined to keep up his workouts on this trip, which he did. I was really impressed he could do it. His big brother(college boy) could not believe it also.There were some people at the Astra who did the walk from the Astra all the way to IA.I know the path from Fira to Ia is about 6 miles and follows the edge of the caldera. It is such a beautiful walk and better if you do it at sunset. Make sure you bring your camera. It is also quite a workout. From the Astra to IA it is about 1 1/2 hour fast walk....maybe two hours.
I just looked in my notes ,that rock is called Skaros. It has a trail that winds around the rock and goes all the way to the bottom. My son and I did not run all the way to the bottom. On the other side was this little church. I explored one morning without my son and found that the trail winds around and the cliffs are of a glassy black volcanic rock. It is beautiful. It seems that Imerovigli is situated at the perfect spot in between Fira and Ia..closer to Fira. We rented a car like we did in Mykonos and explored the island one day. We went to the Red Sand beach called (Paralia Kokkini). The entire beach is red made from small red volcanic pebbles. Lil B and I bought some jewelry from the local lady on the side of the hill. I bought some beautiful shell earrings and bracelets. Lil B got a beautiful necklace and a bracelet. It was busy there at the side of the hill. At one moment with all of these different ethnicities talking to her. She asked my daughter to watch her jewelry while she climbed up the side of the hill to go to the bathroom behind a rock. Before Lil B could say anything she took off with us looking after her jewels. All of these people were talking to my daughter in different languages asking her about the jewels. French,German,Italian and Greek languages were asking her about the jewels. It was so funny. Thank Goodness she finally came back. It was strange how she picked my daughter to watch over her entire livelihood. I took a picture of the Bohemian lady drinking a bottle of water on the side of the hill.
I have included some pictures of the Astra(first few pics) then of the Red Sand beach with the Bohemian drinking water and two pictures which I will pick for our Christmas picture. The last few pictures are of the Astra at night. In fact I picked one of those as my desktop picture. The Astra at night was so beautiful. If I had the right camera it would be even better.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lakerfan384/AstraAndRedSand
I just looked in my notes ,that rock is called Skaros. It has a trail that winds around the rock and goes all the way to the bottom. My son and I did not run all the way to the bottom. On the other side was this little church. I explored one morning without my son and found that the trail winds around and the cliffs are of a glassy black volcanic rock. It is beautiful. It seems that Imerovigli is situated at the perfect spot in between Fira and Ia..closer to Fira. We rented a car like we did in Mykonos and explored the island one day. We went to the Red Sand beach called (Paralia Kokkini). The entire beach is red made from small red volcanic pebbles. Lil B and I bought some jewelry from the local lady on the side of the hill. I bought some beautiful shell earrings and bracelets. Lil B got a beautiful necklace and a bracelet. It was busy there at the side of the hill. At one moment with all of these different ethnicities talking to her. She asked my daughter to watch her jewelry while she climbed up the side of the hill to go to the bathroom behind a rock. Before Lil B could say anything she took off with us looking after her jewels. All of these people were talking to my daughter in different languages asking her about the jewels. French,German,Italian and Greek languages were asking her about the jewels. It was so funny. Thank Goodness she finally came back. It was strange how she picked my daughter to watch over her entire livelihood. I took a picture of the Bohemian lady drinking a bottle of water on the side of the hill.
I have included some pictures of the Astra(first few pics) then of the Red Sand beach with the Bohemian drinking water and two pictures which I will pick for our Christmas picture. The last few pictures are of the Astra at night. In fact I picked one of those as my desktop picture. The Astra at night was so beautiful. If I had the right camera it would be even better.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lakerfan384/AstraAndRedSand
Oct 11th, 2006, 05:31 PM
#46
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Thanks. I figure I will just jump to Athens. I thought everyone must be getting sick of this report by now. The only thing left in Santorini that I have not reported on was the last night. And I wasn't there. My DH and the young men were"hit upon" by 4 Swiss women. They went after DH first then concentrated on the young studs. Just think the one night I don't join the group.Lil B stayed back with me. Anyway I will jump to Athens tomorrow!
Oct 12th, 2006, 10:26 PM
#47
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Santorini was fabulous. If I was to do it over again I would have skipped Mykonos and stayed the 6 days in
Santorini. Mykonos is more of a party town and we did not let the college boy take his younger brother to go out all night and then sleep all day. He can do that on his dime. We did so much during the day the boys were exhausted to even go out at night. We would eat late, walk back to the hotel and go to sleep. Is this the way it is with everyone....eat late? We could never get it together to eat before 8 p.m.
Our trip back to Athens had a few problems. When we got on our plane that was delayed(Olympic) , the flight was full. Our entire family was the last row(5) 3 2 configuration. That was o.k. Well the last person on was a mom and her son. The son had a epileptic seizure the night before. The little boy(2) was sleeping in her arms. The mother looked exhausted. There were no more seats on the plane. I told the boys to get up and let her sit there with the little boy lying down. We stayed on the tarmac for 1 hour in the intense heat with no air conditioning. I kept thinking what is wrong with flight attendants can't they see this little boy is sick? My sons sat in the hallway of this prop plane, mind you the boys are 6'4'' and 6'2'. Finally because it seemed that everyone was stuck I told the boys walk around and see if they missed a seat that nobody has seen. Well guess what ? 17 yr old found a seat in the middle and college boy found one also further up in the plane in the middle. O.K. we could take off....what was wrong with these flight attendants if they couldn't place two more people , and ,there were seats. Then they had a fit at take off, the kid had to be seat (belted in).The flight arrived into Athens from Santorini 2 hours late. I could not get mad just sad for that poor mother and her son. Can you imagine having a medical nightmare like that far from home? The mother looked exhausted.
Santorini. Mykonos is more of a party town and we did not let the college boy take his younger brother to go out all night and then sleep all day. He can do that on his dime. We did so much during the day the boys were exhausted to even go out at night. We would eat late, walk back to the hotel and go to sleep. Is this the way it is with everyone....eat late? We could never get it together to eat before 8 p.m.
Our trip back to Athens had a few problems. When we got on our plane that was delayed(Olympic) , the flight was full. Our entire family was the last row(5) 3 2 configuration. That was o.k. Well the last person on was a mom and her son. The son had a epileptic seizure the night before. The little boy(2) was sleeping in her arms. The mother looked exhausted. There were no more seats on the plane. I told the boys to get up and let her sit there with the little boy lying down. We stayed on the tarmac for 1 hour in the intense heat with no air conditioning. I kept thinking what is wrong with flight attendants can't they see this little boy is sick? My sons sat in the hallway of this prop plane, mind you the boys are 6'4'' and 6'2'. Finally because it seemed that everyone was stuck I told the boys walk around and see if they missed a seat that nobody has seen. Well guess what ? 17 yr old found a seat in the middle and college boy found one also further up in the plane in the middle. O.K. we could take off....what was wrong with these flight attendants if they couldn't place two more people , and ,there were seats. Then they had a fit at take off, the kid had to be seat (belted in).The flight arrived into Athens from Santorini 2 hours late. I could not get mad just sad for that poor mother and her son. Can you imagine having a medical nightmare like that far from home? The mother looked exhausted.
Oct 13th, 2006, 08:49 AM
#48
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OMG prop plane? I am taking an Agean flight. I wonder if these are prop planes also? Does anyone know? I booked Santorini Athens Rhodes separately but they are the same flights I would have taken had I booked them as one trip. I hope the delay factor is not going to be a problem.
I have enjoyed your reports and photos.
I have enjoyed your reports and photos.
Oct 13th, 2006, 12:38 PM
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milliebez, the prop plane was totally safe and sound. Our problem was the delay waiting on the tarmac. It was just our luck that it happened to us but these things happen when you travel and you have to relax. I will say I am a nervous flyer, and my DH at once was a pilot but has not been able to keep up his license because of how busy our family is.....anyway he is always trying to calm me. That was the first thing I asked ,is this prop plane safe enough?Waiting on the plane was unbearable in the heat.Have fun in Greece you are so lucky to be going!!!
e, Thank you for your comments about our family.
ATHENS
When we finally arrived in Athens we were picked up by two Mercedes sedans that our Travel Agent Bonty Escallon with Classic Vacation had secured us. It was cheaper than a taxi..or just around the same price which was expensive. It is an hour drive and I know there are other ways to do this route(airport to hotel)
The new Venizelos(Athens airport is new. It is a large, modern facility with shopping, restaurants and lots of restrooms. The only bad thing is the trek from Athens to Venizelos. In retrospect it is the same trek we take from Newport Beach to LAX. I know the metro goes from the airport to Athens and of course you can take a taxi...but be careful. Get a price before you step into the taxi.
The weather in Athens was HOT. The hottest we felt the entire trip. In fact we were there in a heatwave. The weather that day was 104 degrees. I thought I was going to die.
When our transportation finally got to our hotel"Grande Bretagne) and we walked into the hotel, the wave of cold air hitting my face was glorious. I wanted to sing, but I'm terrible.
The Hotel Grande Bretagne was magnificent(not better than the Astra). It was elegant and beautiful. It just had a 100 million dollar renovation, and it shows. The changes preserved certain things like the Arts lobby.Also there are indoor and outdoor swimming pools. We had two rooms side by side , with a view of the Acropolis.Our travel agent came to greet us and brought her husband Rizos and her beautiful 21 yr old daughter. We had a drink with them in the lobby. The hotel was just marvelous............and expensive. I realized two nights here was just enough or we would be broke before we left. Our boys were hungry when we got there and after eating cup after cup of nuts at the bar they said they wanted to order service or go to the restaurant in the hotel. My husband looking at a menu said I think we can do better than a 15.00 hamburger. Let's go outside. I did not go. I would rather starve than melt in the heat. It was also around three in the afternoon. Lil B stayed back also.She does not do well in extreme heat.
While they were gone I became nervous because I did not have anything planned that night in Athens..Oh,Oh what will I do. I will have to connect my computer and check on FODORS...and you guys came through, Yeah!! I popped on the fodors site and guess who came up to tell me what to do in a thread listed a while back? You guessed it Brotherleelove. Here is the thread. http://fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2
e, Thank you for your comments about our family.
ATHENS
When we finally arrived in Athens we were picked up by two Mercedes sedans that our Travel Agent Bonty Escallon with Classic Vacation had secured us. It was cheaper than a taxi..or just around the same price which was expensive. It is an hour drive and I know there are other ways to do this route(airport to hotel)
The new Venizelos(Athens airport is new. It is a large, modern facility with shopping, restaurants and lots of restrooms. The only bad thing is the trek from Athens to Venizelos. In retrospect it is the same trek we take from Newport Beach to LAX. I know the metro goes from the airport to Athens and of course you can take a taxi...but be careful. Get a price before you step into the taxi.
The weather in Athens was HOT. The hottest we felt the entire trip. In fact we were there in a heatwave. The weather that day was 104 degrees. I thought I was going to die.
When our transportation finally got to our hotel"Grande Bretagne) and we walked into the hotel, the wave of cold air hitting my face was glorious. I wanted to sing, but I'm terrible.
The Hotel Grande Bretagne was magnificent(not better than the Astra). It was elegant and beautiful. It just had a 100 million dollar renovation, and it shows. The changes preserved certain things like the Arts lobby.Also there are indoor and outdoor swimming pools. We had two rooms side by side , with a view of the Acropolis.Our travel agent came to greet us and brought her husband Rizos and her beautiful 21 yr old daughter. We had a drink with them in the lobby. The hotel was just marvelous............and expensive. I realized two nights here was just enough or we would be broke before we left. Our boys were hungry when we got there and after eating cup after cup of nuts at the bar they said they wanted to order service or go to the restaurant in the hotel. My husband looking at a menu said I think we can do better than a 15.00 hamburger. Let's go outside. I did not go. I would rather starve than melt in the heat. It was also around three in the afternoon. Lil B stayed back also.She does not do well in extreme heat.
While they were gone I became nervous because I did not have anything planned that night in Athens..Oh,Oh what will I do. I will have to connect my computer and check on FODORS...and you guys came through, Yeah!! I popped on the fodors site and guess who came up to tell me what to do in a thread listed a while back? You guessed it Brotherleelove. Here is the thread. http://fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2
Oct 13th, 2006, 01:06 PM
#52
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I cannot find the thread probably because it is so old. But Thank You brotherlee for setting up our first night. brotherlee said in his thread to go to Kolonaki and take the funicular railway up to MT.Likavitos and enjoy the view and have dinner there. You can see from Mt.Likavitos the entire metropolitan area and everything around. We ate at the elegant restaurant and had a wonderful time. It was around 88 degrees so it was still pretty hot.If yoou don't want to eat at the elegant restaurant you can eat at a snack bar and enjoy the view that way. If I was alone with DH I would have brought a bottle of wine and some cheese and bread to enjoy. This restaurant which I cannot remember the name but I will and post the name, had great food but it was so expensive. Athens was turning out to be the most expensive city so far.
Oct 13th, 2006, 04:32 PM
#54
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Texas ..I wish we were back there also. I am going to post our pictures of Athens. Also one of the pictures I took a photo of the name of restaurant at the top of Likavitos.The last picture is of the Acropolis or I should say Parthenon at night. We were at a restaurant that Bretagne recommended and it had great views of the city.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lakerfan384/ATHENS
http://picasaweb.google.com/lakerfan384/ATHENS
