Santorini in three words: sun, sleep & (great) food

Here I sit, in London’s business district, flanked on one side by the monumental St Paul’s Cathedral and on the other by London’s star-bright West End. Some might say they envy where I am right now, I mean it’s even sunny in ol’ Londontown today, but all I wish for right this moment is to be back in Santorini. Even in London’s sunshine, it just doesn’t compare.

I mean, there are no donkeys in London!

Anyway, as I wallow in the depths of post-best-beach-holiday-ever-depression contemplating the pulpy mess I might create should I take the metaphorical gun and shoot my metaphorical self (pulpy? Do humans even do pulpy? Or have I been watching too much True Blood?) I decided that the best cure to any ailment is to face my fears.

And my fears right now? Sifting through the 300 photos I took last week and facing the God-awful truth that I am no longer lazing on the beach/pool/deck and am rather now sitting in a stale, air conditioned office, wearing my trousers which are undeniably much tighter this week than they were last week.

Sigh. It’s a tough gig, but the truth must be faced.

Anyway, because I really did take over 300 photos, and also because I am a true believer that an image speaks a thousand words, I’m going to relinquish the story telling in this post and hand y’all over to my trusty Canon s90 camera…

View from Family Taverna, Kamari – our first lunch and one of our favourites

Mythos beer in super frosted beer glass at Family Taverna

Iconic architecture in Fira

Panu and I in Fira

A Greek salad overlooking the Greek Islands. There is no other way to live.

“Our milkshakes bring all the…”… yeah

White-washed buildings in Fira. I want to live here.

Oia by night

Chilled fruit juices in Fira

Fried calamari ~ 6 out of 6 days, baby.

Looking at the calderra

Adorable donkey! I want one!

The calderra (volcano) ie. a big pile of rocks

Sun starting to set in Fira

The famous sunset ~ magical and sublime

Best Moussaka on the island at Naoussa Tavern, Fira

Heading up to the Thira Ruins

On top of the world in the Old Thira ruins

Prickly mofo impaled my big toe

Slow cooked lamb at God’s Garden, Perissa Beach

Sunset at Amoudi Bay (Oia)

Fried zucchini (courgette) at Sunset Tavern, Amoudi Bay

Flip flops on Kamari Beach (damn pebbles)

Ok, so I could totally post another 288 photos, but at some point I just need to stop my trigger happy fingers.

One thing I like to do though, in my travel posts, is to share with you guys my restaurant recommendations. Usually this comes with a restaurant name, address, phone number and a website if they have it. Now what totally shat (control freak) me about Santorini is that places don’t have addresses. They just DON’T. And don’t ask me how they get their mail because that totally beats me! Their addresses read something like “Acqua Vatos Hotel, Central Street in Kamari”.

So, here are my restaurant recommendations and best of luck finding them!

Kamari

Family Taverna, on the beach front slightly to the south of where the central road in Kamari meets the esplanade. Best Greek salad we had, with creamy smooth feta. Also the best fried calamari and potato chips, and according to the boys, the best frosted beer glasses on the island. Our favourite.

Oia

Sunset Tavern in Amoudi Bay, this one’s easy, just drive all the way down to Amoudi Bay and it’s the last restaurant on the end. This is a seafood restaurant and probably pricier than any old tavern but the food is fresh and the ambience is magical at sunset.

Melevia Cafe Patisserie, on the main sunset esplanade of Oia, selling homemade Greek sweets and the most gargantuan slice of baklava I’ve ever seen.

Avoid Kasteli Tavern, though it looks like a nice traditional tavern, the food is bland and servings are tiny! We were bitten

Fira

Naoussa Tavern, not on the main sunset esplanade of Fira, but about two “lane ways” back, parallel to the esplanade.  Recommended to us by some friends, this tavern is family run and makes the best moussaka on the island.

Perissa

God’s Garden, slightly off the main drag on a street adjacent to the beach. A little humid without the seabreeze but their slow cooked lamb more than makes up for that.

We managed to eat about five main meals a day in Santorini, starting with breakfast at our hotel, Acqua Vatos. Our meals were then supplemented with numerous ice creams and milk shakes everyday because… well, it’s hot. And we’re on holidays. And I love Snickers ice cream bars.

We ate so much that by the last day, we weren’t even hungry anymore. Do you know how insane that is? It’s CRA-ZEE.

Anyway, now I’m back, back to reality and struggling to un-love this beautiful island that I’ve just gone and fallen in love with so quickly. The only thing motivating me to do any work is that I have my boss on my ass and I need this job to pay for more (more! yes, more!) trips to anywhere but here.

ps. We had a car and travelled all over the island from tip to tip, side to side. Each area of the island is quite different so if you’re planning on going there, drop me a line and I might be able to point you in the right direction.

pps. And I might come with you.

ppps. If you want to see some more (mainly silly) photos, check out my facebook.