July 3- 8 Santorini
Mom and Dad,
Wen leaving Athens, we had to be up at 5:30 in the morning to make our 7:30 ferry to Santorini. We woke up, gathered our things, and walked to the scary square where protesters had blocked traffic in front of the Parliament building, and were still up from the night before. Don't worry, we walked fast, caught our train and boarded the ferry. This is the part where you cheer, because we made it out of Athens alive :) The ferry was less a ferry and more a cruise ship. It was HUGE! Our seats were couches with a table and chairs, windows were all around, there were waiters serving anything you could think of, and on board was a store, a cafe, a burger place, and an outdoor deck. It's a good thing it was comfortable, because, it took eight hours to get to Santorini. We stopped at the islands of Paros and Naxos on our way to let off other passengers, and finally we approached Santorini, which is surrounded by cliffs on all sides. It is BEAUTIFUL, but unlike any place I have ever been. The island is dry, barren, and hilly. It reminds me of the Caprock. It has little vegetation, other than vineyards, which must grow in dry soil. It is windy, but the wind is blocked from the beach by the cliffs which have been formed by volcanic eruptions. The most beautiful part of the island, other than the crystal clear water, is the architecture. The stark white houses with blue shutters, and white churches with blue domes, make this place truly unique. When we stepped off the ferry, we were greeted by men trying to rent us rooms, cabs, and cars. It was insane trying to find the "local bus," but we found them by doing what we have learned to do, following the crowd. The view off of the cliffs as we rode the bus to the beach was incredible. As luck would have it, we happened upon our hotel, when we decided to jump off of the bus at a random stop. It is really nice. We have a large room with our own bathroom and living area. It has been GREAT to take a shower without someone knocking on the door or waiting impatiently outside. Last night we basically threw our things into the room and sprinted to the beach. The beach is a black sand beach, which is mostly pebbles and rocks. It is actually really pretty and it is a relief not to have to shake sand out of everything when we get ready to leave. The water is as clear as glass. You can see right through it, to the schools of fish right under your feet. Cody has really enjoyed his goggles. :) He LOVES swimming and exploring. I think he feels at one with the fish ;) Last night we had dinner at a sea side restaurant. I ate Moussaka, another Greek dish. Haha, I'm trying to cover all my bases. Cody, tired of trying new things, chose grilled chicken, but he did finish my weird meat pie and veggies meal. We also had another Greek Salad :) We slept well last night. The bed is comfy and we have air conditioning. We woke up this morning, had the breakfast buffet, which is included in our stay, and headed to the beach again. We were there from 9:00 to 5:00. It was SO relaxing. The circles under my eyes have grown smaller, and my skin a bit more pink. Cody hasn't perfected the art of sunscreen yet, so his back looks like a piece of modern art with red and white streaks running all over it. Haha. We plan on finding some more delicious Greek food tonight, and relaxing in the shade. The path next to the beach is covered in restaurants and shops. It is a great place to walk and explore. We think we may rent a scooter tomorrow and explore the island. Haha. That will be an adventure for sure. Tomorrow is our anniversary. I am hoping to have dinner in the little village of Oia, and watch the sunset. It is supposed to be the most beautiful in the world :) We will see. We might just hang out on the beach! I love and miss you both, and we can't wait to be home! I hope everything is good there, have you heard anything about the house? Are you feeling okay, Mom? Keep us informed! See you soon.
Love,
Emily and Cody
Hey Mom and Dad,
This should be our final update. We are sad that our trip is coming to an end, but REALLY excited to be coming home. We miss home and you guys SO much. Yesterday, we woke up, had our breakfast, and hit the beach again. We laid back and napped for the most part, but Cody got some snorkeling in :) It is pretty wild here. Women lay around without their tops, but don't anyone get excited, most of them are up there in age. After four days here, it has become pretty normal to us. haha. After spending the morning, and part of the afternoon on the beach, we paid for a bus to take us to the village of Oia (pronounced Ia). This is a village on the edge of the Caldera, which is the crater formed when the volcano erupted, which formed Santorini. Oia is very high on the edge of a cliff and is littered with those blue domed churches and windmills which make up the pages of those calenders you guys always buy me for Christmas. It was quite a hike to the edge of the village, but we made it to the top and had pina coladas poolside while enjoying the view. Then we chose a restaurant with a great view of the sunset and had dinner. The sunset was truly beautiful. Hundreds of people flock into Oia daily to see the sun go down. We took lots of pictures! After the sunset, we made our way back to Kamari. It was a great day. We saw a lot of the island, and had a wonderful anniversary dinner. This morning, we woke up and attempted to rent a scooter, apparently we don't look capable of driving a scooter, so they made us rent something with four wheels. Not really, they only let Americans who have their motorcycle license drive scooters. Cody, had never driven a four-wheeler, so he got all nervous, but I told him not to worry, that I kind of grew up on one. He did a FANTASTIC job, except for randomly and incessantly honking the horn. I was scared he was going to make some Greek Islander angry, and they would throw us off of the edge of the cliff. We drove ALL over the island looking kind of goofy because Cody insisted we wear our helmets. This four-wheeler was automatic and would drive really fast! We rode through several small villages on our way to The Red Beach. The Red Beach is just that, red. It has formed in the shadow of a huge red cliff which makes the rocks and sand red as it deteriorates. It was NOT easy to find, but we had fun exploring. Our first wrong turn lead us to what had to be the highest point on the island. At the tip-top of this cliff was an ancient church. The view from here was unbelievable. You could see the WHOLE island! Driving up this hill was scary; I kept getting nauseated every time I looked down because I am a control freak, and I had ZERO control over the situation. There was NO railing and the road was winding and narrow. I had to trust Cody not to kill us on a vehicle he had never driven before. He didn't kill us, but we eventually realized that straight up was not the way to the beach, so after running out of road we turned around and made it to The Red Beach. You have to park and hike a little way to the beach, but it was worth it. It is unlike any beach either of us has ever seen. We rented chairs and umbrellas, and laid out and swam for a few hours. On the hike out of the beach, Cody lost his goggles :( We, especially Cody, are sad about that. Anyway, we rode on, on our little blue four-wheeler, in our huge goofy helmets, to Perissa, a beach town much like Kamari, where we are staying. This beach was most like the beaches we have in the States. It was sandy, but the sand was black. We took a dip, shopped around, had pina coladas :), and then moved on to Fira. This is the capitol of Santorini. It also has a great view of the volcano and the ocean, and lots of shopping. We walked around, shopped some, and then came back to Kamari. We had dinner at a cafe alongside the beach, and now we are going to shower and sleep :) We don't leave tomorrow until four which puts us in Athens at midnight. The good thing about that is that we get to spend the morning on the beach :) Cody and I have decided that of all the places we have been, we would DEFINITELY come back here, and we think you guys should vacation here too. Some things I forgot to mention include the following: stray dogs and cats roam free ALL over Athens and Santorini, Europe is much more pet friendly in general than America, we saw a ferret on a leash in Paris, we had a croissant and a cappuccino every morning for breakfast in Rome because our hotel sent us to a cafe with a voucher, we have eaten a Greek Salad with every meal since we came to Greece, and we have washed our clothes in the sink several times and we will not smell good when we get into your car at the airport. We will be home sooooo soon! We have many miles to go before we sleep! I can't wait to see ya'll! I also HAVE to know what's going on with the house, HAVE to! Love you both see you soon!
Emily and Cody
Mom and Dad,
Wen leaving Athens, we had to be up at 5:30 in the morning to make our 7:30 ferry to Santorini. We woke up, gathered our things, and walked to the scary square where protesters had blocked traffic in front of the Parliament building, and were still up from the night before. Don't worry, we walked fast, caught our train and boarded the ferry. This is the part where you cheer, because we made it out of Athens alive :) The ferry was less a ferry and more a cruise ship. It was HUGE! Our seats were couches with a table and chairs, windows were all around, there were waiters serving anything you could think of, and on board was a store, a cafe, a burger place, and an outdoor deck. It's a good thing it was comfortable, because, it took eight hours to get to Santorini. We stopped at the islands of Paros and Naxos on our way to let off other passengers, and finally we approached Santorini, which is surrounded by cliffs on all sides. It is BEAUTIFUL, but unlike any place I have ever been. The island is dry, barren, and hilly. It reminds me of the Caprock. It has little vegetation, other than vineyards, which must grow in dry soil. It is windy, but the wind is blocked from the beach by the cliffs which have been formed by volcanic eruptions. The most beautiful part of the island, other than the crystal clear water, is the architecture. The stark white houses with blue shutters, and white churches with blue domes, make this place truly unique. When we stepped off the ferry, we were greeted by men trying to rent us rooms, cabs, and cars. It was insane trying to find the "local bus," but we found them by doing what we have learned to do, following the crowd. The view off of the cliffs as we rode the bus to the beach was incredible. As luck would have it, we happened upon our hotel, when we decided to jump off of the bus at a random stop. It is really nice. We have a large room with our own bathroom and living area. It has been GREAT to take a shower without someone knocking on the door or waiting impatiently outside. Last night we basically threw our things into the room and sprinted to the beach. The beach is a black sand beach, which is mostly pebbles and rocks. It is actually really pretty and it is a relief not to have to shake sand out of everything when we get ready to leave. The water is as clear as glass. You can see right through it, to the schools of fish right under your feet. Cody has really enjoyed his goggles. :) He LOVES swimming and exploring. I think he feels at one with the fish ;) Last night we had dinner at a sea side restaurant. I ate Moussaka, another Greek dish. Haha, I'm trying to cover all my bases. Cody, tired of trying new things, chose grilled chicken, but he did finish my weird meat pie and veggies meal. We also had another Greek Salad :) We slept well last night. The bed is comfy and we have air conditioning. We woke up this morning, had the breakfast buffet, which is included in our stay, and headed to the beach again. We were there from 9:00 to 5:00. It was SO relaxing. The circles under my eyes have grown smaller, and my skin a bit more pink. Cody hasn't perfected the art of sunscreen yet, so his back looks like a piece of modern art with red and white streaks running all over it. Haha. We plan on finding some more delicious Greek food tonight, and relaxing in the shade. The path next to the beach is covered in restaurants and shops. It is a great place to walk and explore. We think we may rent a scooter tomorrow and explore the island. Haha. That will be an adventure for sure. Tomorrow is our anniversary. I am hoping to have dinner in the little village of Oia, and watch the sunset. It is supposed to be the most beautiful in the world :) We will see. We might just hang out on the beach! I love and miss you both, and we can't wait to be home! I hope everything is good there, have you heard anything about the house? Are you feeling okay, Mom? Keep us informed! See you soon.
Love,
Emily and Cody
Hey Mom and Dad,
This should be our final update. We are sad that our trip is coming to an end, but REALLY excited to be coming home. We miss home and you guys SO much. Yesterday, we woke up, had our breakfast, and hit the beach again. We laid back and napped for the most part, but Cody got some snorkeling in :) It is pretty wild here. Women lay around without their tops, but don't anyone get excited, most of them are up there in age. After four days here, it has become pretty normal to us. haha. After spending the morning, and part of the afternoon on the beach, we paid for a bus to take us to the village of Oia (pronounced Ia). This is a village on the edge of the Caldera, which is the crater formed when the volcano erupted, which formed Santorini. Oia is very high on the edge of a cliff and is littered with those blue domed churches and windmills which make up the pages of those calenders you guys always buy me for Christmas. It was quite a hike to the edge of the village, but we made it to the top and had pina coladas poolside while enjoying the view. Then we chose a restaurant with a great view of the sunset and had dinner. The sunset was truly beautiful. Hundreds of people flock into Oia daily to see the sun go down. We took lots of pictures! After the sunset, we made our way back to Kamari. It was a great day. We saw a lot of the island, and had a wonderful anniversary dinner. This morning, we woke up and attempted to rent a scooter, apparently we don't look capable of driving a scooter, so they made us rent something with four wheels. Not really, they only let Americans who have their motorcycle license drive scooters. Cody, had never driven a four-wheeler, so he got all nervous, but I told him not to worry, that I kind of grew up on one. He did a FANTASTIC job, except for randomly and incessantly honking the horn. I was scared he was going to make some Greek Islander angry, and they would throw us off of the edge of the cliff. We drove ALL over the island looking kind of goofy because Cody insisted we wear our helmets. This four-wheeler was automatic and would drive really fast! We rode through several small villages on our way to The Red Beach. The Red Beach is just that, red. It has formed in the shadow of a huge red cliff which makes the rocks and sand red as it deteriorates. It was NOT easy to find, but we had fun exploring. Our first wrong turn lead us to what had to be the highest point on the island. At the tip-top of this cliff was an ancient church. The view from here was unbelievable. You could see the WHOLE island! Driving up this hill was scary; I kept getting nauseated every time I looked down because I am a control freak, and I had ZERO control over the situation. There was NO railing and the road was winding and narrow. I had to trust Cody not to kill us on a vehicle he had never driven before. He didn't kill us, but we eventually realized that straight up was not the way to the beach, so after running out of road we turned around and made it to The Red Beach. You have to park and hike a little way to the beach, but it was worth it. It is unlike any beach either of us has ever seen. We rented chairs and umbrellas, and laid out and swam for a few hours. On the hike out of the beach, Cody lost his goggles :( We, especially Cody, are sad about that. Anyway, we rode on, on our little blue four-wheeler, in our huge goofy helmets, to Perissa, a beach town much like Kamari, where we are staying. This beach was most like the beaches we have in the States. It was sandy, but the sand was black. We took a dip, shopped around, had pina coladas :), and then moved on to Fira. This is the capitol of Santorini. It also has a great view of the volcano and the ocean, and lots of shopping. We walked around, shopped some, and then came back to Kamari. We had dinner at a cafe alongside the beach, and now we are going to shower and sleep :) We don't leave tomorrow until four which puts us in Athens at midnight. The good thing about that is that we get to spend the morning on the beach :) Cody and I have decided that of all the places we have been, we would DEFINITELY come back here, and we think you guys should vacation here too. Some things I forgot to mention include the following: stray dogs and cats roam free ALL over Athens and Santorini, Europe is much more pet friendly in general than America, we saw a ferret on a leash in Paris, we had a croissant and a cappuccino every morning for breakfast in Rome because our hotel sent us to a cafe with a voucher, we have eaten a Greek Salad with every meal since we came to Greece, and we have washed our clothes in the sink several times and we will not smell good when we get into your car at the airport. We will be home sooooo soon! We have many miles to go before we sleep! I can't wait to see ya'll! I also HAVE to know what's going on with the house, HAVE to! Love you both see you soon!
Emily and Cody
On the ferry.
When we first arrived at the port in Santorini.
Moussaka
Stray kitty that was rubbing on my legs as we ate by the beach. Kind of gross!
Dinner by the beach.
Stray dog laying behind Cody at the restaurant.
At dinner
Our picture in front of the beach.
Streets of Oia
Scary Stray Cat. Haha.
Oia
Oia
Oia, Can you tell we loved this place?
Another Stray Dog
Santorini is known for its windmills.
Dinner on Our Anniversary, watching the beautiful sunset.
More Oia
Me, looking goofy and lost, after taking a wrong turn on the four-wheeler, and ending up on top of the world!
This man insisted Cody take a picture with him. He was stationed on the hill above The Red Beach.
The Red Beach
Me with refreshments after our swim at The Red Beach
Fira and the Volcano
Oh goodness, those helmets!
The view of the island from our wrong turn trail.
Perissa
Fira
We could not get this thing to close!
Pro Driver!
Cody in Fira with the volcano behind him in the distance. 
Stray Beach Bum Pups
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