On 6 June, our cruise ship stopped at the tiny island of Santorini, Greece.  Surrounded by blue waters, this island boasts cascades of white washed houses around the caldera (the bay created by the crescent shape of the island). 

Opting to ride the cable car up the cliff to Fira town, we missed the surely enjoyable if not frightening experience of a donkey ride along a winding precipice.  Once at the top we rented a car and drove north to Oia (ee-uh).

This is the town depicted in most pictures of Santorini.  Jeremy and I wound through the tight walking-streets of the cliff-side town, finding surprising overlooks to enjoy the amazing views down the island.  

Then we drove to the south side of the island to the Santo Winery.  We weren’t so impressed with the wine selection, but we snagged a recommendation for lunch at a family owned café. 

We enjoyed tzatziki and souvlaki from the top of yet another cliff, watching the sailboats drift across the caldera.  Reluctantly we returned the car and made our way to the cable car station and down to the dock to return to the ship. 

Santorini has been and is still one of my favorite places in the world so far. 

Our excursion from the port of Piraeus consisted of a bus ride into Athens to see the Parthenon at the Acropolis and a few ancient landmarks around the city.

Major restoration work is being done to the Parthenon to replace and rebuild it to a closer semblance of its original state.

After snapping all the pictures we could stand to take, we spent the afternoon in a quiet shaded café enjoying a carafe of wine and Greek salads.  I ordered baklava for dessert (one of my favorites).  

I was expecting the standard small square of honey drenched filo with pistachios and instead got a massive piece with cinnamon and walnut that took Jeremy and I both to polish it off.  Delicious, but we practically rolled back to the bus and spent the rest of the afternoon napping to recover from the sugar overload.