Cliche #2

If you've ever seen a photo of Santorini, chances are, it's this view. You'd think there wasn't anything else to photograph on the island. It's not my favourite photo of the day, but it's too symbolic of Santorini not to. And I'll put the others up somewhere else soon.

Best day of the trip today:
- lounge around in the sunshine in the morning
- then when the noise of the assorted small children round the hotel pool got too much (seriously - it's not a child-friendly island. It wasn't a child-friendly hotel, but still....)
- get on coach
- go to Mesa Gonia and wander the hot streets, looking at the remains of cave houses ruined in the 1956 earthquake which caused many islanders to leave and led to the establishment of the newer towns by the coast, such as Kamari
- go to Pyrgos, walk up whitewashed, narrow streets up to the highest point and marvel at the view. Hear about why Santorini is geographically the most likely candidate for the origins of the Lost City of Atlantis
- feel slightly nervous on hearing how active one of the volcanoes in front of me still is
- Folklore museum
- Wine tasting at the Santos winery, looking out at the caldera and the most amazing clear blue skies
- Go to Oia and marvel at its beauty
- Ignore the crowded sunset view points and find a quiet (but less scenic place near the car park) place to watch it

Oia is one of the few places I've been to that fully deserves its reputation for being utterly stunning. It's gorgeous - narrow whitewashed streets, marble footpaths and tiny cave houses. It wasn't as busy as I'd been warned and I completely fell in love with the place. Kicking myself since that I didn't organise myself and go back with more time.

One of the high points was having fava beans and a nice chilled white (not chianti ;-) at a restaurant overlooking the caldera, surreptitiously feeding a friendly black cat under my table and watching donkeys wander past on their way back up the cliff side steps.