Sept 11

We left Naxos this morning. More civilized time for this ferry and it was a shorter ride. Went uneventfully. Wow. Arriving in Santorini was a crazy people fest. People everywhere. Boarding buses. Looking for taxis. Such a different sight and feel than Naxos. Our rental car was delivered to the port and we finally found the guy holding the sign with our name. Got in our diesel Volkswagen and started our crazy drive out of the port. The road from the port to the top of the caldera where the city lies is so steep with hairpin turns. Crazy driving out of there. Our host had sent us specific directions to our Airbnb but we couldn't find it and ended up driving all over the place until we finally googled the Art Space Winery which is close to our apartment. Finally arrived here. Dropped off our bags and headed into Kamari to get some lunch. Kamari beach is lined with restaurants and it has much more of a tourist vibe. We ate chicken gyros and salads and the food was good and very satisfying. I'm either getting used to Greek food or it is improving because I am enjoying it. It was late in the day now but we decided to drive over and visit the Akrotiri Ruins. What an amazing site. The excavation effort started in 1967 and has uncovered ruins that date as far back as 2200 BC. Just startling. Excavation shows they had a sewer system and other production systems that I just never realized existed so long ago.  After walking through the ruins, our exhaustion was increasing and we just had no steam for anything else. We decided to drive back to Kamari and get dinner and then head to bed. We have an excursion planned tomorrow and an early wake up time. We all felt like having pizza so we wandered around Kamari beach until we found a place where the host sold us on the pizza. As you walk down the beach walk, people stand out in front of all the restaurants and try and talk you into coming in to their place to eat. It boils down to the best story gets your attention. We did have absolutely extraordinary pizza. And of course, more salads. I'm loving all the salad and never weary of it. The tomatoes, feta cheese and olives are so wonderful. I tried to add chicken to a vegetarian pizza because I wanted all the vegetables. But something that would be easily done at home is not done here. The waiter told me that this is a vegetarian pizza, you do not add meat. You cannot make substitutions to menu items in Greece. When you ask, they just respond that it is not the way it is. So, I didn't. And it was good. After dinner, Avi found a restaurant that made pancakes, bananas, and white chocolate. We watched him eat that. Dad had bites but I'm really not interested. Finally got home and are going to try and sleep on these ghastly beds. The Santorini Airbnb was a splurge for us. Very expensive. But the beds are simply horrible and the floor is cement. The sofa in the living room is rock hard. Comfort doesn't exist here. It is beautiful and a work of art but not a comfortable work of art.