[Itinerary Page]The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
May 12 - The Road to Santorini
We rarely have two travel days in a row on these trips, so I feel like I am getting off easy on the diary front. Good thing, since I was several days behind in filling you in on the progress of the trip.
We really don't have a lot to do today: pack, get to the airport, turn in the rental car, catch a two-hour flight to Athens and connect to another 45-minute flight to the island of Santorini. This schedule was especially light when you compare it with the two couples we are meeting up with in Athens, both of whom are coming in from the US today. At least we won't have to deal with jet lag!
The good news is that both other couples were at the Athens airport when we arrived. The bad news was that one of them, Don and Sharon Krump, were flying standby and were not at all sure when they were going to get out of Athens. Don is a retired United captain so they are used to the vagueries of space available travel but it would be a poor start to the week if they were delayed indefinitely by the bureaucracy. Rick and Jo Chester, however, were on the same flight to Santorini and we were glad to see them -- albeit looking rather tired around the edges -- when we got to the gate. They were glad to see us as well since we didn't make it down there until just a few minutes before boarding!
The flight to Santorini was quick and we arrived just as the sun was setting. Sunsets on Santorini are famous, rather like those on Key West, and the town we were staying in, Oia, is considered the prime viewing spot. We caught a bit of it on the drive, but by the time we were dropped in the general vicinity of the villa, it was nearly 9pm and night had fallen.
We still had no idea if Don and Sharon would be in or not, but we were too hungry to wait for them and found a delightful taverna within a hundred yards or so of the villa where we settled in for a nosh. As we were finishing the meal, a cab dropped Don and Sharon off right in front of the place! Sometimes it just works out.
© 2007 Restaurant Doctor