[Itinerary Page]The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
May 17 - Feelin' Good in the Neighborhood
We haven't seen everything there is to see on the island, but we've seen enough for now. This is a great point to reach on a trip because there is no longer any compulsion to do much of anything, freeing your mind from the ravages of planning, scheduling and generally doing.
So we all took the day off ... or at least Sharon and I did. Don, Margene, Rick and Jo set off in the morning to walk down the 277 steps to Amoudi and back up again. They say that it is a 20-minute trip, but I'm betting that is one way on the downhill leg! In any event, I had enough time to get current on the daily diary and finish the mystery I was reading.
It was also a day for laundry (one of the nice things about renting a house is that most have a washer, meaning less clothes to pack!) The one in the house is German. It works well, but starts and stops with real authority -- enough to cause the machine to jump! There were a few shopping excursions by those hearty enough to brave the tourist crowds (lots of French folks today) but mostly it was a delightfully down day ... all the nicer for knowing that tomorrow would also be without a major project.
We did agree that a week is not enough time to really wind down -- it takes at least two weeks in the same spot without the need to pack, move, unpack and repeat it all over again a few days later. While we all really enjoyed Gudiolo in Italy (trip report from May 2005), the advantage of this house is that you don't need a car.
We are at the quiet end of the quietest village on Santorini. Spiro tells us that this is one of only five villages in all of Greece that have been declared traditional villages, so there can be no bars, discos or other electronic entertainment to jar the tranquility. Everything we could want within walking distance. We can always rent a car for the day if we want to do any extensive touring, but there isn't even much of that to do. So for the two weeks there wouldn't be a lot to do except kick back, soak up the sun, watch the water, sample restaurants, enjoy the sunsets ...
I'm starting to like this idea ... a lot!
Dining Farther Up the Food Chain
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