Our tour guide was beyond belief. She was kind, patient, and very informative but, most of all......she made the ruins come alive for us. Obviously, she is passionate about what she does. She was dramatic when she told us about the history of the Gods. We enjoyed having her for our personal guide. She told us about her favorite pastry shop. Boy was it good. You should use her as much as you can.Santorini was magnificent. The island was very dry but filled with a lot of history. We did many of the things you had on the list. We visited the Black Beach, the Red Beach, the Winery and took the local bus to Oia. Shopping there was fun and the food was great. Next time I'd love to stay on the hill. The Sphinx had the best food in Fira. Thanks for recommending that one. The Gyros were also good in Fira. They made me vegetarian gyros. Can you believe that? The El Greco Resort was beautiful and most of all the service was fantastic. The thing that got to us the most was the walking. We walked everyday from the resort up the hill to the town of Fira. The only negative thing about going between islands was having to go back to Athens before each new destination. We were not told that we were limited to a certain amount of kilos on Aegean Airlines. We ended up paying for a lot of overweight.
The Island of Rhodes was the best. We were greeted by Barbara shortly after our arrival at the Resort. She laid out a map of the island and told us what there was to do in Rhodes. We all thought that was a nice touch. We did not set anything up with her because we kept getting information from other guest in the hotel. We did a great deal of things on our own. It was very easy to get a taxi to take us around. We took a tour to Turkey. That was not what we thought it was going to be. Felt as if we took the ferry to go shopping at the mall....... The Old Town was great. We met some really special people there. We shopped 5 out of the 7 days there. We purchased LOTS of jewelry, household items, and gifts for our friends. OK. The best thing for us on Rhodes was the authentic Greek food. We found a place off the beaten path that came with many surprises. The food was so good that for days after I returned to the States, my taste buds could not be satisfied. LE Gourmet Restaurant. Ran by Maria and her husband. Wide selection of Greek food, courteous staff and great prices. We needed a wheel barrel to cart us away from the table every night. Maria and her daughter made us feel right at home. The thing that makes this restaurant so special was the way in which Maria would make the entire dining room interacts with one another. It was great. By the end of your meal you would know the people at the surrounding tables. There was lots of laughter in the place. Where there is good food you find happy people. The staff at the Sheraton recommended we try Le Gourmet. We went there for dinner every night we were on the island.
Here are a few photos from our wonderful time in Greece. As you know, photos can never really tell the story. One has to be there…
Thank you for making this all happen for us. It was the trip of a lifetime. We all have so many wonderful memories from Greece. I hope that you will be with Travelive when we head to Tuscany in 2013.
Marina, Thanks again for all you did for my Mom, sister, and myself.
Lorna
