pure pleasures

The Akropoli.

Thousands and thousands of years old. Saturated with history literally oozing out of every crack in every stone. As much as I hate doing "touristy" things, you can't miss this one. If you're in Athens, this is what you're doing. No questions asked.

We were told to get to the Acropolis around 8.30 am because it gets hot hot hot (which, I feel like is the story of this trip), but according to our usual morning routine, 8.30 was going to come way too quickly. Soooo, we showed up around 10, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to hike to the top and see the city. We find the stairs to the Parthenon (no thanks to the terrible signage that seems to be the theme of Greek life!) and start the slippery trek up. Each step you take is amazing. The view is breathtaking until you realize that if you go up higher even just two more feet it gets even better. Good thing I remembered the camera today!

The Parthenon is surrounded by the ruins of other buildings in what used to be quite the happening place in ancient times. There were at least a dozen other structures surrounding the area, other temples, theaters, ceremonial gates. The whole thing was pretty staggering. Each column was engraved and sculpted with such detail that no postcard or image in a book could ever reveal. How did they do that with the tools they had then?!

At the bottom of the great hill is a new museum designed by the contemporary architect Bernard Tschumi. He had the laborious task of placing a modern museum to house and pay homage to all the artifacts from the Acropolis directly on top of ruins from ancient times that they were currently excavating! I must say, he did an amazing job.

The columns of the new structure are carefully placed within the ruins and a very graceful and open building rises above. The ground floor platform is open in places so that visitors can look down into the excavation site and watch its progress. Glass floors are throughout the entire building so that you can always see this archeological work. Even the second and third floors have glass so that you conceptually are able to see all the way to the dig (practically all it really allows you to see is up other visitor's dresses, but hey... it was a great idea). The museum brilliantly displays the astounding work of the ancient Greeks and seeing the old being housed by the new so elegantly is phenomenal in itself.

After cooling off in the museum we ventured back out into the sun to find the Roman Agora and other temples at the bottom of the rising hill. The whole site is very humbling. I think I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea of walking through the same structures as the Apostle Paul or priestesses of Athena.

As the sun went down we went wandering again, this time in search of food... shocking. We remembered that Jon, our favorite person from Rhodes, had suggested a restaurant which we sought with a vengeance. Success! After we sat, the most amazing dinner ensued. Basically, despite my ability to ramble with no end in sight, I do not possess adequate words to describe this meal. Therefore, I will simply regurgitate the descriptions found from the menu since it is taking all my concentration to not salivate on my computer as I am reminiscing the harmony of ingredients and flavors.

First there were dumplings filled with feta cheese mousse, olives, spearmint and topped with pomegranate sauce. Oh, and we can't forget the wine. Oh, the wine...

Then there was roasted sea bass (the whole fish! head and all) topped with sauce and gently placed on zucchini and wild greens. All this was followed by "Millefeuille of fiorentines, catalana cream and caramelized apricots" (that's basically heavenly almond sugar wafers layered with sublimely smooth custard and succulent apricots that despite being caramelized, managed to keep a tartness that was exquisite as it cut the sweetness of the custard).

Architect?! Why didn't I choose Chef?!

Stuffed and happy we walked past the Acropolis lit up in all its glory by soft spotlighting from below. We caught the tram (after just getting a bit lost-- we're getting better!) and found the apartment.


Ancient Architecture.

Modern Architecture.

Delicious Food.

Are you kidding me? Is this education or what?

oh, those greeks...

Ok, I know this is three days late. Sheesh.


So I'll try to catch up: We arived stumbling into Athens. 6.30 am. All night ferry ride. Boat, train, bus, feet. Lugging suitcases all the way. Whew.


Once we got to the apartment we decided to take a two hour nap since ferry sleep is no where near the real thing. Two hours turned into five and we woke up in shock at 1 pm! Not to fear, we are indomitable travel experts and did not let the time set-back ruin our plans. We found the tram after much sweaty wandering through our neighborhood, hopped on only to realize that in our over-sleeping stupor, I had left the camera back in the room. Argh! Go back or not? Go back or not? Nope. Too hot. Unfortunately only iphone pictures for today...

our Greek angel

If I haven't mentioned it before, all of the taxis are on strike here. Yup. ALL. It has made city-navigating very interesting to say the least... We finally did find the tram, but as we were heading downtown it stops. Shouting in the tram abruptly erupts and Greeks with grocery bags, Greeks with walking canes, Greeks with bikes all join in and head out the door. Are we in the Ryainair terminal all over again?! It was like a European flash mob! A sporadic dance complete with a cacophony of foreign language and flying vegetables. 

As we shuffled (rather, were shuffled out by running Greeks) from the tram car an older man spoke to us in English saying that the Taxi drivers had somehow gotten to the tram cars and that particular one was no longer running. We'd have to walk. Heat. Sweat. Brilliant. Our "Greek Angel" turned out to be quite the gregarious little tour guide. He said we should follow him to the downtown area and he'd show us where to go after that. Our walk was long and concluded only when he had finished lecturing on subjects to include, but not limited to:

1. Greek politics

2. His Mercedes (complete story with banged up key around his neck) 

3. Al Capone

4. What the F.B.I. stands for (Federal Bureau of Interrogation, if you didn't know, but he does yes, yes, yes.)

5. Jacki Kennedy and her sexual escapades with the Greeks

first modern Olympic stadium

Hmmm. 

It was great conversation. The only problem was that it was hot, we didn't know where we were and every time he got good and goin', he would stop to talk. Dead stop. Dead stop with hands waving and wouldn't walk again until we too had stopped, taken a few steps back towards him to make sure we heard every. little. word. and then we would keep plodding slowly forward. We took the "long way" downtown I guess...

We made it to the city center and wandered into a tourism office (looking for a bookstore since neither of us had a map of Athens...) and got advice on what to do for the day. We have three (well, now only 2.5) days in Athens and wanted to make sure we saw everything. Armed with maps, suggestions and and an expensive bus tour ticket to Delphi for Monday (it'll be great!), we ventured into the city to find the National Gardens.  

National Gardens didn't hold a candle to those around DC or the US in general (man, am I starting to get homesick or something?!) but we did manage to walk up at the exact moment that the changing of the guards started. Now, it is my opinion that any such ritual is not only some evil scheme plotted by those in authority to mortify their underlings and keep them in line, but also created to somehow establish themselves as key players on the "countries of ultimate silliness" list. These guys take the cake. No question. I've seen the British and the Danish do it, but the Greeks, man, they out-shine them all. 

Already decked out in white tights and long sleeved tunics (that came down just long enough to barely cover their rears), these soldiers sported clogs topped with pom-poms the size of grapefruits, carried guns 4' tall guns and donned tidy little hats with 3' long black tassels to complete the ensemble. Each started out in his little house on either side of the palace and at 10 'til the hour began a procession so elaborate that I swear I had to cover my mouth to cover my dumbfounded smiles. One foot out. Clunk goes the clog. One leg raised out in pure yoga position. Clunk goes the gun. Leg down. Clunk the clog. Hand up. Clunk the gun. 

really?

This went on until the soldiers were standing two feet from each other. Suddenly (actually this whole thing was literally in slow motion--another added bonus to the ceremony-- so the word "suddenly" does not really apply...) the two soldiers lifted their foot in the yoga like position, touched toes and kept them that way for at least ten seconds (doesn't sound long but when you are watching in pure astonishment and utter unbelief it seems like an eternity). Then without warning, put their feet down and clunked, clank, clunked back to their positions exactly on the hour. They were about 20' from each other at the start of this frolic so you can imagine how slow they were going to make this little dance last a full ten minutes. It was intense. 

Zeus' temple

Went over to Zeus' Chapel located near the Acropolis. It is crazy to be seeing things that were constructed 500 years ago BC. Modern Architects have a lot to live up to. Groan.

We decided to save the Acropolis for tomorrow since it was evening (thanks to our lovely "little" nap). Instead, found a great little cafe (chosen mainly for the fact that it had AC) and grabbed some wine for me (oooobivously...!) and some sort of mocha-coffee-ice cream construction for Mom. (To be fair, she thought she was just ordering an iced latte.) Inspired by the architecture all around, we sat and planned the most perfect barn/studio thoughtfully sited in a lovely pasture in The Plains, Virginia (can I bill for that...? Kidding!).

It was an early night for us travel-gals but a great introduction to Athens. 

So far so good (well, brilliant actually if you're counting the points for stunning soldier choreography!). 

bullet point update

I know. I'm late.


It's been a little crazy the past few days and things have gone overlooked. Things such as showering, changing clothes and yes, blogging.



Below is a very brief account of our last day in Paros (warning: this is severely cheating but I am extremely tired...)

1. Awoke at Hotel Anna to another lovely breakfast on the balcony. Breakfast included groceries from the day before. Ha!
2. Spent time getting lost (and loving every second of it!) on Market Street of downtown Parikia, the capitol of Paros where we are staying. Stood and marveled at old church built with round stones. How'd they do that?!
3. Lunch of 2 euro gyros. Cheap and delicious!
4. Got back on the moped and, though we had earlier received correspondence from Far-Far shaming us into wearing our helmets, went sans-helmet to view the Paros beaches one last time 
5. Returned moped. Lugged baggage to port. Ate our first terrible meal waiting for our 1.30 am ferry to arrive.
6. Boarded ferry after waiting amongst sweaty fellow travelers (why do Europeans insist on foregoing deodorant?!) for 1 1/2 hours
7. Settled into ferry seats, hoping to catch some "sleep" on our 4 hour ride to Athens

The following is a list of things that may have happened. Who knows...

• Arousing suspicion from distrustful moped owner who was sure we stole 15 euros or a free day of scooter scooting

• Texting friends at home whilst drinking a cold beer. Text may have read: "It's 5 o'clock somewhere...cheers girlfriends!" (10 am state-side) Return text may have read: "War-torn cities?! Yea right!"

• Attempting to carry fully-loaded luggage on a small moped, perhaps with the possibility of rolling one behind us? 

• Sitting behind woman who thought it necessary to pack both a bird and a cat while ferry-ing. Brilliant.

• Losing one very important bracelet while in line amongst sitting, standing, leaning, whining tourists only to board the ship, drop off luggage, jump back off ship, ignoring security guards shouting at the transgression, searching on hands and knees for said bracelet, FINDING IT, and re-boarding ship as the car platform is cranked up and ship departs. Whew. 

  
  
  
  What a day. Bullet Point Update completed. 

biker babes

We have officially arrived in Paros, one of the smaller islands a bit closer to Athens. After spending the last 6 hours we had in Santorini frantically trying to call places to see if they had room openings and obsessively checking our airbnb account for requests we had sent in, we finally got a room literally as we were standing on the ferry's deck pulling out of the harbor. Whew. That was close.

So now that we are here it is all about figuring out what to do. I wanted to come to this island because the architect/city planner from my original research proposal did work reconstructing the Greek islands after WWII. However, since my proposal was altered (many times! argh!) by the school, it is less about him and his work these days, yet the trip destinations still remain. Oh well, guess we'll just have to make do on this beautiful island surrounded by water that redefines the word "blue". However will we entertain ourselves?

We had a breakfast of yogurt, peaches and honey on our little hotel balcony and set off in search of yet another moped. Honestly, it's the only way to see the island in style. However, on Santorini the roads were small but filled with mopeds. The island was small so scooter-ing was quick (unless of course you were driving without a headlight on a dark road with no name!). Here the roads traverse much greater distances and are not as frequently travelled by mopeds. Most tourist here pick a beach, bring their family, and stay for a few weeks in one place.

Oh no no no, brother! Not us!

We demand to see the island in all its glory in one-go-round!

On our moped!

We were given helmets with enough padding to sustain a plane crash and handed a map of the island. What do you know?! No road names. We put on our helmets (which I immediately took off again and strapped to the back of the bike-- how the heck are you supposed to wear these ridiculous padded monstrosities and sunglasses?! I opted for risking crashing but guaranteed headache avoidance.) We drove for about 45 minutes before reaching something that we thought we'd like to see on the map. Here you can always see the water, but the roads are a bit further up the mountain so you can't see the beaches in front of them. It is very easy to pass the town you wanted to visit without actually realizing you had already gone through it!

We took a break at an area called Golden Beach that had beautiful waters, families on the beach and more wind surfers than I have ever seen in my life. They were all going top speed on the water-- literally it was frighting to watch because I was sure they were going to run straight into each other. They would start out near the beach, race to an island further out, turn around and race back in, turn around race back out, turn around race back in... Sounds repetitive but with the speeds they were reaching, I'm sure it was not tedious in the least!

We had lunch and when we were sure we were full enough to float, crept down the side of the rock and slid into the water. The water was amazing. Amazing doesn't cover it actually. Not sure what to say about it other than I knew I didn't want to get out.

lost again!

We finally pulled ourselves out of the splendor with the promise that we'd stop again further down the road. We had roughly sketched out our trip around the island and decided that there were a few towns in the middle that we would save until tomorrow. Today's ride was all about the beaches.

We rode and rode. Somewhere into the trip I took out my camera and took pictures from my back seat (mainly because Mom almost tipped the moped over every time we stopped and it was just easier-- and safer!-- to  have the camera readily available). At one point or another we stopped to see where we were and figured out that we had already passed through every town we had "saved" for tomorrow. Stupid no name roads. Weeeeeeell, guess we can check those off our list!

We passed by a few more beaches. Hopped off to get wet and then got back on. Mom finally succumbed to the inevitable headache and gave up on her helmet, resulting in two strapped behind me on the seat, leaving me with one cheek on the seat, one cheek on a helmet. Very comfortable.

We made it home with a thick new skin comprised of road dust and sweat and quickly headed to the shower to rinse off. Did some research of where to eat dinner (while eating Pringles in our hotel room) and decided to wander around the town a bit looking for one of the restaurants we found in our guide book. That turned out to be the best decision of the day. Delicious!

The place was an outdoor garden terrace but felt like an inside room because a 100+ year old grape vine not only sprouted from the flagstone patio but covered the entire place with grape leaves so thick that I'm sure you could sit out there even if it was raining. The food was just as sensational as the vine that sheltered it.

We started with beetroot salad that was lightly covered in a yogurt sauce, drizzled with orange juice and sprinkled with raisins and walnuts. Mom had the lightest fish ever cooked and my leek and orange risotto and herb crusted prawns were definitely Top 3 meal material. Of course I forgot the camera so records of these feast are a bit grainy thanks to the poor quality of the iphone 3G.... A piping hot chocolate mocha souffle (more like a bubbling lava cake!) completed the menu just in case we weren't yet ready to burst.

A walk along the harbor resettled our stomachs and then it was off to bed to sleep to catch as much shuteye as we could. Tomorrow's an all-night ferry ride starting at 1.30 am. Too bad we can't moped over to Athens...

a note from Mom...

Ok…several people have told me that I need to make an entry on the blog… maybe to prove that I really am here with Ash and that she isn't just Photoshopping me into all the pictures….  (the Ozburn's have a reputation for doing that, ie Uncle Freddie!) But anyway I thought that I would write one and I will see if ends up making the editing cut or not!

I am sitting here taking in the beauty the black sand beach and Aegean blue waters of Santorini, Greece and it occurred to me that only 10 days ago I was taking in the beauty of the white sand beach and clear Lake Michigan water on Bethany Beach, with the rest of my family, and getting settled into my normal summer routine. Boy!  How quickly things can take a turn in our lives. Who would have thunk?

First, I would like to put a disclaimer to all the silly things that Ashley has said about me!  All you mothers out there just remember as your read these blogs how your daughters refer to YOU in front of their friends and you will know where I am coming from! (granted I am a little "goofy" but I'm sure it's not as bad as she portrays in these blogs!) Needless to say I did have a bug fly into my ear and settle there!  Actually this is not the first time this has happened in my life—back when I was a kid I had another critter do the same...never came out… so maybe I am forming a colony in there! Could this be the cause of my memory lost? They are sucking it all out of me??!! (I think I just might go with this theory!)

This trip so far has been an adventure for sure but it has not so stressful that we are not able to enjoy each other and take in all of our beautiful surroundings.  It has been great and I have loved every place we have been! I feel like Ash has kept you all pretty informed of all our "happenings" and so I won't rehash them.  I just want to let Katie know that we are going on day 10 together and we have not killed each other yet so that is a good thing—only 14 more days to go! Ha!  Just want to say that I do miss the shores of Bethany Beach and all of my family and especially my wonderful hubby who is special beyond words. But I would not have passed up on this opportunity to spend with my wonderful daughter!  She is absolutely the best and a great travel partner to boot!

We just left Santorini and are headed for Paros, another island further north. We have once again boarded our Blue Star Ferry and are on our way!

Thanks for your prayers—keep them coming cause I'm sure we will have more fun adventures ahead…War Torn is yet to come!

Note to self:  Ashley can blog much better than me so don't do it again.  I am much better at doing annoying things to my daughter(s)

wine roads

Another horrible day in Greece. Perfectly sunny. Not a cloud to be seen. Mid 70s with a breeze throughout the day. Scooter. Other than the Back Street Boys being blared from most of the cafes on the boardwalk, it is perfection.

We woke up today and decided we hadn't had enough fun on the moped yet. We had passed by numerous local vineyards on our adventures last night and chose to visit them-- this time in the daylight! We hit the usual cafe for internet service (cappuccinos are expensive around here but the only way to get internet!), stuffed my camera in the moped seat, found our sophisticated helmets and off we went.

We didn't get too far before we pulled over at a couple ceramic studios. They were all fantastic, well at least the contemporary ones were... Why is it that some "artists" insist on replicating ancient stuff over and over again. Honestly, who are the people that buy this fake Greek pottery, painted black and red with prehistoric goddesses being fed grapes while lounging amongst Greek background patterns? Are they fooled into thinking that maybe, just maybe, they have found a primeval vase that doesn't cost a fortune? Or do they have friends that are stupid enough to believe them when they come home and tell them that the pot is genuine? Either way, lots of stupidity is involved. Argh.

The studios that we found were owned by interesting people to say the least-- you could definitely tell that they were true artists. Covered in volcanic dust used in the distinct techniques here, all had aprons and loose clothing on, some had wild beards and others had wild hair. All were very amiable and enjoyed talking about how their pieces were made. Their kilns were right in front of us-- fire roaring at temperatures over 1,000 celsius. We bought a few gifts, wished we were artists, and loaded them onto the moped.

Next was a stop at a winery. The grapes on Santorini are cut and bound in the spring so that they stay low to the ground even though they naturally would grow up the way grape vines do in the States. The winds are so strong around here and the soil so dry, that they need to keep them on the ground in order to protect the precious fruit from the elements. The plants line the roads around the island but look more like struggling shrubbery than grapes that produce excellent wine.

The tasting room was as I had hoped. Open, filled with light, and simple materials. Sigh, natural light and wine. Couldn't get better. We tasted 4 of their white wines but the gregarious server couldn't help but give us a free sample of the dessert wine they produce. I must say, in general, I don't enjoy things that are sweet. A small dish of ice cream after dinner, fine. But sugar in my coffee (shame on you Bradley)?! Fruity beer?! People that say things like "d'harlin'"?! Not for me. No thanks. No way.

Buuuuuut, I must admit that I didn't hate this wine. Even though it was created from solely white grapes, it was brown from being aged in the sun and stored in wood barrels for 3 years. There were no sugars added, the sweetness just came from being fermented for so long in such a way. If we had a way to get it home, I think we might have been seduced into buy a bottle.

We left the vineyard and scooted along up the road. (Being on this moped makes me miss the motorcycle. Every single part of it. I love that motorcycle. Love it.) The only way to know where we are going is by small guideposts along the side of the road. Whenever there is a vineyard there will be a small tag that says "Wine Roads" but that's it. No direction, no name of the vineyard. Just "Wine Roads". We pulled off on a "street" with an arrowed marker (yes! a arrow! no name, but hey, at this point we'd take anything!) that read "Traditional Settlings". Little did we know that we were pulling off a typical road into a sweet little cobble stoned drive that lead us around and into a picturesque little village. It had two amazing restaurants, a few little churches, and the typical white with blue door houses, all crammed onto a street that was about 200m long.

We had a lovely 5 pm lunch, having decided that we'd eat the rest of our groceries as snacks later that night. The restaurant we visited advertised cooking classes which would have been amazing! I wish we had known about them earlier in our stay.

The food was amazing. Staggering. Delectable. Muscles in white wine and leeks, Santorini tomato fritters (they're famous for them on the island) and finished off with a crepe/pita drizzled with honey and walnuts. Sitting under the restaurant's vine covered terrace and enjoying food like this made me start to think that Yale might not be that evil...

Time to turn in the moped, which I swear I heard sigh a breath of relief as we unloaded ourselves--fattened from a lovely lunch, our pottery, our cameras, and our newly bought bottle of wine off its seat. We walked back to the apartment for showers and playing with Bethany architecture plans, hoping to bottle the inspiration we've seen here and keep it for when it's time to redo the place.

Tomorrow it's off to another island. So far we have no where to stay since our plans keep falling through, but hey, that sort of minutia hasn't seemed to have derailed us yet...

night riders

Oh, the beauty of this trip. We thought it couldn't get any better. After Rome and the beaches in Lindos, things couldn't possibly get more magnificent, right?! How wrong we were...

After a lazy morning of coffee at the beach cafe, blog posting and day planning, we decided to moped up to Oia, the town on north western side of Santorini that is famous for it's white houses delved into the cliffs. The trip was going to be about 15 miles and we were sure we could do it on our awesome ride. We were hot mamas, right?!

We put on our chic silver helmets that screamed "I'm a tourist! I don't belong! Beware of my driving skills!", stuffed them with toilet paper to make them stay on our heads, and began the journey. It went relatively smoothly, that is after I insisted that Mom stop pointing stuff out and turing around to talk to me and keep both hands on the wheel...good lord.

Needless to say we got completely lost since like Rhodes, this island refuses to name it's streets and hopes that you are a good enough guesser to go in the correct direction. We are not good guessers. Thankfully the round-about road we were on was beautiful and took us around the other side of the island, which we would have not otherwise seen.

We arrived at Oia and instantly were stunned at its views that reduced us to obsessive picture taking as if we would miss some vista, some white house with staggering terrace teetering off the cliff or mini stone path leading to a bright blue door. (Unfortunately, I wore a blue dress which made Mom want to put me in each shot since I matched the sky, doors, water, etc. and contrasted with the white plaster houses. Bad choice on my part.)

We had the consistently delicious Greek salad and hummus for lunch on a restaurant terrace, shaded by a canvas awning that literally hung over the water. The shops here are sensational (not touristy!) and within 15 minutes of arrival, Mom had purchased a lovely dress and we both possessed matching bracelets with the good luck symbol of Greece on their delicate chains. (We are, like, totally best-ies.)

After climbing the one pedestrian road that ran through the city we arrived at the ruins of the castle that had once stood on the climax of the cliff. We had read that this side of the island faced the famous Oia sunset and rushed to get dinner reservations at a nearby restaurant. (Definitely would be proven a good call later that evening after the tourist buses filled the small town.)

We spent time wandering through the jewelry and clothing shops and were more successful in resisting temptation than earlier that morning. We stopped for an iced frappe at cafe with yet another breathtaking terrace-- mainly an excuse to sit in the shade and watch the white sailboats pass on the shockingly blue water. Seriously, the pictures don't do it justice.

Dinner (yup, eating again...) was beer battered fried olives (are you kidding?! brilliant!) and chicken souvlaki and yogurt sauce that literally fell apart when your fork touched it, it was so tender. The restaurant faced the sunset and we sat watching the sun sink into the water as it reflected pink and orange on the white buildings. The tourists (I love how even though we are also visitors on the island, they are surely the "Other" in our minds...) sat on the castle ruins, roofs of houses and the many steps all around us and applauded when the sun finally sunk into oblivion. I must say that, though the scene was beautiful, it did not hold a candle to Bethany sunsets. Not even close. We ordered baklava while the tourists (ugh, yucky tooourists) filed out en masse and found our moped just as the last light of evening disappeared.

In keeping with our vehicle experience on the trip, as we turned on the moped we discovered that it only had one pathetic working headlight-- all the rest were irrevocably dead. This one pitiful beam barely lit 2 feet in front of us so much so that I considered strapping our iphones to the front of the moped. (Side note: Anyone who owns a rental business it seems to me that it should be your responsibility to check the battery and the headlights before renting vehicles to unsuspecting clueless women. That just seems to be good practice to me, but who knows... I'm just a simple student.) There was nothing for us to do but continue on with our plan of driving home, hopefully this time staying on the "large" road.

We started out cautiously creeping along, attempting to stay in the wake of other mopeds with effective headlights. Unfortunately they were much more confident since they were actually able to see the lane ahead of them. We wished for cars to come toward us or drive behind us so that some light would be thrown in our path, at the same time dreaded their presence since we weren't sure that they could actually see us.

I haven't yet mentioned that the "highway" we were taking back to Perissa is a two lane road (that's actually a generous claim) that wound around the island's cliffs-- sharp turns followed by U-turns followed by turns only seen in Nascar races and road lines that were barely visible even if you had accurate lighting-- basically the worst terrain for scootering, night or day. I'm not sure if we were laughing in incredulous disbelief at the situation, crying from fear or if it was the dirt being blown in our eyes, but our faces were definitely streaked with tears the whole ride, tightly clinging to the moped as we putted along at 5 miles an hour.

I was leaning to the side, willing my eyes to find signs in the pitch black (Seriously Greece. What is up with your road names and signage?!) while Mom concentrated on staying on the road. Newspaper headlines of "Two Women Flattened by Bus" lodged themselves into our minds and refused to leave. (It is good that I had 2 glasses of wine during the sunset because I'm pretty sure I would have had a total meltdown had been as sober as our fearless driver.) We shivered our way home in the absolute murkiness of the night, not having had the foresight to bring sweaters for the windy ride home, and finally found our small town. Our inevitable death by darkness, poor navigation, bus or cliff miraculously evaded. We might have peed our skirts.

A meager apartment has never been so beautiful. A salt-water shower has never felt so good. Stiff mattress and dinky sheets have never been more appreciated. Sleep has never been more refreshing.

We lived! We have conquered your obstacles! Fearless and Mighty! Watch out Santorini! We. Are. Woman!