Now don't get me wrong Italian beaches are gorgeous. Fresh blue water, hopefully a minimal amount of jellyfish, they're beautiful. But Greek beaches know what's going on. We walked off the bus and were greeted by a stretch of tikki umbrellas and cushioned lounge chairs with waiters walking among them and signs for free wifi. I didn't unpack my stuff for half an hour because I kept waiting for someone to tell us to leave (poor people problems). A nice waiter in a polo came up and told us all we had to do to use the umbrellas and wifi was order something from the beach bar. So for a €5 pineapple coconut and banana smoothie I got to sit on a cushioned lounge chair in the shade for five hours and watch YouTube.
Requisite hot dogs or legs photo. If you have no idea what I'm talking about check out this tumblr. So funny. I have round knees and a tan so I'm pretty proud of this one.
The water was incredible too. The beach dropped off maybe ten feet in and so it was like a really giant swimming pool. Evie got a free snorkel from the beach bar and we took turns trying to spot fish and choking in salt water. After a truly wonderful nap in the breezy shade we trundled back on the bus to our hostel.
We had checked out earlier that day but somehow decided to leave all of our things in the men's dorm where Byron had stayed. We went back and proceeded to take showers like squatters. Every time one of us came out of the shower one of the actual guests would be back and we would apologize and make a new friend. The reason we thought this was ok was that our new friend Tom, an Australian gym teacher whose birthday was that day and who we had celebrated with the night before, was still staying there. He came to dinner with us at the beautiful Niki Cafe on the cliffs of Santorini and we had our last supper in Greece.
The view was incredible and we nibbled on fresh bread, sipped on white wine, and agonized over which dishes to order as the sun set. Byron and I look like we're on our honeymoon. Great couple. I straight-up asked the waiter what the largest portion of mussels I could order was. I was not disappointed.
We even caught a glimpse of our boat from the day before, making its way back in to the harbor. Dinner was incredible. I could only get photos of the dishes closest to me but here it goes. Evie and I split fried cheese saganaki which is pretty much a block of deep fried feta with lemon juice squeezes on top. Maybe my favorite food. Evie got the lamb, which was quite an affair, and Byron ordered the salmon. Rather than be original or adventurous I ate the same exact thing as the night before: mussels saganaki. Boy am I glad I did. I polished off a good two thirds of it before realizing that everyone else was sharing bites of their food with their companions. I then decided to pass around mussels with the air of a self-righteous saint handing out water bottles and crucifixes in the middle of a desert. I'm pretty sure I told Tom his mussel was his birthday present. Not my finest moment.
Wow. What a delicious dinner, the perfect end to a perfect trip. Byron was so pleased with Santorini he decided to get his long-awaited tattoo there. After dinner the other headed back to the hostel to collect our things while Andrea, Byron, and I went to the tattoo parlor. He was a trooper, and afterwards we all piled into two taxis for the airport, leaving behind one of my favorite places in the world.
We love you Santorini!
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