A vacation for me? It’s like a coffee shot of espresso on a Monday morning - absolutely essential!
Flights of Fancy and Not-so-Fancy
Figure 1: Economy Sandwich
After what felt like a mini-lifetime (~14 hours to be exact), we landed at Istanbul airport, and without skipping a beat, jumped onto our next flight to Athens. The flight meal was typical - an adventure in culinary minimalism. I chose the AVML (Asian Vegetarian Meal), which was basically an Indian feast at 30,000 feet. Think black dal, rice, paneer, a bun, and fruits. I braved a sip of red wine but ditched it faster than a bad date, remembering all too well why alcohol and health are frenemies. Dinner or breakfast? The time zones couldn’t decide, so they served us a mash-up of uthapam, sambhar, fruits, a Mediterranean salad, and, of course, another bun. We were squished into the middle three seats, embracing the true spirit of economy class. My salvation: watching George Clooney and Julia Roberts shenanigans in Tickets to Paradise.
Athens airport was giving shabby-chic a new meaning, making even the most modest of airports back home look like luxury lounges. We had a conservative 8:40 PM flight booked to Santorini but managed to charm our way onto the 5:10 PM one. Thanks, Aegean Airways!
We geeked out on the signage, it was being back in the middle of reading Trigonometry proofs with all the π, β, α, σ, and ∑!
Our first step onto Greek soil felt like walking into an international version of Patna airport, complete with a surprise appearance by McDonald’s and “Authentic” Greek bagels. Turned on my Airalo Greece E-Sim and bam, felt connected to the world again.
Figure 2: Lounging in Gate B-30 at the Athens Airport
The hunt for charming souvenir shops in the Athens airport proved fruitless. The only notable store was selling unique Greek sandals. We lounged around gate B30, feeling like we were still back in Patna, and even enjoyed a shuttle ride to our plane on the runway complete with welcome toffees! 😃
Santorini Shenanigans
Landing in Santorini was like stepping into a tourist management sim - no photos, please, and straight to the terminal! The airport felt more plush, but our luggage had other ideas, taking its sweet time.
Outside, we quickly realized Uber was playing hard to get, quoting us €44 for a couple mile drive! Luckily, a friendly local offered us a stylish black Mercedes hatched back taxi for just €25. The hazy 6 PM sky made us question whether we were still on Earth or had transported to a different parallel universe.
The Odyssey to Hotel Keti
Finding Hotel Keti turned into an epic worthy of Homer. The street was cobblestoned (luggage wheels’ worst nightmare) and as restricted as a diet before a high school reunion. We followed Google Maps down a rabbit hole only to find it was leading us on a wild goose chase around the hill.
Vanya, ever the detective, was chatting up the hotel receptionist on WhatsApp. After some back and forth and a few wrong turns, we learned we’d passed the entrance next to Hotel Atlantis. Cue the dramatic uphill trek with our overpacked suitcases—definitely counted as our workout for the day! 💪
Figure 3: Caldera from our balcony
We finally met the receptionist, who personally escorted us and our rebellious luggage down 70 steps to the hotel. The view from our balcony? Worth every step and misstep. Our room is a white painted cave with window made right on the door!
FIRA: The Exploration Chronicles
After a quick shower, I was raring to go out again. It was around 8p, and I felt like I was in island of adventure. While the girls showered, I went out to stake the place, buy bottled water, and maybe pick up some fast food.
Figure 4: Lit up streets of Fira
The streets of FIRA beckoned with live music, mouth-watering smells of grilled food, and a vibrant market scene.
Figure 5: Falafeland pita!
A quick WhatsUp call and a bit of convincing later, the girls joined me, and we descended upon Falafeland. Voted a 2023 travel award winner, it did not disappoint. The falafels? Crunchy. The pita? Impeccably thin. We wondered why we put up with thick pitas and burnt oil falafels back in California.
Old Town, New Adventures
Figure 6: Browsing designer stores in Fira
Hunger tamed, we started to explore more of the old town on narrow cobble stoned pathways zig zagging up and down the hills. The place feels like a cross between Carribean islands and Granada. The tourist traps are super charming, and even the souvenirs felt different and unique.
We went down south, and ran into a bunch of bars blaring large music, with women trying to attract tourists to come in. Browsing the shops and merchandise was a lot of fun. We started hitting designer stores where prices started to keep on going up and up and up!
We went as far St. John’s Cathedral, and ran into really interesting art studios:
- Art Icon & Studio: a whole garden of oasis with beautiful, unique, and artsy collection
- Stanvi: closed, but their shop windows made us determined to visit again.
Figure 7: Glittering Santorini
Taking more of the views, and snapping up more pictures of the glittering Santorini island, we made our way back to the hotel.
Our night ended with the usual tourist ritual—charging our plethora of Apple devices, flossing, and reflecting on an adventurous, albeit exhausting, first day.