Flying out of Paros to Athens was quite the experience. Smallest airport I have ever seen. Only one gate. A gift shop, coffee shop and bar all in one place. The bar consisted of a small bottle of white wine, a small bottle of red wine, a can of beer. I opted for a big bottle of water. Our flight was an hour late, bused us to the airstrip to get on the plane. Beverage service stopped half way down the aisle because we were starting to descend. Thank goodness I had that bottle of water. The lady cab driver had the best ring tone on her phone. It whistled and then said Hey Taxi. I laughed out loud.

The lady cab driver that picked us up in Athens was rather unique. First off I was afraid her car was going to break down before we got to the hotel. And she made us pay the toll charge. Asked us for 3 Euros, we gave her a five, she got a receipt and kept the change. Really!

Our last day in Athens was a leisurely one. Since we did pretty much everything when we were here 2 weeks ago, we layout by the pool. That night we went up to the rooftop bar that they have that overlooks the city. It was a beautiful night.

Going home to Cardiff today. They are saying the heat wave continues. It isn’t a heat wave to me…mid 70’s……

Paros is a quiet island…but a great one at that. We are in the little town of Naousa. The beach in front of the place we are staying is the Gulf of Naousa near the Kolympitres Beach. So beautiful with the aqua colors amoung the midnight blue ones.

The little town was close to the port where our ferry docked. It was full of outside cafes, restaurants, and bars. I thought there were more than Mykonos, but then again I could be totally wrong. But everyone was out enjoying themselves in the sun.

For dinner I had an amazing pork dish, with orange and ginger, and what I thought were orange wedges. Out waiter, who was from Bulgaria- and told us we had to go to his country- told me I had to eat them. What a taste! I asked the manager how they were made: you cut them in half, scoop out the orange, purée it with ginger and some licquor put it back in the orange halves and let it sit in the fridge.

He gave us a sample of the local after dinner drink, a Greek sweet liquor called Mastika, or “the tree.” Seasoned with a resin with a slightly pine or cedar like flavor of the mastic tree. A small evergreen tree only found in the Mediterranean region. I asked him if this was the liquor they use for the oranges, and he smiled and told me yes. And I had a good pallet. That made me laugh.

Had to leave for Athens. Going to be back there for 2 days.

We spent most of yesterday relaxing by the pool, and then in the late afternoon we went into the town of Mykonos. We ventured into the local area for dinner, and found a seaside restaurant. Fresh seafood, a wonderful atmosphere, and a chance to chat with the locals.

We sat and watched the yachts come in. One at a time, each one bigger than the other one. The last one that docked was huge….so I called it John Holmes….just because.

As the sun started to set, the lights gradually came on, more people were coming into town and the nightlife began. Daytime turns to night, the sun light gives way to the twinkling of the night lights and the people were ready to enjoy themselves.

Today we are leaving this island and heading to Paros. Another adventure for 2 broke kids.

The adventures continue. We took a boat to the island of Mykonos yesterday. A nice ride along the waters of the Aegean Sea.

Mykonos the “island of the winds.” And the water is spectacular. Little pockets of aqua marine within the dark midnight blue. And clear as crystal. You can look down that water and see forever.

But, last night was the sunset. I am all about the sun setting. I love the sunsets of my beloved Arizona. Seeing the way the colors of the desert change. No more sand color but, the purples and blues on the ground reflecting from the sky. The sun setting in San Diego. A fireball of yellow, orange, red into the sea. The same in Hawaii. Changing colors. And now I got to see it here in Greece. The sun was high, very bright and yellow. Then orange, dancing along the water. Then it just sort of sat there. Teasing just a little. Like a child that doesn’t want to go to bed. But there it went, and it was gone. And minutes later the twinkling lights of the city came to life. Gods masterpiece once again. A wonderful sight to behold.

I still have a few more thoughts about Santorini and of course our wine tour.

First is they have over 500 Greek Orthodox churches on this island. One that was close to us probably had enough room for maybe 8 people. Only one Catholic Church, but Dennis could not tell me where it was.

Their grape vines do not look like the ones you see in the states, Italy or France. They are low, and in a circle resembling a basket. The grapes are picked in August, and because it rains so little here, and they use no irrigation, they are watered by the heavy mist coming off the Aegean Sea at night. These vines here in Greece are the oldest in Europe, and they produce mainly dry white wines. After swirling the wine, you see “lines”on the glass or what we call “legs.” Here they refer to that as tears, because they fall down. They have a great dessert wine here called Vinsanto. I mentioned it yesterday as the wine they use for communion in the Orthodox Churches. To produce this wine, the growers put the grapes on their roofs to dry out, and make raisins. The wine is then made from those. I am not a big sweet wine person, however a girl does not turn down when given a couple of free samples at the various restaurants we had dinner.

Yesterday we relaxed by the pool we had outside our door. And then in the late afternoon we went back into town to explore some more, enjoy the coolness of the evening, and talk to more locals. Santorini has captured my heart.

Today we are taking a boat to Mykonos.

Yesterday was one of those days where at night you look at each other and say, “I can’t believe we did this.”

We are in Santorini, a most picturesque place. We are staying in the little village of Pyrgos. When we got here on Tuesday-basically a 30 minute plane ride from Athens-we went into the local village for a late lunch. We ended up staying quite a few hours talking with the locals. Always one of my most favorite things to do. I promised the guys at Kantouni that I would give them a raving review on Trip Advisor.

But, yesterday we went to 2 winery’s for touring and tastings, and at the 3rd one we did a cooking school. Dennis from Santorini Wine Tours was our guide. He was the best, informative, knew his wines, knew what to pair it with and loves his country.

The first one was Boutari opening in 1989. We sampled dry white wines and pairing them with local cheeses and sausages. Dennis had us sipping the wine with the food, without the food, swirling, swishing. But what I loved was he took his time with us so we could enjoy what we were doing.

Next up was Gavalas Winery. He took us into the old grape room where they use to stomp the grapes. The Gavalas family has been making wine for 3 centuries and as the matriarch use to say, “Wine equals life.” Again good wines and great pairings.

And now Aroma Avlis Food and Wine for our cooking class. We chopped, we stirred, we purée, we mixed with our hands, sautéed, you get the idea. We made, pork fillet in a Vinsanto sauce (their sweet wine. They use this particular wine for the communion wine in the Orthodox Church.) A Santorini salad, Yellow Split Peas-Fava and tomato fritters. When we finished learning and cooking we went up stairs to eat what we made. It was a lively bunch, full of conversations, and just getting to know one another. Bryant and Beth live 70 miles from us in Columbia, Andi and JC live in Northern California in the Bay Area, and were just married 5 weeks ago, and Rod and Carol live in 2 separate places, he works in Iraq and she lives in Minnesota. And Rod is a graduate of the U of A. We both agreed we support the PAC 12.

Such a great experience. And I got the recipes. Today will be a leisurely day.

Because she said yes, we got to attend an actual Greek wedding. Sofia’s wedding was rich in tradition and very beautiful.

Sofia was the first person we became friends with in Cardiff about 5 years ago. She managed La Cha Chas, a tapas bar we frequented. Through the years we have gotten to know one another and shared our stories.

Then she got engaged. So happy for the both of them. On a most gorgeous summer night they got married. We knew the bride and her parents arrived by the sound of the horn honking coming from the car. When she walked around the corner, Antoni presented the bridal bouquet to her. The placing of the wreaths on their heads, the intertwining of ribbon, and the walking around the altar were things we witnessed.

The reception was most festive. Food, wine, fireworks and of course the Greek dancing. Everyone looked so happy, especially the brides father.

Gods blessings on Sofia and Antoni. You both were radiant.

It all started with a yes. Being able to travel over here, and visiting the various countries is all because the big guy said yes when given the opportunity to work in Wales. And let’s really be honest, this journey began for me when I said yes to his proposal.

We toured Athens yesterday. A most picturesque city. Full of history. I learned a lot. About the battle between Athena and Dionysius, why the marathon is 26 Miles…..and I saw their tomb of the unknown soldier which is also guided by 2 soldiers.

But the highlight was Dinner in the Sky. You are strapped in chairs and taken up 160 feet, overlooking Athens for a 5 course dinner. It culminates with the sun setting. Magda was our chef and cheerleader. Taking our pictures, clapping to the music, and serving us our gourmet food. We basically was up there for about an hour and a half. It was truly an experience and quite the adventure.

Today is wedding day for our friend Sofia. Why we are here, and why we planned this vacation.

Again….2 broke kids…..