Today the ship set anchor at Santorini, one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Seriously, you have no idea.
It's not that the island itself is anything terribly beautiful... the land is kind of stark and rocky. It's what the natives have done with it that makes it so special. Namely, the really cool villages that spill over the cliffs. The buildings, architecture, and colors all combine to create something amazing to see. Especially the many churches, which are breathtaking against the vibrant blue sky...
The main city I visited was Fira, which is above the harbor where the ship docked...
To get up to the city from the waterfront you can either walk, ride a donkey, or take the cable car. Riding the cable car is by far the easiest, but kind of freaky... you'd swear it was traveling straight up in the air. I don't do well with heights, so this was not big fun for me...
Further up the island from Fira there was a smaller, much quieter village called OÃa, which is the kind of place that Santorini is famous for. By the time I was leaving, there were so many tour busses and so many people that it was getting difficult to walk down the narrow streets. But even with the crowds, there's no denying how attractive the city is...
I think I shot more photos in Santorini than I've shot in all other ports of call combined. If it weren't for the masses of tourists which overrun the place, it would be an amazing vacation destination all on its own.
Once back to the ship, I decided to have an ice cream cone, and was pleasantly surprised that the cone that was filled for me was well constructed with a nice swirl on top. When I complimented the girl at the machine, she told me that she had made ice cream cones for five hours the day before, and was getting quite good at it. I was curious to know if the girl at the ice cream machine at the opposite side of the ship was equally skilled, and so I made my way aft to find out. Turns out she was even BETTER at making ice cream cones, but had a very good reason for it. While attending college, she had worked at McDonalds to earn money, and had made thousands of cones during her two years there. I was in awe to be in the presence of an ice cream master, and walked away wondering if I would have the opportunity to practice my cone skills before disembarking.
Ice cream cones so totally rule.
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great pictures! you should print them and open a postcard there;-)
I’ve never been more fascinated with ice cream cones in my life.
Your pictures are simply breathtaking, and yet I get the feeling that being there is just so much more!
I was wondering if you’d hit Santorini. I am DYING to go there.
However, am settling for Vilnius, where we go Friday.
Great shots, Dave! Santorini looks pretty spectacular.
I’m pretty good with heights but have a strong dislike of chairlifts- I think I’d find the cable car pretty freaksome too.
wow! i have to say – you have taken some of the most gorgeous photos ever! are these all w/ your point and shoot?
and swirl ice cream cones are the BEST!
Wow, those pictures are gorgeous.
Great shots. Pretty much I wanna move to Greece now.
How old are these cone girls, cause I’m thinking you may need to marry one of them (but only if they come with their own ice cream machine).
That first photo is amazing! I’m rather jealous…
Ahhh. The old “ice cream cone making machine” flirt. Very nice 🙂
Anybody hiring over there?
Those pictures are wow!
Your photos are amazing. I hope some end up in your store…makes me want to re-decorate a room in my house to match the vibrant colors. I’m so jealous as I sit here at work.
great pictures! you should print them and open a postcard there;-)
Wow…what gorgeous colors!
wow. you’ve sold me. as soon as i get enough money, i’m going to greece.
woww.
Those photos are so unreal… they look like paintings! Well, Dave, I never imagined you’d be found on a cruise ship… this gives you a totally new image! Sounds like cartoon fodder to me. I’m jealous of your cruise… enjoy!
Your adventures are great Dave. At this moment I am living vicariously through you. (Mainly because of Santorini but the ice cream sounds awesome too.)
Wow! I so want to go there now. That looks gorgeous, and so out of the ordinary. I miss Europe. I wanna go back.
Great photos!!! In your honor I had a soft ice cream berry sunday at Costco this lunchtime.
You might consider purchasing a soft ice cream maker when you get home — just so you don’t lose weight too rapidly and cause health concerns.
So, where are the nude shots?
Wow. That first picture is stunning.
The Isle of Capri was like that. Rocky as all hell, but the way they built into it, this stunning white city against the bluest water and sky you’d ever seen… it was amazing.
is there an ice cream cone log? will we be getting a count at the end of the trip? or a pants size adjustment?
these have been the best pictures from your trip – they have given me painful pangs of vacation envy. it really deos look lovely.
Beautiful ! C’est très beau la Grèce ! 🙂
P.S. CRÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈÈME GLACÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉE ! 😀
P.P.S. Do you hear me ? Because you can where you are ! 😀
Those pictures are so beautiful that they don’t look real. Kinda like they were photo shopped or paintings. Makes me want to go visit the place.
I managed a frozen yogurt shop in college. We had to practice making soft-serve cones. They had to be uniform in size, shape, and weight. I remember making many cones before my boss was satisfied. But 15 years later, my ice cream cones still rock! 🙂
BTW – You’re so making me jealous. As the last 2 weeks of the school year drag by, a vacation far far away from here is looking better. Especially a place like Santorini. Where do you go next?
Absolutely breathtaking photos, dude. Gorgeous.
Those are the best pictures yet! It is so beautiful and colorful and and and….perfect :).
I would have freaked on that lift thing for other reasons, like being stuck in a moving box – hi, claustrophobia!
Stunning photos, Dave. Simply stunning.
I’m glad the ice cream cones were better today. I also appreciate a well-constructed cone!
b e a u t i f u l
thank you for all these travel logs and fantastic pictures. it makes me feel a tad bit more better and something to look forward to while slacking in office… (cough) those churches are so polished and clean to be real!
All these photos were taken with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel SLR using a Neutral Density filter (to help balance the bright light) along with a circular polarizer (to get rid of stray light)… there is no Photoshopping involved (except to crop the photos and re-save them as web JPEGs).
Many of my photos were overexposed, even with the ND filter and polarizer, because the sunlight is pretty intense. I wish I was skilled enough to adjust for all this stuff, but “point-and-shoot” is about all I can manage.
Any credit for these photos doesn’t really belong to me, but instead to the incredible scenery of Santorini!
Great snapshots + Great stories = Thanks! 😀
P.S. I was waiting to hear you had proposed to the Cone Master, and figured we’d all be chipping in to buy you an ice cream machine of your own by way of a wedding present. 😉
Well, actually OÃa is a pretty silent place for a vacation. It is mostly for sunset viewing that busloads of tourists are being brought up there.
The traditional cave hotels (~25 rooms) on the caldera are probably the most quiet and relaxing places on earth with the ultimate view into the caldera.
My wife and I spent two weeks there in September 2003 and it was just awesome. You just reminded me that some day we need to return… 😉
Santorini is one of my favorite places as well. When I was there, hubby and I climbed the steps to Fira…hot, sweaty, smelling of donkey dung – but I can say that I did it. I have many of the same pictures you took as well. It is such a gorgeous place. (My other favorite place is Taormina in Sicily…)
Santorini is definitely one of the most beautiful places on earth. I only got to spend about five hours in port there, and I’m dying to go back.
Thanks for the pictures, and the reminder!
I AM SO JEALOUS!
I have been to each of these places and I miss them so much, and I forgot how blue the sky was, like super-natural blue. 1. did you not go to the beach in Santorini? that’s an adventure and 2. Did you not see a sunset over the caldera? You have to go back just for that, I must scan my pics in from my trip…SO JEALOUS!!! except for McCrotchy, why are there always one of those in each group? Why are you here if you don’t want to be here?