Greek food

The husband & I are not picky eaters so we were not too concerned about what you can eat in Greece. From the trip we realized that authentic Greek food is not to our liking. The hits and misses are highlighted below. 

Greek salad. Our first Greek food on the first night. Before this, I only knew Greek salad had feta cheese which I love. When it came, we realized that the only 2 ingredients in the salad which we liked were the cheese and cucumber. We weren't really huge fans of tomatoes and olives, let alone onions. Fortunately the tomatoes were very fresh and tasted juicy, not like those we have in Singapore. We managed to finish the salad but agreed that it'll be the first & last Greek Salad in Greece. 

[Author's note: At another restaurant we ordered seasonal salad. The ingredients comprise of everything a Greek salad has, but no feta cheese. Meh]

Chef's platter. Also known as Meze, the chef's platter is a combination of Greek snacks/appetizer. The dishes include local sausages (yum), feta cheese (yum), ham/cold cut, meatballs, boiled egg, and tzatiski (see below). We ate the chef's platter in a quaint cafe nearby the Piraeus hotel. The platter costs 5,50 Euro and can be shared by 2 persons. 

Tzatiski. This is a yoghurt cucumber & something else dip to accompany the bread or pita. Tastes similar to yoghurt vege dish from Indian restaurants, but less watery. The portion is usually quite large when you order it as an appetizer (costs about 4 - 5 Euros) so to save money & save stomach space we didn't order it from any restaurants.

Spinach pie. Tasty for breakfast and mid-day snack. The crust is crispy and the filling was just nice. You can find the pie at any bakery in Athens and on the islands, or even in your hotel buffet breakfast. 

Nescafé Freddo. Also known as iced coffee. Price ranges from 1,20 Euro (in local coffee chain) to 4,50 Euro (in Mykonos cafe with waterfront view). The iced coffee is 'foamy' at the top, and you can choose whether to have milk and sugar in your coffee. There's also cappucino Freddo and espresso Freddo. In Greece, Starbucks takes a backseat while the freddos take centre stage. 

Santorini Tomato Balls. Not sure if this dish is only found in Santorini because the tomatoes come from Santorini. This is an appetizer and comes in 3 quite large pieces. The balls are not exactly 'round' like balls, think of them more like meatballs. The tomato is mixed with starch/tapoica to give a chewy/rubbery texture, and fried so they are a bit dry. 

Moussaka. A moussaka is a baked something. The one we tried is baked Aubergine with beef. It looks like lasagna (without the pasta) and tastes a bit curry-ish. It's an appetizer but the serving is big enough to be a main dish (also because after a while you will get sick/bored of it).

Gyros. The cheapest food you can find in Greece, regardless of whether you are in Athens on on the islands. A Gyros pita costs 2 Euros in Athens. Gyros is the big chunk of meat on a vertical stick, and the cook will shave off the meat to place in your pita or platter (if you order 'portion'). It is similar to Middle Eastern cuisine (kebab) but the meat is typically chicken or pork. The Middle Eastern version is beef, lamb or both. Because of the type of meat used, the gyros is much drier. It pales in comparison to the kebab lunch vans in New York City. 

Souvlaki. This is Greece's version of meat on the stick. Similarly it's usually pork or chicken only, hence the meat is very dry. 

Frozen Yoghurt. The frozen yoghurt is sold by weight, and usually self service. You get to fill up your bowl and select your own toppings. Each 100gram costs 2 Euro in Santorini. 

Chocolate soufflé. Yes, this is not a Greek food. But I just want to highlight that in Greece, chocolate soufflé means chocolate lava cake. 

Baklava. Greek dessert that sounds really sweet so we didn't try it. But you can find it in cafés & restaurants. 

Greek omelette. This dish is only available for breakfast. It's not the typical American omelette where it's mushy and half-circle shaped. The Greek omelette is more 'fried oyster egg' style. Very yummy. 

Fried cheese. You can order the fried cheese on its own or with a salad. The one we tried was with a salad (because we were not sure if we liked it). In the end we're glad that we didn't get the fried cheese solo because the taste was too strong and we didn't like it. I'm not sure if you can fry different types of cheese, but the cheese we had started with the letter N. 

Greece is also famous for their seafood like grilled fish and mussels. But these are quite standard so no need for much explanation. 

Beauty of Santorini

Santorini is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. The views are picture perfect no matter where you turn.

In case you don't already know, Santorini is a volcanic island, formed as part of the Minoan eruption 3600 years ago. I'm not really a history or geography buff so please don't blame me if the facts are wrong. Anyway, the point is that you will be amazed by the white-washed homes, hotels, shops perched at the side of the cliff (caldera side). At the same time, from the top of the cliff you get to look down to see the clear blue lagoon connected to the Aegean Sea. At certain places (namely the old port and Amoudi Bay), you can take a very long walk down the cliff to enjoy the sea at a closer distance. You certainly won't want to walk up the cliff in Santorini sunshine.

Cliff - a very stark difference from Mykonos

More cliffs

Santorini is made up of many villages (I only know the ones that tourists go to). One thing I particularly liked about the island is that the villages are positioned in a way (due to geographical forms) that you can't see another village when you are in one. 

On our first night in Santorini, we attempted to walk from the hotel in Firostefani to Fira. We couldn't see Fira from where we were, but we knew the general direction (i.e. Walk straight with caldera on right). At the turn of one corner after walking for about 10 minutes, we caught out first glimpse of Fira. It was really pretty as the cliff-side bars, restaurants, hotels were nicely lit in ambient light. Fira was also situated slightly lower than Firostefani hence we could see almost the entire village from where we're standing.

First glimpse of Fira

Fira in the day

At the bottom of the cliff is the old port of Santorini

Walking to Fira from Firostefani. Most of the path is paved with cobbled stones like this.

If you walk in the opposite direction from Firostefani you will reach Oia (see other post). You will see Oia only after you are over a mountain/hill. This way it doesn't spoil the surprise and doesn't let you have the feeling "how come we're not reaching" as you are on your hike. 

Some claimed Oia to be the most beautiful part of the island. Yes - because that's where you find the blue domed cathedrals and the pathways are paved with marble (Oia used to be the richer part of the island). No - because that's where the crowds are during the day and during sunset. Oia is where you get to see unblocked views of the sunset but you may get blocked by the throngs of people (look out for my post on alternate ways to view the sunset). 

We prefer Firostefani most because it has a very good balance of tranquility for the view and buzz from the restaurants. You also have a rather good view of the sunset (but not full view as it'll get blocked by Thirassa island). It's also more "local", you don't really see souvenir shops here. 

Mykonos in a day

Mykonos served as a stopover island to break up the ferry journey from Athens to Santorini. We knew before choosing Mykonos that it was a "party island" so we chose a less "party" location to stay in, which was 1 km from town, and 1.5km from the beach. Read our review on Hotel Milena here.

We arrived at Mykonos around 10:45am, by the 7am Sea Jets Ferry from Piraeus. Our hotel provided free transfer, but if you are not the lucky ones, you can take the (a) local bus or (b) sea bus to town. I recommend the sea bus as it gives you more view, but it could be slightly more expensive at 2 Euros per pax. 

The first thing we noticed while driving to the hotel was the ATVs! Everyone was driving ATVs! It's a very handy way to get around the island, especially to more secluded beaches which the local buses do not ply. It seemed safe enough to get one of those to drive around, if you are used to driving. Unfortunately the husband & I wasn't brave enough to get one of those and opted for walking and local buses instead. The ATV costs about 30 - 35 Euros per day. A car only costs slightly more (but I think you have to pay more petrol). Scooters are cheaper options.

The bus stop was fortunately outside our hotel, and we could take it to Paraga or Paradise Beach in 1 direction, as well as town (in the other direction). The hotel recommended us the Paraga Beach because Paradise Beach was too "party" (and she could see that we are not the party kind). That being said, Paraga is still rather crowded in the afternoon, and lined with "private" deck chairs. The reason why I had placed "private" in inverted commas was because the deck chairs are obviously owned by the restaurant/bar behind it, but no one really came to take our order.

There is a small area to the right of the beach where there are no chairs, and it's free for all to use. You can set up your own umbrella and towel. The first thing I noticed in that area was topless women. There were quite a lot of them hanging out at the free side of the beach.

The waters are really clear in Paraga Beach. I later found out that it's the same all over Greece. The cool blue waters will cool you down in the afternoon sun. We easily spent about 3 - 4 hours in Paraga Beach. If you are looking for more affordable refreshments, look out for the mini market at the beach. The prices are reasonable as compared to the restaurants/bars. Another advice about the restaurants: Although the restaurants are beach-facing, you are not allowed to leave your stuff at the tables and take a dip in the pool. They would prefer you to use the deck chairs.

"Free side" of the beach

Not so free side of the beach

Based on recommendation from the hotel, we had seafood dinner at Kounelas Fish Tavern, located at Mykonos town. The thing we liked about Greece is that the people are generally good-natured and they are not out to cheat you. For example, they serve you bread, because that's what the locals eat as well, and the bread is priced reasonably at 1.50 Euros. Some restaurants/cafes will ask you first before serving you the bread. In Prague, the bread is a must, and it costs 4.50 Euros. At Kounelas Fish Tavern, the server will let you choose the fish, let you know the price first, and get your agreement. Very different from what I have heard about Singapore seafood hawkers at Newton Circus or others. Read our TripAdvisor review on Kounelas here.

The next morning we went to a small bakery opposite the hotel for breakfast. The hotel offers buffet breakfast at 6 Euro per pax but we were too "giam". We bought a variety of pastries (Greece makes really good pastry crusts), cappucino for me, filter coffee for the husband, all for 6 Euros. If you are not sure what to get at the bakery (because there are no signs & no prices), tell the person behind the counter "ham & cheese", "cheese", "sausage", "spinach" or "chocolate". Most of the bakeries will have them. The big ones are about 1.20 Euro per piece while you can buy 3 mini ones for 1 Euro. 

We strolled to town again in the morning. Bad idea because the "streets" are in full sunshine. (Note: evening time is much better when the sun is lower and can be blocked by the buildings). 

We had lunch by the waterfront so that we could get the sea breeze. The food wasn't cheap of course, but worth the shelter and the view. Among the many restaurants there, we chose Rouvera because the waiter made the right connection with the husband. A lot of them, upon seeing our Asian faces, will shove Chinese menus at us, or attempt to engage us in Chinese with 你好, 欢迎, and 吃饱了吗?, which throws us in the other direction. This waiter at Rouvera, shouted some Bayern player's name (because the husband was wearing a Bayern jersey) and an instant connection was made. See our review on Tripadvisor here.

Hike from Fira to Oia

This is the famous hike that is highly-rated in travel guides and tripadvisor. This hike is best taken early in the morning or late in the evening before the sun gets too hot. About 10% of the hike is through the villages; the rest 90% are on hiking trails. The trails will bring you up hill and down hill and up hill and down hill ...(you get it). Bring your own refreshments as there are no pit stops along the way. We only saw 2 cafés (1 near Pantheon villas, but was closed. The other one was beside the road -see pic below).

I'll let the photos speak about the hike... 

Skaros Rock - At the start of the journey as we were staying in Firostefani

Imerovigli Village in sight

Just passed Imerovigli and full hiking trail ahead

Looking back to see how far we have climbed

Great view of the sea at the other side (non-caldera)

Walking by the cliff side

Cafe!

Looking back once again. We climbed up & down the mountain at the left.

In case you are bored with trails, there are steps along the way as well.

Yes, up the hill.

The husband remarked that when you feel super tired along the way, there's always a church in sight to provide you a glimmer of hope.

Finally! Oia in sight

Riding the ferry to the Greek islands

We took the ferry from Athens Piraeus to Mykonos, and then Mykonos to Santorini. It's a good way to break up the journey so that you don't have to endure an 8-hour ferry ride from Athens to Santorini (another alternative is to take a flight).

Wanting to maximize our time in Mykonos, we took the 7am Seajets Master Jet ferry from Gate E9. It is a high-speed ferry with limited outdoor deck space. We paid 115 Euro for 2 Business Class tickets (booked online, collected the day before at the ticket kiosk between E8 and E9). There are about 30-40 business class seats which are located at the upper deck (where the boat captain is). The advantage of the business class seats is that you get a sea view. There is also more legroom as there are no seats in front of you. There are also power sockets for charging. Because ours was an early ferry the normal deck (for economy passengers) was quite empty as well. If you are carrying luggage, there are luggage racks at the car park area for you to deposit your luggage on your way up to the passenger deck. You can collect your luggage on your way down during disembarkation. Food and drinks are available for purchase on board the ferry. The ferry left on time at 7am but arrived at Mykonos at 10:40am, 30 mins later than the stipulated time. We had free hotel transfer from the port, and the driver was already waiting for us when we arrived. However, you can also choose to take the Seabus to the old port (Mykonos town) for 2 Euros.

"Economy" class seats

Arriving at Mykonos

We took Hellenic Seaways Highspeed 5 from Mykonos to Santorini. It was also a high speed ferry travelling from Athens to Heraklion. We didn't take Seajets because we have read horror stories about the ferry being late. We bought the tickets at the kiosk in Athens Piraeus. They cost 113 Euros.

We arrived at the port in Mykonos at about 2:30pm. You just stand and wait for the ferry to arrive - like everyone else there. Because there's usually only one ferry at a certain period of time, it's unlikely for you to get on the wrong ferry.

China tour groups will get their entourage to arrange the bags in a row. I don't see what's the purpose

It's coming!

The ship "reverses" to the port.

The ferry arrived on time at 2:55pm and the transition of passengers and vehicles was very quick. To our amazement our tickets turned out to be table seats hence we had the additional leg room. The ferry made stops at Paros and Naxos first, before arriving at Santorini at 5:45pm (stipulated time on ticket). Santorini new port is very inaccessible so make sure you have made your transfer arrangements before getting there. There are also limited taxis waiting at the port. 

Overall, we had a good experience travelling on Greek ferries to the islands. The crew are well organized (though at first glance it may not be obvious) and friendly.

The cliffs of Santorini welcomes you on arrival

Ferry arrives in Santorini

7 hour transit in Hamad International Airport

This new airport was recently launched in July 2014. I was eager to explore the airport as I knew it was very big and thus expected many shops. 

Turns out, the airport was big but the shopping & dining experience was quite miserable. The airport has only 1 terminal, and there is a big teddy bear in the centre atrium. Shops & dining options surround the centre and that's it! Nothing else. 

Given that we had 7 hours to spare, we had to hunt for 'sleeping areas'. Dubai Airport had a lot of full length seats along the gates as it was used to hosting Emirates' transit passengers. I expected the same in Doha since it was Qatar Airways's transit hub. Those seats were only available in 3 designated "quiet rooms". 1 is for family (male & female), 1 for male, and 1 for female only. Family quiet room is opposite C4 whereas the Men's and Women's Quiet Rooms are in Gate B area.

We managed to take a 2 and a half-hour nap in the family quiet room and woke up at 3:30am Doha time because it was already 8:30am in Singapore time. 

It's now the last 45 mins of our 7-hour transit. Throughout the 7-hour we have browsed all the shops, browsed through some magazines in WHSmith, we ate 'breakfast' (Singapore time) at the food court, napped for 3 hour plus (including a quick nap outside the gate), watched 1 episode of Running Man on the iPad, and played Candy Crush.

After this experience, it is unlikely that I will endure another 7 hour transit here in Doha. 

On to Greece!

Qatar Airways Review

IOur flight to Doha was scheduled at 9:20pm. I received a phone call at about 4:30pm from Qatar Airways ticketing office. The lady on the line explained that the flight was fully booked, and they are requesting for 'a favour' to put me on Turkish Airlines instead. The Turkish Airlines flight was scheduled at 11:30pm and would arrive Athens earlier at 9:30am, instead of Qatar's 12:30pm. They are also giving USD150 per passenger as compensation (but not in cash, I had to redeem it in person at the Paragon office after my trip). Noting that Turkish Airlines is much inferior than Qatar, I asked the lady whether there is a possibility for an upgrade to business class on the Turkish Airlines flight. She replied no, as the qualification for upgrade in Turkish Airlines was not managed by Qatar. I persisted and asked whether I could be upgraded during the flight back instead (which she confirmed was on Qatar). The answer to that request was no as well. After much consideration with the husband, we decided not to take up that offer although the timing was much more favorable (no need for a 7 hour transit at Doha) and able to get some $$$. The husband's point of view was "don't make your problem my problem". Though he did think that we were probably the only ones that rejected the offer.

So anyway, here we are at Changi Airport Terminal 3, at 8:35pm, waiting to board the plane. The plane is not here yet! And we have the crew sitting outside at the waiting area with us. I have no complaints if there are delays, mainly because it is quite cosy here and we have a 7 hour transit awaiting us in Doha.

[Updated at 12:32am at Hamad International Airport, Doha] Depsite a slightly late start, the plane arrived 15 mins ahead of schedule. The first thing we noticed upon boarding is a standing bar-like area in the business class. The cabins were lighted up in purplish-pink (Qatar's colour) to give a cosy feel. I was impressed by the personal entertainment centre. It was a touch screen panel and the controller was also a touch screen panel. But the husband highlighted that the selections were limited (as compared to Emirates). The seats were quite spacious. They served us sweets and packed towels at the start before take off.

The meal service was rather slow (SQ was much faster as they had 2 people operating each cart) but the food was good! Both the nonya fish with rice and roast chicken with mash potato were flavorful. The bun was also warm (SQ serves cold buns). Service throughout the flight wasn't that good though. I had to make my way to the galley to get drinks as unlike Emirates or SQ, the cabin crew does not walk down the aisle with a tray of beverages. 

Nonetheless it was a smooth flight and thank God we safely arrived at our destination. We have 7 hours to spare till our next flight to Athens so I'll probably write a post on Hamad International Airport next. 

The service staff onboard the Doha-Athens flight was also very friendly. We had sausage & omelette or pancakes for breakfast, both were very yummy as well. On this flight, the staff walked down the aisle with drinks (the point I complained earlier). Another thing to note is that you can actually start watching movies on the  entertainment set even before take off and even after landing. This is something i experienced on Emirates & Delta as well, but not on SQ. 

Where to stay in Santorini

Now that we have decided on Santorini, the next question was where to stay on the island. Santorini offers a wide range of accommodation, ranging from the super budget ones (less than 80 Eur) to the super luxurious ones (more than 500 Eur). You can also choose to stay at the beach or on the caldera cliff.

The 2nd option was an easy pick as the reason why we are going to Santorini is to enjoy the view. As such, the hotel must be on the cliff, and more importantly, have unblocked views of the Aegean Sea. Naturally, these views do not come cheap. 

After scouring through potential hotels on TripAdvisor, we decided on Mirabo Luxury Villas. The hotel is located in Firostefani, outskirts of Fira, but still 5-10mins walk from the throngs of people in Fira. There's only 3 rooms in the hotel - the honeymoon suite, the apartment, and the studio. We could only afford the studio (126 Eur per night, non-refundable rate). 

Our other picks include:

1) Reverie Traditional Apartments - Rated #1 on TA. Did not have views of the caldera from the rooms. 

2) Smaro Studios - Free welcome pack & mini bar on arrival. Breakfast is inclusive. 5 mins to bus stop #7.

3) Sunset Hotel - Read from reviews that the quality & size of the rooms are not consistent. Breakfast is inclusive. 

4) Alizea Villa - 90 Eur per night, but it has a "budget" feel. 

-------

[Post trip update]

Absolutely did not regret picking Mirabo for its location. However when we got there, we realized alternative options 1, 2 & 3 are actually within close vicinity. Option 1 faces the road so there's no view of the caldera from the rooms. options 2 & 3 are just next door to Mirabo. Not sure if all rooms have windows facing the caldera. If they do, then perhaps, with the free breakfast, they will be better options.
You can read my Tripadvisor review of Mirabo here.

The Itinerary

Having booked our international tickets to arrive and depart in Athens, we would have to find a way to reach Santorini, and perhaps make a few more stops along the way?

Option 1
Arrive Athens, spend a day and half in Athens, board the 4-day cruise from Piraeus the next day, disembark in Santorini on the 3rd day, spend 2 more nights in Santorini, fly from Santorini to Athens to Singapore.

Pros: Get to visit 7 destinations (6 destinations from the cruise + Athens).
Cons: Not advisable to take a domestic flight connecting to an international flight on the same day (because of likelihood of strikes). The cruise costs USD 560 per pax, not inclusive gratuities, and additional shore excursions. We also "lose out" 1 night because we're disembarking at Santorini.

Option 2
Arrive Athens, board the overnight ferry (that looks more like a cruise with proper cabins) at Piraeus to Chania. Take a one-day car tour from Chania to Heraklion. Stay overnight at Heraklion to board the next day's morning ferry to Santorini. Stay 3 nights in Santorini, fly to Athens, stay 2 more days in Athens, then depart for Singapore.

Pros: Chania seems like a nice place to visit. Quite cool to experience the "high-class" cabin. Minimise risk since our domestic and international flight is not on the same day.
Cons: The 10-hour car tour is quite expensive (385 EUR), which made us question how much do we want to visit Chania.

Option 3
Arrive Athens, stay overnight at Piraeus, to take the morning ferry to Mykonos. Spend a day in Mykonos, take the next morning's ferry to Santorini. Stay 3 nights in Santorini, fly to Athens, stay 2 more days in Athens, then depart for Singapore.

Pros: Minimise risk since our domestic and international flight is not on the same day. The cheapest option of the 3.
Cons: Mykonos may not be the best island for us (but that doesn't mean we're not cool). We'll just treat it as a sight-seeing opportunity, since a lot of celebrities will be there.

The husband was quite keen on Option 1 while I preferred Option 3. He liked having the convenience of leaving our luggage on board the cruise while we visit the various towns. Being the nice gentleman he was, the husband "agreed" that spending significantly more to visit more ancient towns is not a necessity and "agreed" to go with Option 3.

Off to Greece!

Santorini has always been one of my dream destination. We did not manage to visit the Greek island for our honeymoon because the Greece weather is lousy in November. This year, the "itch" to visit Santorini came back again (since the "US itch" has been addressed last year). It seemed like a good place to go especially since the husband needs to ration his leave, though a lot has disputed that "there's so much to see in Greece that even 2 weeks is not enough". We are not history buffs, and from my personal experience in Rome, I don't think I (I'm quite sure I can speak for the husband as well) am very into the architectural ruins. A friend has told me that you need much more imagination (as compared to when in Rome) to visualise the glorious greek empire when we're there.

After a few weeks of research, we, or rather, I, plunged into the first sign of commitment - buying our air tickets to Athens! It was an exciting but painful experience. I had to scour the online booking sites to get the best priced tickets for any weekend starting from May to September. I even had a spreadsheet listing the dates and the ticket prices for the different airlines.


There were too many variables and eventually I narrowed the airline selection to Qatar because of 3 reasons.
1) It had the shortest travel time after Singapore Airlines (which is Turkish Airlines in disguise)
2) It had the best timing, i.e. depart Singapore at night, arrive Athens at noon.
3) I've always wanted to take Qatar Airways ever since they sponsored the weather segment on the Channel News Asia. I can always remember their tag line - "Qatar Airways, the world's 5-star airline".

Now that I have the airline as a constant, we move on to vary the dates to get the lowest ticket price. The prices for June and July went up as high as $2500 per ticket (including taxes), and many of the flights are also sold out. This could have been a very good sales gimmick, but it did get me really anxious. Aug 22 - 30 was the "cheapest" ticket I found, at $1600. Despite being the cheapest, this is arguably the most expensive air ticket I've ever spent. My open jaw tickets on Delta to New York (which is gazillion miles further), combined with domestic flight to Chicago, and flying back from Chicago costed us only $1300 per ticket.

Now that I (we) have spent our largest purchase ever, it has indirectly opened the floodgate to book (& pay) the rest of the holiday logistics (domestic flight, ferry, accommodation).

As you may realise, the earlier paragraphs mentioned "I" many times, and not "the husband" nor "we". The husband's response to the purchase: "Wah, you so stress ah?"
And this is why I love the husband :)