Brisbane - Sydney - Athens - Santorini - Istanbul - Cappadocia

[I love to travel]

Sounds a blast

 

[JohnK]

Very nice trip report.

I've never visited the Greek Islands. I was under the impression that Oia was a party island back in the 80's and 90's. Some day I'd love to visit some of the islands that aren't as popular to tourists.

 

[dxwell]

I'm back from the dead.

Fate left my laptop charger back in Brisbane, so 2 days into Santorini my laptop exhausted its charge and I was no longer in contact with work (blissO. Unfortunately, I was no longer able to write this TR.

We spent 5 nights in Oia, Santorini. I was asked upon my return to Aus as to whether it was worth it:

• Worth visiting? - hell yeah! Amazing architecture that you must see before you pop off.
• Isn't it touristy? Oh yeah, touristy as all ****. However, before 9am and after 6pm the population is only those who live or stay, so very quiet.
• Food? We had very delicious local food at 3 out of every 4 restaurants we went to
• Expensive? Yes, but prices on par with Aus. We found a particularly good value stay for what we got.

 

[dxwell]

Some photos from our stay in Oia. We stayed in a cave carved into a hillside, it was very cool during the day - this was our five days of well-deserved sloth. Our spa bath looked out over the caldera and I spent many hours sitting in it with ouzo in hand staring over the magnificent water.

 

[dxwell]

Our next stop was Istanbul. I loved Istanbul.
There is an energy throughout the city: it is chaotic, energetic, raw, cultured, ancient, new.
We flew in over the Bosphorus Straight and my mind imagined the sailors over millennia who traversed this iconic waterway.

We stayed in Sultanhamet at the White House. Hopefully you have already read my notes re staying centrally, this place was a very short walk to the key points of old-town Istanbul. While I rate the rooms as 8.5/10, I can give the service a fulsome 10/10, certainly the best service I have ever received at any hotel worldwide.

Off we went to the Giritli Restaurant courtesy of a local guide. 40 Euro for the set menu - a 5 course meal with all drinks inclusive.
I felt embarrassed that we hadn't eaten much Turkish cuisine in our past, it certainly isn't that big in Aus. However, I found the food in Turkey to be some of the best that I have eaten. Meze plates = appetisers, but I prefer the old translation of "in the middle", were divine (think how wonderful tapas or pinxto are). We went to a superb restaurant in Karakoy and the group of four locals asked us where our food was - we were mid courses but the aim was to have many meze plates swamping the table.

Anyhoo - back to the Giritli: where ouzo was the greek thing, raki is the Turkish drink. I read that you drink raki not to get drunk but to bring out the flavour of the food. And raki we did. Life is short, spend it well. So, here we go, another drink that we will be forced to imbibe when we eat.

 

[get me outta here]

Really enjoyed reading about new places and old places. But where is the rest of it!