Santorini

So this is the last of our post about the honeymoon. Then we will be back to posting about the true purpose of this blog and that is our adventures in Alaska!

Santorini is another gorgeous Greek island that has a caldera. There are two volcanoes in the middle, one old which is "dormant," and one new which is still "active." The parts of the islands facing the volcanoes are steep and any structures, such as hotels, are built one on top of the other. Needless to say, you are constantly going up and down stairs. The other side of the island is completely flat and level. Our hotel faced the volcanoes and the sun set for that matter (Santorini is world famous for their sun sets).

Much like we did in Athens and Mykonos, we spent much of our first day in Santorini relaxing and familiarizing ourselves with the area. We ate a pretty delicious restaurant and finished the night off with some gelato and wine before retiring to our hotel which had a view of the entire caldera and the sun set.

Paige insisted that I scuba dive in Santorini also, so without much struggle I headed out again. I went for two dives. The first one we took a boat out to the old Volcano, we dove right off of the boat while Paige stayed up on the boat reading in the sun. This was a neat dive. First, we dove around the crater of the old volcano which is now submerged underwater and becomes deep, real deep, quickly. We then followed the lava rock around part of the island finding our way to an underwater cave. We spent some time exploring this cave. While I am not one that gets claustrophobic and I thoroughly enjoyed this intense experience, I would not recommend submerging yourself 60 feet underwater and then squeezing yourself into a cave. Even for me it felt tight and I was constantly making sure I knew where the exit was. Lava rock doesn't seem too stable to me either. The second dive was one around the island, its reefs and to several places where underwater life is known to congregate. An experience I will not soon forget.

 Because the European 4-wheelers were not powerful enough to get up and down the hills of Santorini we rented a smart car. Yes, it is one of those two seater cars that when you see one in the States you think "yes, I can tip that over." But in Santorini they were perfect. Strong enough to get up and down the hills, small enough to park and maneuver anywhere. We had a lot of fun traveling to various different beaches and sights with our smart car. In Santorini they have the white sand, red sand and black sand beaches. Original I was thinking that these beaches semi resembled their names, but no, they where true red, black and white sand beaches. And we made sure that we put some good leisure time on them.

One of the evenings in Santorini we took a sail boat ride from the main island to the new volcano. Once at the volcano we docked and hiked up to the crater. From this vantage point you had a full 360 degree view of Santorini and the other surrounding islands. Also, you could see the gases from the crater spewing out. When down wind of it, the sulfur smell was strong and the temperature rose from just shy of 100 degrees to well above. When you placed your hand on the ground you could feel that it was being heated from below. When you dug your hand into the ground it burnt you because the temperature increased that quickly! Lesson learned.

After hiking back down we continued on with our sail boat journey to another part of the island where the water was heated via thermal vents. Being to shallow for the sail boat to enter, Paige and I dove off the sail boat (15 feet or so) and swam about a quarter mile to the hot springs. We enjoyed ourselves in this warm but red water for some time before swimming back to our boat and climbing aboard. The sail boat then toured other parts of the volcanoes and islands for our viewing before stopping off in some slightly cooler but refreshing water to swim. We spent some time jumping off the boat, swimming and relaxing in the sun. When we were done with our swimming we climbed aboard where the crew had a light dinner and wine ready for us. While eating and listening to music our sail boat sailed out into the Aegean Sea so we could watch the world famous Santorini sun set. After spending several hours hiking, swimming and eating. This was the perfect way to end our evening.

Our last day in Santorini also happened to be my birthday. Paige and I went and got ourselves a fancy couples massage, ate some lunch, and relaxed on the patio of our hotel which overlooked the caldera. We made sure to purchase some goodies and ended the evening with an outstanding Sushi dinner. Santorini was incredible to us. We ate some of the best Greek food, including a restaurant called "Karma." If you are ever in Santorini we highly recommend finding Karma and eating there. Located in the town of Oia, Karma was a short drive from our hotel in Fira. Karma is romantic and was some of the most delicious food we have ever had!

We could not have asked for a better wedding or honeymoon. For this we are very thankful. We look forward to returning to Greece in the future, but in the mean time it is back to our Alaskan Adventures!

Mykonos

We arrived at the port of Mykonos around mid-day. We had a driver waiting for us to take us and our bags to our hotel. It was a relatively quick drive from the port to Ornos. Ornos is a small town on the island of Mykonos. Our hotel was located on a hill that was close enough to walk to the beach with little trouble while also being high enough on the hill to overlook the beaches and the town of Ornos. After getting set up in our hotel we made our way down to the beach. Local restaurants, bars and cabanas were aligned up and down the beach. That first night we spent exploring Ornos, enjoying the beach, some wine and food.

 

 The weather was perfect on the island of Mykonos. It was low 90s with a breeze. Everyone walked, used 4-wheelers and scooters to get everywhere. The local attire, swim suits. We went to a mom and pop car rental place with the intent to rent a scooter, unfortunately if you are a U.S. citizen you need a motorcycle license to rent scooters in Greece. If you are from pretty much any other country you just need a driver license (apparently too many Americans were involved in accidents), so we did the next best thing and rented a 4 wheeler. We used this 4 wheeler to explore the island while visiting different towns and beaches. We also used the 4 wheeler to get to our scuba diving site.

While I have my scuba license, Paige does not. So the first dive was a “discover scuba dive” where an instructor went through the ins and outs of scuba diving with Paige. She familiarized herself with the equipment, ascents, descents and safety procedures. After this brief intro Paige and I, along with the instructor, headed out to the beach where Paige took her first breath underwater, learned to clear her goggles of water when submerged and practiced removing/finding the regulator. We then took off and dove around the island enjoying the underwater life and scenery. Paige did incredible on her first ever dive. Even the instructor was impressed with how quickly she learned the ways of diving. After we returned, I went back out and did a dive that took me deeper and farther into the Aegean Sea. It was incredible diving Mykonos. I think I have convinced Paige to get her license too!

 

Later on Paige and were laying out on the beach when a group of girls who worked for a local club walked by selling tickets for a beach party. We decided to purchase some tickets as it was rated one of the best beach clubs in the world. Purchasing the tickets from these girls included a significant discount. They informed us the only things is “we are required to show up to the club before 1:30am.” We knew clubs here (and in most countries) are open long after 2am but showing up before 1:30am seemed late even by European standards. So we didn't think much of this comment. We ended up showing up to the beach club around mid-night. As we were walking in another American couple was walking out commenting, “don’t waste your money, it is dead.” Sure enough we walk in and there is only a scattered amount of people.

 We decided we would give the club until 3am to get going. Over the next 45 minutes people began to fill the club. Around 3am it was pretty full with more still arriving. After spending several hours dancing around this absolutely gorgeous beach club with a full moon over head and filled to capacity with individuals from all walks of life we decided to call it quits around 5:30am. The Greeks had officially out lasted us. We took off on our 4-wheeler and drove to the other end of the island through the dark of night. We found a perfect little turnout where we had a fantastic view of the moon setting. This was breathtaking watching the "largest moon of the year" disappear behind the mountains of Mykonos. Shortly after the moon had set, we turned our attention to the Aegean Sea and watch one the most spectacular sunrises we had ever seen. To say it was picture perfect would be an understatement.

We spent several days on Mykonos. The remainder of the time was spent on the beach, swimming, eating and just plain relaxing. Paige read through several books while relaxing in the sun (she is probably the fastest reader I know) and I did a couple runs around the island. Paige and I both highly recommend Mykonos to anyone traveling to Greece. It was beautiful, exciting and very hospitable with plenty of entertainment and food. 

Αθήνα, Ελλάδα

We arrived in Athens a little before 9am. Our driver met us at the airport and took us to our hotel in the center of Athens. The hotel was in the perfect location, right next to Syntagma Square, the Parliament, the National Gardens and most importantly the Acropolis, the Temple of Zeus as well as various other archeological sites.

We spent that first day walking around and seeing the sights near our hotel while taking in the amazing weather. We ate at a local food place where we had our first taste of authentic Greek food. We particularly enjoyed the Greek Yogurt with honey (which puts to shame the Greek Yogurt they sell to us in U.S. stores). 

That evening we spent several hours walking up and down Ermou Street and its many side streets. Ermou Street consists of fashion shops, shopping centers, as well as various places to eat. It also goes around the Byzantine Church of Panaghai and leads all the way up to Syntagma Square and the Parliament, which is where our hotel was. After scoping out Ermou Street we caped our night off by walking around the National Gardens which was commissioned by Queen Amalia in 1838. We caught an outdoor concert and enjoyed some wine and gelato.

The next morning we were up early and out the door. We started off our day touring the Acropolis. Acropolis in ancient Greek refers to the highest point in the city. The Acropolis in Athens’ most famous structure is the Parthenon. The Parthenon is a temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena (which is also the actual name of Athens) who is the patron deity for the city of Athens. The Parthenon is considered by many to be the “first true rectangle” in architecture and seems as though it was modeled off of the golden ratio, though it is not known if this was by accident or on purpose (the golden ratio is found a lot in nature but is also used in mathematics and art and is linked to aesthetics).  Furthermore, the floor of the Parthenon is not level. If it were actually level it would make the building appear warped inside, so the architects compensated for this with curves in the floor. Additionally the Parthenon has no true right angles, this combination gives the visual representation of a perfect rectangle and flat floors. The other structures on the Acropolis include the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the temple of Nike.

After we visited the acropolis we went to the new Acropolis Museum, which went a little more in depth in the history of the Acropolis and housed many statues and slabs from the building on the acropolis. It was interesting to learn the Parthenon was converted into a Church by the Christians in the sixth century and became one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in the Roman Empire. The Christians defaced many of the statutes and wall carvings because the statues did not coincid with their beliefs. The Parthenon was also used as a mosque when the Ottoman Turks invaded in 1456. However, the Parthenon sustained the most damage during the Venetian siege in 1687. We ended our tour with the Parliament, The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Temple of Zeus and Panathenaic Stadium which housed the first modern Olympic games in 1896.

We spent the rest of our time in Athens at the Plaka (an area with a bunch of Greek shops), walking Ermou Street, the National Gradens, and eating at local restaurants, one of which had been family owned since the late 1800s. Our trip through Athens was brief but busy and full of history. It was incredible to tour a city with so much history that had played such an important role in the development of western society. After all, Athens is the birthplace of democracy! Our next stop, the island of Mykonos!

The Wedding

We may be a little biased here, but I believe that we had the best wedding ever. Everything went smoothly and there were no major hiccups. On top of that we have the best friends and relatives who journeyed from all over to share in this event with us. All of you that attended help to make this special occasion of ours that much more special, so thank you.

The girls started off the wedding day early getting their hair and make-up done. Ben, one of my groomsmen and I went for a 4 mile run that morning along the waterfront in Tacoma. After the run my dad and I, along with Paige’s Dad and brother dropped the alcohol off at the Tacoma Art Museum. We picked up the Cadillac XTS, our get away car, and slowly started to make our way to PLU where the wedding was taking place.

The ladies continued to help Paige get ready while the men helped me get ready as well, this mostly included getting dressed and drinking some “beverages” that Ben had provided. After my black Brooks Brother suit with a white undershirt, black slim tie, purple socks, cufflinks, topped off with a Tiffany & Co. tie clip, provided by my best man and brother, was all on and ready to go I left with one of the photographers to take pictures and see Paige for the first time.

There are no words to describe how gorgeous Paige looked in her wedding dress. But it confirmed the fact that I am the luckiest man on earth and today was going to be the day that I married my best friend and life long love.

Lagerquist Concert Hall was the perfect place for our wedding, it has a lot of history for Paige and I and is an amazingly gorgeous facility. Unlike what I have heard from others, I remember everything about the wedding from entering for the first time in front of everyone, to watching all of Paige’s Bridesmaids enter, to Paige herself and her father handing her off, a special reading by my father, all of the vows, prayers and words. When we left we saw our get away car nicely painted with several fun gifts inside (poor Paige’s mom!).

The reception was held at the Tacoma Art Museum where guests met for a cocktail hour and had the ability to view the exhibits. We arrived, spent a lot of time talking with our wonderful guests, eating amazing food (maybe the best wedding food ever) and listened to heartfelt and at times comical toasts from the Best Man Kelly and Maid of Honor Maggie. Joe, Paige’s father, gave an incredible toast that had everyone laughing while simultaneously having everyone on the verge of tears. Our first dance was to “What a Wonderful World.” On one of our first dates Paige had mentioned that is what she wanted her first dance to be to and all of these years later I remembered and we made it happen. The father daughter dance was to “I Loved Her First” and “Moon River” was the Groom/Mother dance (one of my Grandpa Benedetti’s favorite songs). The night was capped off by some cake and a LOT of dancing. We had some amazing dancers out there that included but not limited to Kenny, The “girls,” The Book Club, and many other friends and family members. The dancing lasted until the end and many of you (all of the groomsmen, the parents and others) stayed to help clean up as Paige and I escaped. We thank you all for that and for such a wonderful wedding!