This was the view from right below our villa when we woke up in the morning. Naxos was beautiful.
We started by exploring the Chora’s Kastro, or old town by the castle. It was very similar to Apiranthos in its layout, except that it was not solid marble and there was no shoe cobbler in a tiny house nook in sight. There were, however, lovely twists and turns and fun nooks and crannies to explore.
Then we tried to find lunch, but since no one was open for that yet we explored the old market. I liked this better than the Kastro even.
Then we had lunch by the port and then headed in our car to the Alyeko Cedar forest with its secluded beaches. This was, by far, my favorite part of a heavenly Greece trip. I love the beach, I love Greek island beaches, and best of all I love secluded beaches. It means my kids can be wild and I don’t have to worry about them bothering anyone or kicking sand in anyone’s eyes. I don’t have to monitor them every single second because it’s a small beach and they don’t want to even wander. I can just lie by the water, relax, drink in the sun, and listen to the sound of my family enjoying themselves. As bonuses on top of bonuses, the water was not only crystal clear but warm too! Words can not express my appreciation for this beach and this treasure of an afternoon. I loved every single second and cherish this memory so much.
Abe wanted to watch the sun set, and it turned out to be an absolutely magical experience for all of us.
After this incredible afternoon, we went home, ate some leftovers, washed off, and went to bed. A beautiful day.
In the morning we set out to explore Naxos, and we started with Demeter’s Temple. We absolutely loved the surrounding area of the temple, and Ammon still says it is his favorite thing in Greece (this is being blogged after our trip has ended). The countryside looks kind of drab in the pictures, but in real life the countryside seemed to undulate out from the center of the temple. We loved looking at the ancient farms and groves all around. History seemed to really come alive as we examined the temple and the offering holes in the ground.
Lydia, Abe and I all tried eating an olive here. We discovered that, delectable as a ripe olive on the tree looks, it is completely inedible in its raw state. It is such a tragedy! But after this experience I noticed we all gobbled down olives whenever they were offered to us (all the time). I suppose we understood the cured olives’ value better somehow after having suffered the taste and aftertaste of their raw counterparts.Mary examining the olive tree.
Chalki
In Chalki we observed high school students learning what looked like a traditional Greek dance in the outdoor gym section of the school, which was right next to our parking lot. Then we wandered through the charming streets of Chalki before realizing that most of it was shut down due to it being October. Since we had skipped breakfast, we got some smoothies from one shop that was open–and some lemon and chocolate cake, since we did not know when we would eat again. I also entered the store of a woman who was weaving beautiful greek cloth in the window, but after feeling slightly pressured left. I felt guilty about leaving all day and to now still wonder if I should have bought something.
Mt. Zas and Zeus’s cave
After leaving Chalki we drove to Mt. Zas. We did not know if we would attempt to hike to the top or just to the cave. As it turned out, the path was extremely slippery and the boulders/boulder climbing got more intense as we progressed, so after the cave we turned around.
(It helped that I asked a passing hiker how it was at the top and she strongly discouraged me from bringing kids up since it was wet, cold, windy, and–her words–very dangerous.) We did see a family with a six year old who had hiked to the top, but with Ammon being unpredictable and hard to manage, and Clarissa prone to fits and needing to be carried, we felt like the cave was a sufficient reward for a very fun hike. The kids all said it was their favorite part of the day and wanted to keep going.
At the base of the hike to the cave where Zeus was raised there is a koi pond.some views on the ascent.In Zeus’s cave!Peeking out from the cave.Clarissa at the mouth of the cave.Abe patiently encouraged/carried Clarissa down the mountain.
Apiranthos, the marble city
I had read that Apiranthos was called the marble city, but as we approached the kids expressed disappointment. Mary, our little artist, was particularly peeved that the city would not be solid marble as promised.
But as soon as we stepped off the cement outer road onto the pavement of the actual city, we realized the city was made out of marble. The pavement, stairs, and building blocks for the houses were all marble. I am pretty sure the white paint on the houses was covering marble slabs underneath.
We all thought it was almost miraculous to walk in a solid marble city, and as we wandered and got lost in the city we felt we had stepped back in time. I mean waaaaaay back. At one point I turned a corner and literally saw a cobbler making shoes in an almost impossibly small room. I don’t think I will ever forget the image. I felt like I had entered a fairy tale.
All of the kids were appropriately awed and interested, but maybe the most enthused of us all was Abe. Even after we accidentally upset a resident by being too loud (lookin’ at you, cute Ammon!) and got barked at through a fence by ferocious sounding dogs, he wanted to keep wandering indefinitely. The kids started complaining they were hungry, which was fair since we had barely eaten anything all day. So we ended up having a little appetizer at the only open taverna we could find. The taverna seemed to be entirely owned and operated by one man and while I found some of the food slightly difficult to eat, he was the kindest person.
We drove home and cooked the kids some noodles and served them the rest of the fruit and olives in the fridge. They appeared happy with that arrangement, and it was nice to be in our little house for one evening.
Today we woke up, and had amazing pears. Then we started walking Fira. The first fifteen were minutes were steep uphill the side of a road, but it got better after that. On the walk to Fira we had an amazing view of the volcano in Santorini that erupted a long time ago. Then at the edge of the town Fira, we ate brunch.
Mom got some greek coffee and she claimed it was no different from American coffee.Dad took a picture of mom in front of the volcano.The cityThis was the volcano (also that boat is a cruise ship).
So, after we ate brunch me and Mary bought gifts for most of our friends, and Mary, Clarissa and I got evil eye bracelets. Evil eyes protect you from bad people, and they bring good luck. We also got ice cream, I got the Lemon Sorbet and it was delicious. We got all of these amazing things in a series of twisting alleyways that were colorful and fun. After we did that we took a taxi to the ferry. There were so many people trying to cram onto the fairy that the security person could only let one family in at a time, but we all got on. The fairy ride took longer than it was supposed to because it was windy, and the waves were huge. The whole ferry ride the ferry made a weird rattling sound. We docked safely though, but it was a nightmare walking to the restaurant. It was really, really windy. We did eat a good meal partly because we sat inside the restaurant, but the food was really good. Then we bought some cookies and drove to our villa. When we were inside our Villa I face-timed Emerson while the rest of my family finished watching the Willoughby’s. Then we all went to bed.
Mom’s photos
Just throwing some more photos on here that hadn’t uploaded when Lydia blogged. Thank you so much for blogging, Lydia!
Also, here is a video that shows the Port at Santorini, and how steep the road is that we went up and down on.
In the morning we packed lightly and drove down to the port to catch our ferry to Santorini.
As we waited the kids found this octopus by the port taverna.Waiting for the ferry.The ferry arrives.
Spotting Santorini.SantoriniWe got a taxi almost all the way to our Airbnb, where Abe lay a sleeping Clarissa on her bed.In our Airbnb there was this art piece which reminded Abe of his grandfather’s art.We ate at Skala and it had terrific views of the caldera.The food was so good.Competing with the hoards of people to see the sunset. At one point I took the three oldest and just wandered down alleys while Abe took pictures of the sun at various stages of setting.The girls and I bought earrings for Suzanne.Then we got dessert.
After this we caught our return taxi back to our Airbnb, where everyone changed into swimsuits and played in the hottub overlooking the sea and a blue and white church right behind us. Well, the kids and Abe played and I tried very hard not to be too cold (the hot tub was more like lukewarm).
In the morning Abe and I woke up and were stunned to learn that it was past 1pm. That jeg lag!
By the time we got out of the house we just had time for the kids to play on the beach a little bit before dinner at the same restaurant we ate at the night before (only this time we sat on the beach).
The view from our window. Unfortunately, this was not our dock. But even still, had we not gotten lost and done a twenty minute detour, we would still have been very close to our pier.Abe took Clarissa out on the ferry for some air.I don’t think Abe meant to take a picture of these people, but they were all LDS and had ties to Utah and mutual friends with Abe. Their seats were next to ours on the ferry, and I figured out they were LDS in about five minutes. We enjoyed them.Abe took pictures of all the sleepyheads.For dinner we drove to a taverna. The food was very yummy.We picked a fresh fish and they grilled it for us.
After dinner we explored Apollo’s temple at the port.
It had been raining hard when we arrived in Naxos, but I think the splotches on Clarissa might be from jumping in puddles or getting splashed by wave sprays.Apollo’s temple in Naxos.Abe had the kids pose. I am guessing he asked them to throw up?Here maybe he asked them to look strong?Mary, our contemplative.sisters.We let the kids play in this little beach cove for a bit.A rainbow!Back in our villa, the kids and Abe determined to try the unheated pool. It was freezing cold (so I heard).
Clarissa is shivering but still wants to swim some more.
Also here is a tour of the house and area that Abe made:
Ammon’s sixth birthday was spent partly on a plane and partly in Athens. We took a taxi to our Airbnb in Piraeus, dropped our luggage, sorted out how to access cash since our ATM cards turned out to be out of date, and walked across the street to the metro to get to Athens. In Athens we walked a bit in Monastiraki and made our way to the Parthenon, eating a meal (was it lunch? Dinner? Who knows??) on the way. The Parthenon was supposed to be open late. But because of the rain it was closed. So we just turned around and made our way slowly back to Monastiraki to catch the metro back, enjoying the sights and sounds on the way.
As it was Ammon’s birthday, I need to recount the funniest conversation we had with him at some point on this trip. We were talking about Hades and Ammon piped up saying, in all sincerity, “But it’s good to be dead, right? Because then you don’t have to listen to your parents and can do anything you want because you’re already dead! Like you can wham bam into walls!!”
We laughed so hard. We think it is funny that Ammon’s idea of heaven is a place where you don’t have to have to listen to your parents, you can do anything crazy because you’re already dead, and specifically that heaven includes whamming and bamming into walls.
Also, on our last day in Greece we were on the metro headed into Athens and Ammon, as he always does, struck up a conversation with a kind woman. She and her husband were retired and were so delightful. (In fact, thanks to Ammon, we count them as new friends and plan to visit their restaurant in Andros in two years!) While she was telling us how they have flats around Europe but they travel all the time and every night her husband asks her which country they should plan on being in that night, she said, “I know I am crazy! All my girlfriends tell me I am crazy!”
Ammon, in his little mask, lit up like a light. “Hey,” he cried. “I am crazy too! Maybe that’s why we are friends!”
Again, he had us laughing pretty hard.
Also, in our pictures, I couldn’t help but note how I am almost always holding Ammon firmly by the hand or attempting to discreetly restrain him with my arms. Ammon, I love you so much and so I think I am a little overprotective sometimes. You are the sweetest, kindest, friendliest little boy and I never want you to get hurt or lost! But maybe, since your birthday was quite understated this year, I can try to give you more space this year. That might be a birthday gift that turns out to be your favorite yet.
This morning I ended work early, and helped Lily (who did the lion-share) pack up. We also briefly celebrated Ammon’s birthday since we’d be traveling all day on his actual birthday. We sang to Ammon and gave him his gift of an Amazon Fire. Also, Mary made Ammon the sweetest birthday booklet.
Then we all headed out and left for Philadelphia where we would catch our flight to Greece!
Duke University was started by a man James Buchanan Duke who founded the university in memorial to his father. The family had made their fortune in tobacco manufacturing, and today Lily took the kids to see the historically preserved Duke Homestead/farm. You can see in the final pictures that Mary was stung by ants. They went near the tobacco plants because they are pretty, but once Mary was stung, so was very distraught and they promptly left.
Today Lily took the kids to the Duke gardens. I am way impressed just from the photos. Photos and videos below!
While Lily and the kids were at the Duke gardens, I worked and had Dame’s Chicken and Waffles for lunch with Tim. I love and respect Tim, and it was so nice of him to meet me in Durham and suggest our lunch spot. The Chicken and Waffles were exquisitely delicious, and when I brought some home for Lily she loved them too and ordered them again for the family before leaving Durham.
As part of Ammon’s birthday celebration, we all went to Wicked. It was fantastic. Everyone performed remarkably, but the most memorable for me was Galinda (actually Glinda with a silent “Ga”) who was so over-the-top bubbly (as her character was supposed to be), that it was almost like watching a cartoon. The whole thing was fantastically entertaining.
