Thanks all!!! Keep it coming !!!
So we chose to fly from Athens to Santorini and Naxos to Athens. Plan on booking ferry from Santorini to Naxos .
Those are the 3 things things we did today, along with a visit ti the Jewish museum. Actually saw the guards twice (daytime then nighttime), although the second tone was due to happenstance. Off to Santorini tomm morning.
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Bruce, how’s the weather/fires/smoke? My sil is flying to Greece in about a week. Not sure exactly where she’ll be.
No issues for us. I believe the fires are a bit north of Athens and elsewhere. No smokiness in the air, but if winds change direction or subside then could be an issue I assume.
Temperature 90 F but not too humid and nice breeze in afternoon.
Off to Santorini this morning-11 AM flight.
My wife and I spend a couple of days in Athens recently. We actually really enjoyed the city, which seems to run counter to the prevailing sentiment.
We had two notable meals – one at Soil which was a recommendation of our hotel, and the other at Oinescent which I believe has already been covered here. Soil was a long tasting menu with an impressive array of dishes. While it had some tell-tale fine-dining-itis (caviar, etc.), the dishes stayed close enough to the restaurant’s identity and avoided feeling anonymous. The best goat I’ve ever eaten.
Oinescent was a good time, too. It was surprising to see some familiar new world names on their list and in the cellar (Sine Qua Non, Realm, etc.), but we opted for Greek wines. The somm was friendly and brought some extra pours over for us. They have both a standard list and a ‘reserve’ style menu with finer wines and wines with more age. The food was solid, too.
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Just returned this past weekend from our Athens/Santorini/Naxos trip.
In Athens, other than Oinoscent which others have endorsed already and I loved as well, we enjoyed our last dinner of the trip at Varoulko in Piraeus. Thought it was deserving of its Michelin star and a great option if you happen to be spending a night in Piraeus due to ferry schedule and still want to combine that with a gourmet experience. Instead of doing their full tasting menu (€110/pp), we just ordered 5 dishes plus a dessert shared between the two of us off the a la carte menu and still came out reasonably full.
For Santorini winery visits, we found that it is doable using the island’s bus system if you’d rather not be chauffeured around, especially if you’re based in Fira. From Fira, if you take the bus to Kamari and ask to be let off at Exo Gonia, Art Space, Karamolegos, Argyros and Canava Roussou are all within 5-10 minute walking distance of the Exo Gonia bus stop. Similarly, you can also take the bus to Akrotiri or Perissa and get off at Santo Wines (which is also near Venetsanos) or at Megalochori where Boutari and Gavalas are located. Unfortunately, best I could tell Hatzidakis is one that’s not really near any bus stop. Having read Otto’s recent tasting notes, I opted to visit Art Space and Karamolegos. Loved the Karamolegos assyrtikos and ended up buying a case.
Naxos was more for relaxing at the beach and I don’t recall any particular culinary highlights (although almost anything tastes good after swimming or diving). On one of the days in Naxos I went scuba diving, and to be honest I did not find the marine life there to be as exciting as in the Caribbean or the Red Sea. I mean, I still had fun and it was nice to get back in the water after more than a year, so if you want to scratch that itch and have time to kill, it’s fine but I wouldn’t say it’s a must in Naxos. Having said all this I loved Naxos overall and want to return; Santorini is one and done for me.
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Sam, glad you had a great trip-as we sort of overlapped . We did as well, until I got sick for the last 2 days (fever, chills, the shits , etc.).
We did not visit any wineries , but I did find it really interestyikg that almost all grape vines are grown low to the ground and in a particular “form” so as protect them from the wind.
Any insight there from your tours/visits ?
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Oof, sorry to hear. Getting sick on travel is no fun. Hope you’re feeling better.
It was indeed interesting how the vines grow so low on the ground and are trained into nest shapes! I don’t know I’ve seen that anywhere else. I was also told that Santorini is one of the few places in Europe where phylloxera never gained ground due to the island’s volcanic soil meaning that the vines are ungrafted, with some being more than a century old.
I’ve come to really appreciate assyrtiko on this trip. The Santorini ones do cost more but once I saw what a desolate clime the island is for growing anything, with no source of water other than direct rainfall, I could understand why. Also I’ve come to the view that you can make assyrtiko ripe but anything more than the tiniest amount of oak will wreck it (or at least, render it pointless) which some wineries seem to insist on doing especially with their “nykteri” cuvees. My two favorites tasted on this trip were the '21 Pyritis from Karamolegos and the '21 Laoudia from Tselepos, the latter a great recommendation from the somm at Varoulko. I liked the unoaked assyrtikos from Art Space well enough but found them to be overpriced for what they are, at almost twice what everyone else charges. Maybe the price has to do with their insistence on micro-scale production (only 1000 case annually in total) and therefore a lack of any economy of scale. The couple of examples I’ve tried from Argyros and Anhydrous, I found to be so-so.
The one non-Santorini wine that left an impression on me was Economou’s Sitia which may lead to Crete being the destination for my next Greek trip, whenever that may be.
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I was randomly watching a youtube about a cruise of the Greek islands and Santorini and Mykonos looked so crowded but I was fascinated by Milos – looked amazing. Keeping on my future list. (The island, not the cruise)
Btw no flushing toilet paper on Naxos and Santorini!! Who knew-not me. I assume it was ok to flush in Athens .
I have been to all three of the islands you mention among several trips to the Greek islands. I first visited Mykonos and Santorini 40 years ago. Magical. I returned to Santorini 3 years ago and was very disappointed. Crushing crowds and high costs have ruined the experience for me. But I will definitely return to Milos after a wonderful visit last summer. in general I look for islands with no/few cruise ship visits.
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Scott … I was really startled by the scenes from Santorini and Mykonos in the video. The guys who filmed it said try to book very early or very later in season but it did not look enjoyable at all due to such crowds even just taking a walk. But Milos looked amazing. They were on a small cruise ship that tenders into smaller locations. I’m not a cruise person but that looked more tolerable … still, I hear the mentions of crowds in all the EU locations but that video is the first I’ve seen of what it looks like … I’ll pass.
My wife and I love Santorini and the original hotel Katikies. We went for a dozen Junes until the pandemic. We hang out at the hotel pool daily, only venturing out to Oia (never Fira) after the sun sets and the cruise ships leave. I am perfectly content gazing at the Caldera all day for a couple of weeks. If one desires to explore the island, don’t go between June 15 and the end of August, as it is hot and crowded. Santorini’s infrastructure is too small to accommodate the multiple cruise ships daily and they are ruining the island’s ecology. I posted an article about this in one of the Greece travel threads. It is a shame and relatively recent. We became friendly with people whose income is tourist derived and they all fear the future.
Now that sounds wonderful!
Couple quick notes on our two days in Paros:
Our ferry (Sea Jets) from Athens had an on-time departure.
First night we drove to the restaurant Santa Pacou. Because it was dark, we did not get to enjoy what appears to be a nice view in the daytime. The food was good, but not good enough to merit the 30 min. one way drive from where we were staying on the southern end of the island.
The second night, we ate at Rada, and I would whole-heartedly recommend this restaurant. Both Ash and I started with a delicious cocktail. Then, for wine, we enjoyed a very nice Greek Viognier. We ordered the sea bass carpaccio (excellent), octopus starter (excellent), grilled greens starter (very good), chicken main (very good), and chicken pasta dish (good). The grilled greens and both chicken dishes would have benefited from a touch of salt or acid, but that’s a minor quibble. We loved the romantic/hip/beachy setting, and would without hesitation return if we ever find ourselves in Paros again.
Although we didn’t have time to eat there, Mario looks to be a good restaurant, and would have been our next reservation; only red flag is that it’s in the port, a location that I tend to associate with tourist traps. But – again – it does look good.
Reporting from Athens:
Oinoscent was fantastic! The “salad” had an incredible orange-y vinaigrette dressing. Tuna course was good. The green beans dish was excellent. Mutton course was my least favorite, but was still “good”. Mushroom dish was insane! – tear-jerkingly good! Ordered other stuff, too, but that’s what’s worth mentioning. Great selection in the cellar, but we chose not to splash-out, although the opportunity is certainly there if that’s what you want to do. We went with the 2023 Gerald Boulay - Sancerre, which was nice, but less acidic than I would have preferred; Good, not special. For our red, we ordered the 2018 Thymipoulos - “Aftorizo” Xinomavro; first bottle was corked, and it was feared to be the last they had on hand. Luckily, Maria, the sommelier, found an additional bottle and it was sound. 100% Xinomavro, from 54 yo ungrafted vines. 13.5% alc. was well-hidden, and it had a nice rusticity to it, and seemed as though it would age well; seemed to be a fairly serious wine, and it’s one I’d buy in the States if I ever come across it. Paired nicely with the steak course and mutton tartare.
The previous night, we ate at Varoulka, a Michelin 1 star, on the southern shore, near the port. The starters were really the star — my crab starter was amazing, and a dining companion’s red mullet ceviche was delicious, too (I preferred the crab). Catch of the say was amberjack, which most of the table ordered; it was grilled, and cooked-through. IMO, the amberjack was improperly prepared; I would have pan-seared it, and left it mostly raw throughout… kinda made me wonder how they got their star. Worth going to if you’re staying nearby and don’t want to venture, but I wouldn’t suggest going out of your way to dine here. I think we’ve become spoiled with seafood in Los Angeles … Oinoscent was way better, on the food alone.
Crab appetizer at Varoulka:
a final place worth mentioning for the beer geeks out there is Strange Brew taproom. Definitely on the hipstery side of things, with heavy rock and heavy metal on the speakers (noooo problem with that for me!). Very delicious hazy Jasmine IPA on one of their 10 taps, and their Farmhouse was delicious, as well. A much-needed departure from the ubiquitous crappy lagers that permeate the area.
We stayed in a nice AirBnB down a little alley (street) just a handful of meters from the Acropolis underground stop. Right at the top of the stairs of that stop is a place to get gyros for 3.5 euro; we availed ourselves of that opportunity a couple times. Not the most amazing gyros, for sure, but waaaaay good for three and a half euros! Right next to our AirBnB is a cocktail bar called Hitchcocktales (why they didn’t name it “Hitchcocktails” I’ll never know) – slow services, but cheap-and-delicous cocktails — in L.A., they’d be double what we paid. If you continue to walk down the alley is a wine bar called Wine O’Clock, and that proved to be very useful to us. Very solid selection, and helpful/knowledgeable staff — we received no less than four excellent recommendations from them — easily recommended. 
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A few quick notes from Santorini:
RESTAURANTS:
Aktaion — beautiful sunset views; food was “good/fine” — not impressed with the food.
To Psaraki — gorgeous sunset views; simple, unassuming food preparations, and this is the type of restaurant that pulls that off with aplomb: excellent food, and highly recommended!
BREWERY:
Ftelos Brewery — LARGE, modern, building. We ate dinner here our first night, and all of us enjoyed our meals. Excellent beers, highlighted by the weird-but-good “wine beer” and also the Tomato Gose. We came back here during our three day stay. Highly recommended for the beer geeks, or anyone who wants a break from the local lagers.
WINERY VISITS:
Vassaltis — this was about a five minute drive from where we were staying. Thought it was good-not-great; highlights were the current release Aidani, and the 2018 Assyrtiko. Althought I’m categorically-opposed to food pairings during wine tasting, I have to say theirs was very well-done. Worth a stop.
Art Space — very cool stop; unique, and interesting. Easily the best Greek whites we had on our weeklong vacation, although they are relatively expensive. Tasting pours were annoyingly small (maybe one ounce?), but whatever … Highly Recommended.
P.S.: Forgot to say about Athens, above: we went to watch the changing of the guard, and saw the big Sunday one. None of us four “got it.” Hilariously anti-climatic. Huge nothingburger. Waste of time, but for the “For Your Safety” saying we got from the event — obvious pre-textual bullshit line used by a local police officer to clear spectators from the street after the guard was changed (the crowd was directed down some steps to a nearby square “for your safety”. It didn’t take us long to realize “For your safety” meant “because we want you to.” It was a saying that would repeat itself among our group for the balance of the week. 
)
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