Dreaming of Greece...

I’ve really wanted to write (well, blog) for a while now but the conditions just haven’t been quite right. You know how it is sometimes…too tired from too many runs; too much round the clock Olympics to watch on TV; hands too sore from my newest sporting venture, handball; its too hot; its too cold (okay, that’s just a lame excuse as it’s been really hot this summer), but now I’m feeling juuuusssst right. I spent the day wandering from the east side to the west side – then from maneuvering through the hordes of people at Apple store on Fifth Avenue to a free facial at Columbus Circle’s Aveda and Whole Food Sushi. I checked out the runners around Central Park, the couples picnicking and crews sunbathing in between Frisbee tosses in Sheep’s Meadow, and the breakers competing with the crazy old school disco roller skaters. Then I napped and went to an awesome hour and a half yoga class, ate sushi, veggie dumplings and way too much wasabi, and then I flipped on the TV. It was a pretty lovely Sunday already. And then, what to my wondering eyes did appear on the television… my BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING! On TBS, of course. I forgot how much this movie makes me laugh.

A perfect setting for writing and interlude to my post, the one I promised you a month ago about planning my trip to Greece. I think I also promised to write my review of Mamma Mia! In a word, hilariously brilliant. Okay, two words. Not knowing I was ever a fan of Abba, but loving Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, and Thomas Crown, I deemed it a hit. Maybe more importantly were the simply breathtaking backdrops of the Greek Isles.(www.mammamiamovie.com)Did you know that on August 29th, there are sing-along versions being released in select theaters?? Awesome. Suze and Sil outing this fall?



Earlier this month, I may have gone to see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 – the whole last part of it is set in Santorini! We’ll pretend that’s the only reason why (and as such, it doesn’t need a link to the movie homepage). It was research, of course. So, it’s been a Greek movie-filled summer. What better way to psych myself up for this trip (now just 11 days away)? Not that I need any help getting excited. And then Suze writing about her incredible Athens Olympics experience four years ago just fit in so nicely with the Greek theme of the month.

So the planning has gone something like this:
- Sil purchases Priceline ticket on Delta nonstop from JFK to Athens
- Sil invites good friends E and Nik (he’s the Greek one) over for a Sil-cooked special dinner and lots of wine and treats so that Nik will tell her anything and everything to do in Greece, and most importantly, the best ways to get there
- After the educational tipsy dinner, Sil emails C* to tell him all the wondrous things to come (and I may have even used that slightly nerdy word)

*Is this the first mention of C? I think it just might be. C is the one I’ll (back to the first person here) be taking this adventure with…well to go see. Remember how Suze and I wrote in our “about us” that we started this blog right when our good friend had gone off to see the world and we were looking for adventures we knew were right around us. We’ll that ‘good friend’ is more than just a friend, to me that is. Suze has her EBJ of course. I will be meeting C in Santorini on September 4th (that’s 11 days from now, just in case you’re counting now too).

He also gets special mention here as he’s another reason I finally sat down to blog. I got an email tonight that said, among many other good things, that he had read SandSBlossominNY in its entirety (every post) before he went to bed (in Sorrento, Italy).

So, fast forward ahead to a few days ago (because I am getting tired and do still owe him a before bed email so he’ll get it as a good morning one)…

And we have the following totally in place:
- A stay in Santorini at this classic family-owned villa overlooking the famous Caldera (volcano) where they host you each night for cocktails and mezedes (appetizers) on the terrace each night for a sunset party! (http://www.lithies.com/index.html - House Zephyr
- A stay in Mykonos at a gorgeous, ‘luxury’ apartment. The name is the best The Warm Yellow Apartment on Kounoupas Hill (http://www.xydakis.com/luxury-apartments-mykonos.html)
- And for our last night, this one in, Athens possibly a Nik recommended Fresh Hotel (ttp://freshhotel.gr)*
*I have yet to figure out how to actually make the "insert link" command on Blogger work...



Of course I have become email friends with Anita who manages the villas in Santorini and she’s suggested five days of adventures including a boat trip to the thermal springs, a hike to the volcano, walking in and around the shops of Fira and Oia, snorkeling (to be C’s first time!) and dinners at these locally run tavernas and restaurants where the calamari is fresh and the octopus even fresher. A steak dinner (yes, it’s a special request) may be thrown in there somewhere to celebrate C’s belated birthday, trips to the beaches in both places and a scooter/ATV ride or two, not to mention everything unexpected to come that you simply cannot plan, or plan for. That may even be the best part, aside from the company and sunsets that it. Sounds pretty magical to me, and I’ve had to remind myself more than once that this is actually happening (in 11 days), and it’s not in fact just another Greek movie.