Santorini...even better than the postcard photos

Perfect white-washed villages, bright blue shutters and domes all hanging on to the tip top of sheer cliffs which drop to the aqua waters of the Mediterranean Sea.  The reality of today was eye-popping ly gorgeous.

We awoke to a brilliant sunrise and a forecast for 75 degrees and sun. We visited the famous town of Oia, that sits high atop the cliffs with homes built into them, everywhere we turned was like a postcard photo, only better. Our daughter in law Jill has been here and told us we had to see it as one of the most beautiful places on earth. She was so right!

We took pictures, wandered down streets that were made to 'accommodate a fully packed donkey', went to a wine tasting at the Santo Winery, lunched at a restaurant right on the edge of the cliff where we enjoyed Greek beer with our lunches, poked around shops, spent some quiet moments in a village Orthodox Church and tried to soak it all in. We ended the afternoon with a cable car ride down the cliff to the port.

The images of today will fill my head in the long Minnesota winter,

We are ending day ten of our cruise and it has been better than we even dreamed. However, my mind has begun wandering home with thoughts of peanut butter and banana sandwiches for lunch in our own sunroom, coffee in my kitchen and the view out my west windows. I do eagerly anticipate these last days of our trip though. There are still places to see, people to meet and things to do.

We have been privileged to dined each evening in the gourmet Blu Restaurant on board. Our wait staff, Shayla (Bosnia), Alvin (Phillipimes), Stefan (Serbia), Sasha (Jamaica) and Ivana from Serbia have become like family. We are learning their stories and creating friendships.

On the low side of today, I gave in and went to the doctor hoping for a cure for the rotten cough that has developed at the end of this cold. We will see what a little cough syrup with codeine will do to assist. I'm hopeful.

Tomorrow, Crete.