Santorini is a gorgeous island about a 45 minute flight away from Athens. The views from the caldera will take your breath away! Tourism is big here, and every restaurant I contacted was eager to help and prepare celiac safe meals. Shane and I landed and boarded our transfer to Imerovigli, a small village on the Caldera between Oia and Fira. I highly recommend staying here. The views and sunsets are just as gorgeous (or better) than in Oia. It is also quiter and less touristy, and the people are incredibly kind and friendly. One of my favourite things about this place are the things I learned through talking to the local people about Santorini's history and about their thoughts towards celiac and allergies! Altana Traditional SuitesLocation: Imerovigli 847 00, Greece I couldn't have imagined a dreamier stay than the one we had on the Caldera in Imervogili. When I try and think of something Christos, Marios, Christina and Luca could have done to make our stay more amazing, there isn’t a thing. They were the most hospitable, thoughtful and kind hosts ever. The first night, we had a mishap. I was exhausted and jet lagged and went for a nap in our beautiful room while Shane had a drink in the infinity pool. Responsible guy that he is, he tried to clean up and take his plate and glasses down all the steps to the lobby. I was completely asleep when the door burst open. Shane ran to the bathroom sink. "Ow ...ow ...ow" I stood up. There were pools of blood trailing all over the white stone floor. Shane was still trying to clean up his broken glass, floor and rinse his elbows at the same time. I rushed downstairs for help. One of the owners, Marios drove over, looked after Shane, drove us to the clinic, sat with us for hours, spoke with the doctor, drove us to the pharmacy, helped him fill his prescription and took us home to our room. By the time we were done it was five hours later and past midnight. He was kind, thoughtful and cheerful the whole time. The night before Shane's birthday at 11 pm at night, Marios was at the port picking up another guest’s lost luggage. While he was doing this, he was simultaneously sending Christos photos of birthday cards so he could purchase the perfect one for Shane. They also found him flowers and cakes on the house and personally wished him a great day! While planning the birthday, I got to chat with Christos about all the history found right under our feet. From the grumpy captain who used to own the property, to the beautiful half-Egyptian sisters that used to room in the place, he made my stay so much richer by sharing all the stories that live in this very special place. Plus, he’s really easy to talk to and his English is really good! I never expected to easily discuss intergenerational trauma, indigenous people, and the difficult history of santorini with someone who’s first language is Greek! Meanwhile, even though it was our honeymoon, Shane fell in love with Marios a little. I think it's because Marios took care of him and drove him to the clinic late at night when he gashed his elbows open. It was really funny how he had a man-crush on him and just added more laughter to our stay. I felt so warm and well taken care of here. This place will always be a part of our love story. Hike from Imerovigli to OiaThis hike is the number one "thing to do" on Trip Advisor, so we had to give it a try! Honestly, this was an insane hike to try to do in 30 degree weather. I adored it, but there were also a few parts where I felt like I was going to puke. Take the bus home for 1,80 euros! Rare SantoriniLocation: Location: 84700 Gali Square, Imerovigli 847 00, Greece Dish: Baked lamb shank with crispy roasted potatoes Rare is a meat-based restaurant that came highly recommended by Marios, one of the twin brothers that own Altana. Our server was very hospitable and really wanted to make sure the food was safe for me. Our server was lovely and explained, that taking care of people with allergies at the restaurant was extremely important, because in Greek culture we always want to take care of people and make sure they have a really good experience here. He made it very clear the whole ebvening he believed in that philosophy! As for the food, My lamb was tender and the potatoes were crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy in the middle. Nima was all smiles! The meat was amazing paired with a large glass of red wine. It's very odd for me to choose a meal without any vegetables, as I love them, but this was an incredible dinner after a long day and crazy hike! ATV Rental (Jimmy's ATVs)This was one of our favourite days here! I think it's a great activity for a honeymoon as it was really romantic to explore the city together on a little ATV. I will try and tell the story of this day through our photos. To PsarakiDish: Whole Sea Bass on the grill After exploring the island ATV style, and riding through the windy, winding roads, we felt very hungry! This place was recommended as the best seafood restaurant on the island. It’s right by the water and the patio is between the restaurant and a busy road - so watch out as you're crossing to go inside to pick your fish! After looking at all the glistening fishies, we choose a gorgeous sea bass. They grilled it beautifully, the skin crisp and caramelized. It made it really hard to wait while our server sliced and deboned it right on our table. We enjoyed this with a light white from Santorini. Interesting note: Almost all Santorini wines are white, because they produce mostly white grapes because of their climate! After, we chased the sunset home. We were hoping to make it back to Imerovigli to catch our final sunset in Santorini. It's hard to do simply a food blog in Santorini because of all the incredible vistas and people. We did have one "gluten found" in Santorini, but the owner of the restaurant was so puzzled and apologetic that I decided not to blog about it here. It actually ended up being a lovely night. The owner sat to chat with us for awhile and he even wanted to buy a Nima. Later, to make sure I had enough to eat, Shane went foraging in fig trees and probably found about 40 ripe figs! For those who don't know me, I am pretty much obsessed with them. Anyway, even though I couldn't join at the dinner table, I felt very loved. It’s interesting what travel can do to you. Sometimes it’s a fun trip, sometimes it’s a disaster, and sometimes the experience pushes you into slightly different universe than when you left home. Maybe there is a neat custom you bring into your life. Maybe a foreign way of thinking helps you make new choices. Maybe things fall apart and come back together so magically you now have a greater trust in the whole universe. Home is a little warmer, and at night, the stars seem to hang a little lower, closer your heart. This was one of those trips that changed me. On our honeymoon, with my Nima beside me, for the first time I discovered a culture not only through its history, its landscape and its people, but I could also discover a culture through its FOOD. The thoughtful gestures, discussions and caring attitude from the people there only made my first experience exploring the cuisine while traveling richer. I seem to trust joining people in meals more. Now home, my world is different, days filled with more calm and with more nights at the table, being nourished not just with food, but with more friends, more conversation and more laughter.
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AuthorI'm Richelle aka the Tiny Boss. I like to boss around travel and gluten :-) ArchivesCategories |