1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #456 - Oia sunset, Santorini

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #456

- Oia sunset, Santorini

(They say this could be the most stunning sunset in the world. Where? At Oia, at the northern tip of the main island of Santorini. And goodness, it wasn't a frivolous claim at all. We got here a good 3 hours before the anticipated sunset time of 8.40pm. And the crowd was already building up, even at the early hours. By 7pm, almost all clear vantage points have been taken up. The scene here, with the famous windmill in the foreground was electric, as the crowd hold their collective breath as the sun dropped closer to the horizon.  We couldn't ask for a better finale - the cruiseship heading straight for the sun added drama to this 'painting' that can only be crafted by the Heavens - wow! See the timelapse video below)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #455 - Firostefani by night, Santorini

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #455

- Firostefani at night, Santorini

(Some places in this beautiful planet defies description - when we saw this here at Firostefani, we knew it was one of them. The dreamy orange streak across the horizon, the twin cake-like church domes, the turquoise blue pools amongst the white buildings with the shiny cruiseship below, and of course, the crescent moon. So happy that the cameras - both the phonecam and the Nikon - can pick up this sight almost flawlessly. We kinda wished this night would never end..wait, isn't that a Whitney Houston song?)

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #454 - Remvi Restaurant, Santorini

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #454

- Remvi Restaurant, Santorini

(Our first dinner here at Remvi Restaurant was both stunning and delicious. We wanted to make sure we get a true Mediterranean seafood and olive-oil meal here that Greece is famous for and sure enough, it did not disappoint - its squid was fresh and tender, with the salmon oozing with goodness. But the view from this restaurant is the real stunner. Our first  Santorini sunset was perfectly written by a cloudless sky, and framed by all these white-washed hotels and apartments, 200m high up along this precarious cliff. This place has romance written all over it - and we felt it, for a good 90min. We couldn't script this any better for our 1st night here in Santorini)

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #453 - Firostefani, Santorini

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #453

- Firostefani, Santorini

(Aaahh..this is sensational Santorini! We were blown away by the views from our Hotel Ilias - simply quite extraordinary, especially with the huge cruiseship looking no more than a mere speck from the hotel, from 300m high up the cliff. We saw  amazing cliff views before at Amalfi and Positano, but this one takes the cake. The hotel sits right beside a pathway that leads to the main town of Fira, just a 15min walk away. But all that we really wanted was to soak up what's here at Firostefani. We didn't even know that we were also staying right beside a church with the dual domes that we had seen in magazines. What a bonus!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #452 - SeaJet to Santorini, Greece

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #452

- SeaJet to Santorini, Greece

(The excitement of seeing Santorini for the first time was palpable. The excitement was fanned by the SeaJet ferry that took us there from Mykonos, which was a story in itself - its jet streams created by the powerful propellers created a huge mist, causing instant mini rainbows as it zipped to Santorini in less than 90mins. As it entered the Santorini crater, we really didn't know what to look out for - where is the town area, like Mykonos' old port? When we set foot, together with a huge group of over 500 tourists, we still couldn't figure out what we should be looking for - only a few buildings catering to group tours and cafes were in sight. Our van took us up and up, and then we realised, we were in for something special..)