There was no post yesterday as we didn't get home until midnight, which is super late for me - I've always been an early to bed kind of gal. It's 8am when I write this as I wanted to be up and outside on our balcony taking in the view before having to pack up our belongings to move on to Santorini. The ferry is at 12:35pm and we'll be getting a ride to the port an hour before.
So, yesterday.
We had a good breakfast at the hotel and then opted to head to the town 5 minutes away calld Chora. The weather was cooler with clouds rolling in steadily so it made sense to go when we wouldn't have to contend with the heat. We took the city bus which was no big deal at all - the stop was right outside our hotel. We wandered through the small town for a couple of hours. It's all white, concrete buildings that are connected and on a hill, so lots of stairs and ramps everywhere. Only 1600 people reside on the island year-round. We noticed a lot of small clothing, souvenir, jewelry and ice cream shops, many of which weren't open yet. There were also a ton of bars. The island of Ios is known to be a party island. We could just imagine the drunk chaos that would take place on these narrows streets, especially going up and down the various (uneven, sidways, twisted) stairs! We saw a dental clinic and Jeff figured it would get a lot of business from fallen party-goers, lol.
The town was really quiet as it was morning and it is end of season. We saw a number of posters indicating that last night was the last event of the season for numerous bars - including one last pub crawl to 6 of them (that started at 11:30pm!!). We met a lady named Tracy, who is from London, England and who runs a retro clothing store in town. She had nice things but they were expensive. She was super friendly so we chatted with her for awhile. She told us a bit about the town and how the Greek people differ between islands. She was funny and chatty. She introduced us to Dimitri (as he was walking by) as he would be our server at the restaurant (Lord Byron) tonight.
We headed back to the hotel to spend some time at the beach before heading back to town for dinner with our new friends, Danielle and Bobby (newlyweds from Chicago).
As we were asking (the very nice, very accomodating, friendly) reception lady some questions, she got yelled at (in Greek) by some impatient guest. No matter where you go, there is always a grump unhappy about something! We think he was irritated that we were taking too long and he wanted beach towels. She apologized profusely to us so she could deal with him. Despite the language barrier, the customer service "language" was quite clear. We teased her later saying we hope she told him off and she said although she wanted to, she couldn't; we said we totally get it, lol. We talked with her about meal times in Canada and she was apalled, lol. I explained 7am breakfast, 10am snack, noon lunch, 3pm snack, 6pm dinner, maybe 9pm snack. She said breakfast is usually around 11am, lunch around 5pm and dinner can be 10pm or later! We're obviously on very different schedules!!
We spent some time on the beach about mid afternoon but it got so windy that the sand whipped at us (ouch!) and we opted for the pool. We were able to use the huge sun bed (that can easily fit 5 or 6 people) and lounge for an hour or so. As it sits above the second pool and looks over the bay and ocean, it really felt as if we were on top of the world, spoiled and luxurious. In between soaking up the moment and really taking it in, I also took a dozen pictures. It was so beautiful.
We then showered and dressed to head back to town for dinner. We made it there and waited at our table outside for Danielle and Bobby who were going to meet us at 7:30pm. I got chilled with the wind and so we moved inside. 7:30pm came and went and we suspected they had gotten lost because we recalled them saying something about the restaurant being near the port (it wasn't, lol). Just after 8pm, Jeff and I ordered food as we didn't know if they were going to make it. I ordered gnocchi with a mushroom cream sauce and crispy procuito (Amazing!! I would order it again in a heartbeat!) and Jeff had a crab and spaghetti dish (with bib and crab cracking untensils and everything!! lol He said itvwas also very good). Danielle and Bobby arrived just after we ordered and we were on our second round of drinks (white, fruity sangria for me and beer for Jeff). We were glad they made it. They apologized and said they had gone to port - as we expected. They ordered food and we sat and chatted for quite some time.
We then headed to a bar next to the restaurant for drinks. It was known to have different kinds of beer. Danielle ordered ouzo for us all and neither she nor I liked it. The kind we had tasted like black licorice (ewwwww). Our husbands drank ours. We then opted for drink number 2 and mine was entertainment for the rest of them. A red liquid with half a lemon inside and a gob of really sticky sugar. The sugar didn't dissolve so it was relly tart. Oh well!
At 11:45pm, Jeff and I had planned to takethe last bus back to our hotel but for a euro or so more, we took a taxi as it was faster and available immediately. We said goodbye to our new friends and exchanged information. They are heading to Santorini tomorrow so we may try to meet up again.
We were in bed and asleep around 12:30am.
Now it's 9am and Jeff is still sleeping. I'll have to wake him for breakfast and to start packing.
This morning has a cool breeze off the ocean. The clouds are rolling through but when the sun hits you it's lovely.
I'll update about today later tonight.
Until then,
Amanda xoxo
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