I think I made the biggest travel faux pas ever – asking an older Greek woman whether everything would be closed today (Good Friday) ‘Pftttt that is Catholic Easter – Greek Easter is the important Easter, and that is next week. You are in Greece’.
Getting to the stunning beautiful Stella Roccamare hotel is definitely not for the fainthearted. We are sleeping on the edge of the steepest cliff I have ever been. No taxis pulling up here. You get dropped off on the top road, and then a lovely man comes to find you along narrow alleys with steps that go up and down forever.
Santorini or Thira feels like the closest I have ever been to heaven. The town, which is half an hour’s walk away, is full of glitzy tourist shops, and I could imagine it would be pretty awful in the summer (if you are not 18). We are hidden away right on the caldera’s edge with the most indescribable view ever.
Compared to the UK, Greece is very cheap, but there is a massive difference between Santorini and Naxos – clearly, Santorini is directed at the well cashed up tourist market. Al is measuring the cost of living by the price of gyros and guess the marker for serious tourist luring – yes, there is a Maccas in the main street.
It is understated elegance where we are hidden – except for the view. There is definitely nothing understated about that!
Sleeping under the stars 