Colored Beaches and a Perfect Dinner!

 This whole trip has been planned around Pat's birthday, she hit a milestone last Saturday the day we arrived in Athens but the planned celebration didn't happen,  our flight from Toronto was late and by the time we settled into our room the rooftop restaurant was closed. Today's plan is to have a rental car and check out the whole island of Santorini, we had hoped to do this when we traveled to Aruba, we never got the car and still regret it to this day. Also I had made reservations 1.5 months ago at the Ambrosia Restaurant in the town of Oia, it was voted the #4 restaurant with a view in the world, I was really excited to have dinner here. My car of choice for the day is a Volkswagen Beetle convertible, around 9am this man walks right into the Villa no knock or anything, I asked "can I help you" he says "you rented a car I'm here to pick you up" good thing we were dressed sheesh!! I head out the door with him and we drive to the rental agency, much different than in the US, I sign a few papers pay the fee and I'm on my way, now I need to find a parking lot, they fill up fast and are few, its a huge problem, people seem to park their car's all over the place,  I remember seeing one fairly close to our place,  get there and am lucky enough to pull in as someone else was leaving because it was full.
Pat and I had decide that today would be the day to visit the beaches there are 3 different beaches here they are all volcanic rock but the colors differentiate them, the red beach is suppose be the most beautiful, and most the opposite side to the Island from our Villa is all black beach.

Fun Day driving a convertible around the Island

We set off from Fira to the "Red Beach"  its the most famous and beautiful of Santorini's beaches and  located near the town of Akrotiri. I set up my GPS but there are really only 1 or 2 main roads on the Island, signs seem to be very easy to follow, driving is a bit scary at first but after a few miles I feel comfortable, the roads are narrow and you alway have to be aware of motorcycles, 4 wheelers, pedestrians, dogs, cats, etc etc. Were enjoying the drive and soon come to a point where the road just ends at the Aegean Sea, there we see a sign that tells us we are near the Red Beach, park the car and follow a group of people that had just come off a bus,  we walk along the coast,  hike up a hill and there in front of us is the Red Beach, Wow!  it really is one of the most beautiful beaches i  have ever seen.  We climb up, and there is a man playing Greek music on a violin, and some young guys selling strawberries, there we notice the crazy climb down to the beach, a very treacherous climb thru lava rock which is like glass, and its all red. Once at the base your in awe at the big red cliff's on one side and the blue of the Aegean sea on the other, very contrast colors, the beach is made up of all red volcanic rock broken down into sand. Pat and I walk the beach looking for beautifully polished lava rock the ocean is a natural tumbler and we may have some jewelry made from these pieces, even find some ocean glass.  We then sit down and enjoy the beauty of our surroundings, it really is breathtaking and I highly recommend a day here if your visiting Santorini. After a few hours we head back out and see a jeweler selling his home made pieces near the beach, Pat can't help herself, she loves hand made jewelry, soon we are talking prices, Well,  I didn't bring enough cash, the man looks at us and says, "your good people I see it in your eyes", he says "take it and come back tomorrow or friday to pay me", really?? you rarely see this kind of trust anymore. He starts to tell us story, Pat had mentioned buying a piece for her daughter, he pulls out his phone and show's us a picture a cute you boy and tells us this is my son, he then scrolls to another image of a grave plot we both tell him how sorry we are, he then says this is why I give you special price, I believe him, you could see it in his eye's that he wasn't BS'ing us,  Pat gives him a friendly kiss and we head on our way, we will return tomorrow

Red Beach of Santorini

Such a beautiful Red

After driving across the middle of the Island again up and down as there are some pretty big climbs, we arrive in the town of Kamari, its a small tourist town, this where we find the Black Beach, a beach composed of all Black lava rock, and has the highest peak to one side of it, also beautiful but very different, the red beach was very remote, this beach is very commercialized. We walk up and down then thru the small town, after an hour or so we head back to our town of Fira. As we are driving we notice a couple motorcycles in the road, I'm driving pretty fast and one of them signals me by hand to stop, and just as I come to a stop 2 dogs come running out into the road, man were we glad the guy was there to signal us it would have sucked to hit them. We finally get back to Fira and take a break before the drive to the Oia and our dinner Ambrosia restaurant.

The much different Black Beach

Black Beach Selfie 

The Ambrosia restaurant is world famous as it was voted the 4th best restaurant table view in the world,  I had made reservations a month and half ago and was really looking forward to dinner. We get in our bug and head to the town of Oia, this also the town we hiked to on tuesday. The drive there is full of very narrow windy roads, at one point there is this guy and his girl on a motor scooter in front of me, he speeds up slows down, you can tell he is looking for something, he's all over the road.  I've had enough. and go to pass him, just then he weaves right out in front of me, are you kidding?? dude keep your scooter straight, I hit the brakes and he notices me, pulls to the side and we safely pass thank god. Once in the town we park in the first parking lot we come to and walk the rest of the way to the restaurant, its a beautiful small place with two balconies one up high and the other a bit lower but still overhanging the cliffs and blue sea of the Aegean. We are seated and greeted by the owner a super nice man.  Our table is wonderful, its a bit breezy and on the cool side the restaurant gives you blankets to cover yourself with if needed.  We start out with a glass of local wine and a Santorini Salad, it has the coveted Santorini Cherry Tomatoes I have been reading about, they are grown in the volcanic dirt and are said to be like no others in the world,  very sweet and delicious, also on the salad were capers and caper leaves, I have never had the leaves and both Pat and I find them very tasteful, and excellent on the salad. We order dinner, I get the wild mushroom risotto and Pat orders Tagliatelle with grilled Santorini cherry tomatoes, while waiting for dinner we enjoy our surroundings absolutely breathtaking, soon dinner comes and we are both very happy with our choices, the food at Ambrosia is wonderful. I mention to the waiter that its Pats birthday dinner that he needed to sing to her, he says I can sing happy birthday but you might not like it so much, the two of us laugh, order desert and soon he brings it out with both a sparkler and a candle,  a very nice touch for sure. After dinner we drive back to the Villa, call it a night,  another wonderful day in Santorini has ended.

Dinner at Ambrosia in Oia Greece

Birthday dessert!