Santorini,
Greece
Olympic Airways is 9 hours to Athens. It is OK
in business class; Delta is probably a bit better. It is an airline that
could use a real upgrade. Sorta like Israel’s El Al 15 years ago. Another
25 minutes to Santorini on Aegean Airlines; a good carrier that seems to
be upstaging Olympic but they pack you in for that short hop to Santorini.
20 minute taxi to hotel; my hotel includes the transfer. There are no signs
at this hotel; you’d miss it. Santorini has many quiet parts to the island
but it is undergoing lots of development. Can drive across the island in
45 minutes. My room has a piano in it and is decorated to local tastes
with tons of art in the room. Only 5 rooms, all cottages, in this Tsitouras
Collection boutique hotel. Seems like lots of stairs around but a good
deal less than all the other properties. Half the island faces a volcano;
you wouldn’t want to be here unless you had a room with such a view. The
better view is in the morning but the sunsets are the big attraction and
I saw some beautiful ones. Walked 15 minutes to the town of Firas; you
can go on the main road but the path overlooking the volcano is nice. There
is a cable car to sea level. Within 3 minutes walk of the hotel are several
restaurants. Had dinner at Vanilla and an Italian one next door. No big
deal either one. “1800" in Oia (prounced EE-AAH) looks fantastic but it
is a 15 minute drive (15 euro) away. None of the restaurants in Fira seem
to have fresh fish. Took a 5 hour tour of the island; was rather expensive
at 450 Euro for a guide with a car. Saw Faros lighthouse, a monastery at
the high point of the island, an old city, Oia, red and black beaches,
a winery, and other items. It is a nice tour with cliffs, mountain tops,
the sea and greenery. Temperature varies with altitude but it is not a
place with microclimates like Madeira. Be ready for anything from a sweater
to heatstroke in May. By later in the summer it gets really hot. Toured
other 5 star properties: Astra Apartments were gorgeous with unique views,
seclusion but lots of stairs to the point that by the time you exit the
property you’re ready for a nap. Zenna is a Relais Chateaux property inside
an old city; no views of the volcano and you either ride a mule to the
entrance or walk lots inside the old city. Perivolas seemed overrated on
the minimalist rooms; it is a nice view but it has lots of steps and is
in the middle of nowhere. Amex Platinum has a Fine Resorts on the island
but it is in the middle of nowhere with no view. Katikies has snob appeal
and attitude and an excellent location right by the pedestrian entrance
of Oia but it is not that great a hotel, has lots of steps and very hush-hush.
I was glad with my choice of Tsitouras, with its great views, near the
town of Fira which is good for nightlife if not as pretty as Oia. I was
bored here at night and wound up in my room by 9 watching the limited number
of TV channels available in my room though they have a huge library of
DVD’s if you want them as well as Internet access in the hotel office and
WIFI in the rooms. The rooms are unique and the service is excellent and
personal. The best hideaway though is Astra with its rooms with private
infinity pools overlooking the volcano. I didn’t have a chance to see The
Sea Captain’s House which is in Oia (didn’t know it at the time); also
supposed to be a good small hotel. I came on Monday and left Wednesday
and saw many of the same people on both flights. Started Wednesday having
hot chocolate in my PJ’s on my terrace overlooking the volcano. Santorini
is a horrible place to be alone but a great place to get away from everyone
else. Transferred to Athens and then to Rome. Athens airport is very efficient;
I reached the airport at 1:20, got my bags from the luggage carousel and
checked in for my Rome flight by 1:30. It is nearly a 2 hour flight to
Rome. Had someone meet me this time at the airport because I had too much
of a scary experience last time with a taxi.
Rome, Italy
My hotel is Residenza Napoleone and it is on the
corner of via Corso and Condotti. It is a rooftop suite in the historic
Raspoli Palace. Fresh OJ and cherries on arrival and the Fiat Noir chocolate
truffle at turndown is delicious. A bit creepy at night but a real adventure
and unique way to experience Rome as you let yourself into this compound
that has a huge wooden door, and long marble staircases hundreds of years
old. My rooftop suite had a huge terrace, a nice living room and a little
bedroom downstairs. Lots of steps – good for a bachelor or young couple.
I visited old haunts; the wood store, the Rinascente, Restaurant Sabatini
(waited half an hour for my fish); found a baby store (Quadrifoglio at
via D. Colonnele 10, phone 066.784.917 or 678.4917 near the wood store,
tried Giolotto gelateria behind the parliament building and had 6 flavors
and came back the next evening for a festival of pastries. The guy behind
the gelato counter had great aim with his gelato scoopers. Piazza Venezia
is under scaffold. Spanish steps at night is just a bunch of kids and beer.
Was watching Al-Jazeera’s English TV network on the Sky Satellite TV system.
Rather good productions; no real advertising other than Qatar and Dubai.
They seem to enjoy investigating the Saudi princes and telling you that
America’s Iraq war is a failure and that the Israelis abuse Palestinians.
On the day that Blair resigned, the top story was still some Palestinian
woman in a hospital fighting to save her baby’s life. Every day is some
kind of documentary about Israel’s tank weapons or something of that sort.
It’s a bit too much propaganda to get much play on American cable systems
unless it becomes a bit more subtle.
Breakfast on the rooftop is quite special; a group
of pigeons stand guard over their young. Downstairs is the other suite
in this palace; it is a real palace to stay at. Paintings swing away to
reveal TV’s and doorways to kitchens, bathrooms and dressing areas. A baby’s
crib was lovingly displayed in a stairwell. The Rinascente in piazza Fiume
is just so much better than the one in piazza colonne. Is very good for
baby clothes at a good price. Regal on via Nazionale was good for ladies
but Rinascente is even better. I was looking for a green handbag for Karen
but green is just not in this year, either for men or women. Frette was
more reasonable than I expected for linens. Commandi on Via Frattina just
off via Corso was a good place for men’s clothes and carries Carnival de
Venice ties at 45 Euro which is not bad if you’re in Rome. Just past Efrati
(161 v. corso) is a luggage shop; for 45 Euro you can get a big bag. Marco
Polo on via Nazionale was very good for suits and should be viewed before
the Rinascente; for 200 Euro here you can do rather well. More bargaining
is possible given the high Euro. Some will now give you 10% off instead
of the tax free business. Sunset on the roof and dinner at Il Bacaro; no
big deal to me but it was reasonable and it is known as a good restaurant.
The early morning is nice time to drop by the Spanish steps; it is a 40
minute ride to the airport and 2:30 to London and then another 1:45 drive
to Chewton Glen (although from Terminal 4 it is 10 minutes less). BA’s
lounge in Rome is pretty nice but no internet stations.
Chewton Glen, England.
Consistently rated as a top resort for its Relais
Chateux position, great food and nice spa. Lovely places to walk and sit
and ponder; you can walk in the forest, along the sea and among the green
fields. The master suite is very nice with a big terrace overlooking the
croquet lawn, and none of the rooms are particularly small. To save a considerable
amount from Heathrow to the hotel, call Galleon Taxi at 01425.622222; it
is 80 pounds a transfer rather than 143 pounds with a Mercedes or 186 pounds
if the hotel books it. From the hotel, it is a 20 minute drive to the town
of Lymington; you could skip it or just go here if you want to walk around
and shop in a little town. Chewton Glen is better as a base to discover
regional treasures such as Bath and Stonehenge. This hotel’s rooms are
roughly equivalent to Ashdown Park where we stayed over Christmas at half
the price. Ashdown was a perfectly decent resort halfway closer to London
with a bit of a spa. The main attraction here is the beautiful grounds
and spa, and the regional base location. The food is also just that extra
bit more special and the hotel service is excellent. I had nothing to complain
about at this hotel. Lots of French working here; very nice tea service
(I had them save it and then ate it for dinner.) Watched the Eurovision
Song Festival; real mediocre stuff (some real bad) and everyone just votes
for their neighboring country so it totally doesn’t matter. The BBC announcer
dubbing the simulcast just sat around for 3 hours making fun of the Europeans
for their stupid broadcast and lousy humor. Returned via BA’s business
class with its new Z-line seating. What’s good is that the interior 2 seats
both face the same way (although they face the rear of the plane) but it’s
good for a couple traveling together and a little kid can play in the middle
without disturbing anyone or going into the aisles. This was better than
Virgin which didn’t have contiguous seats. BA runs a nice classy airline
but it is a ton more money and they really don’t deliver value at the airport;
luggage came late and there is no airport club to speak of. Couldn’t find
a seat to sit in, there was a queue at the toilets and there was no Internet
facilities though right by the gate there were 10 empty terminals if you
were willing to pay just a pound. I think the new airport at Stansted and
these cut-rate airlines that are showing a good reputation for service
such as Eos and Silverjet are stealing away lots of BA’s business.
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