MAKING TRIP PLANS, 2016

ENGLAND AND THE IONIAN ISLANDS

I've started to verify and plan my trip to Europe this year which will begin September 4 when I fly to London.  From there I will go right away to Caerphilly, Wales to spend a couple of days visiting with my cousins and touring my castle.  It's a quick trip due to me having to take advantage of cheap air fares.

 Caerphilly Castle

 Windsor St. Where my Dad used to live.

On Sept. 7 I'll head into London again, early, in time to take in a special exhibit at the British Museum.  I'm really excited about seeing EGYPT'S LOST WORLDS, which are artifacts found under the see, some off of Alexandria which was the city founded by Alexander the Great and occupied but the first Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt.

 The British Museum

Early the next morning I fly to Corfu, my first stop in the Ionian Islands off the west coast of Greece. I was only there briefly back in the early '80's so I wanted to spend a few days there as Corfu has an interesting history with lots to see. I've check out the tours and will try and take one of them so I can see as many of the special sites as possible.  This will include the palace where Prince Philip was born and the home of the Durrell brothers of literary fame.

 Corfu, Kerkyra

 Mouse Island

 Kerkyra

I'm staying on Corfu for 3 days then taking the quick ferry over to the tiny island of Paxis where I'll spend two days exploring. There are a couple of interesting museums and a Venetian Kastro on an islet off shore that was reputedly designed by Leonardo da Vinci. 

 Paxi, Gaia

 Paxi harbour

From Paxi I must take a ferry to the mainland and then a bus to Lefkada where I'll head south to the town of Vassiliki (the surf-boarders paradise). Not sure yet if I'll spend a night there. It depends on the ferry service onward to Kefalonia where I will visit the seaside town of Fiscardo, established and named for a famous pirate. 

From there I will head by bus to Athens, and will stop there to visit friends for a few days before heading on another island adventure,  this time to the islands of Paros and Naxos.  I decided to stay two days on Paros as it is another island that I've only visited briefly back in the '90's.

My favorite island is Naxos, so I'll stay there five days in a bed-tent at the Maragas Camping, a campsite and beach that I just love going to. I never get tired of visiting Naxos as it's a big island and lots to see besides having the most fabulous beaches!  I can hardly wait to have my dinner at one of my favorite sea-side tavernas there to watch the sunset!

From Naxos I will head south to Crete.  I haven't been to Crete since the '80's and wanted to see the Minoan site of Knossos again as well as exploring around Iraklion.  I'll be there a couple of days and hope to get up to a mountainside resort owned by a FB friend.

When all my Cretan adventures are over, I head back to Athens and that's where I'll be for the month of October, until the 20th when I head back home.  There's lots to see and do in my favorite city besides visiting with my friends.  I'll go over to Salamina island for a few days to explore with Christina and probably make a few day trips around  If finances enable it, I might even go up to Pelion for a few days as I've been wanting to explore that area for quite some time now. 

Some of my Athens friends

 Zoe and me

 Carola, Christina and Kim

I'll be posting along the way and sharing all my adventures with on-line friends and family. So stay tuned for the next installment! IF YOU WANT FURTHER INFO ON SAVING MONEY WHILE YOU TRAVEL CHECK THESE LINKS. A little bit more information about our guide: It breakdowns when a no foreign transaction credit card makes sense for travellers, their benefits, as well as strategies to save money when traveling abroad. You can see our work here: https://creditcards.usnews.com/no-foreign-transaction-fee https://creditcards.usnews.com/no-foreign-transaction-fee#what-are-foreign-transaction-fees https://creditcards.usnews.com/no-foreign-transaction-fee#choosing-card-no-foreign-transaction-fee https://creditcards.usnews.com/no-foreign-transaction-fee#best-credit-cards-with-no-foreign-transaction-fee

TASTING SANTORINI WINE: Visiting the Boutari Winery

The Boutari Winery

JUNE 15 (part of the ill-fated 'tour' we took around Santorini.)
The one good part of our supposed 'tour' was the first request we made, to visit the Boutari Winery. There are several wineries on Santorini but because I favor Boutari wine, I wanted to see how it is made and what products they have that are not exported. As I expected, their best wines are not exported, but we got to taste them and learn a lot about Greek wine, especially the wines of Santorini.

The wine steward explains the wines.

The wines of Santorini are special because of the way they grow the grapes. The vines are coiled close to the ground to protect the fruit from the heat and winds. The wind in Santorini is very strong so this provents the vines from being damaged or blown over. We were invited for a tour of the winery and intrudiced to the art of wine tasting by the wine steward.

We tasted six different varieties both white and red. Selladia Boutari is a dry white wine, with the fresh and aromatic scents of green banana, white peach and citrus bossoms.; Santorini Boutari, another dry white with a subtle citrus aroma, full bodied and a long after-taste. Kallisti Reserve Boutari, a brilliant yellow dry white had a complex aroma of wood, hazelnuts, smoke and vanilla (the result of aging). It's excellent with shellfish and grilled fish.
Nykteri Boutari, another dry white with a golden color and high alcohol content, was aged 20 years. It's a rich tasting wine, good with spiced dishes, sea food and grilled fish.

In the red catagory, Experiemental Madilaria Boutari is a semi-sweet, fruit wine. I enjoyed the rich taste. It can be enjoyed as an apertif. Vinsanto Boutari is another naturally sweet wine with a characteristic orange-yellow colour acquired from the grape's exposure to the sun and the length of time the wine is kept in the barrel. It's a slight amber/red color with a dark, syrupy texture. Best served as an apertif or to accompany desserts. I brought a bottle of Vinsato home to save for the wrap party when I finish my novel.

The somalier told us that Bourtari is trying to break into the cartels and export more of these fine wines which are not available in Canada. Besides the bottle of Boutari wine I brought home for sentimental reasons I got a bottle of "Lava" rose, from the Vulcan Wineries. That's the first kind of Santorini wine I tasted on my first visit to the island in 1979.

A Santorini vineyard

If you want more information on the Boutari Winery in Santorini: www.boutari.gr