July 1

After breakfast we took the local bus to Thira, Santorini's main town and where cruise ships anchor in the caldera.  Santorini is a volcanic island and some time in the past the top erupted creating a large caldera where the sea comes in.  Thira is built up the sides and on top of the caldera and is quite picturesque with white buildings and many bright blue roofs & domes.  Ship passengers tender to the base of the cliff and have the option of taking a gondola to the city or hiring a donkey to climb the 500 or so steps.  There are numerous narrow cobblestone streets lined with shops & restaurants.  We wandered around enjoying the views, looking in shops but not buying and watching people.  It got warm in the narrow streets because the breeze was blocked and we stopped for a refreshing beer.  We found a nice restaurant away from the expensive caldera view area and had fried saganaki cheese and mussels in wine sauce at a very reasonable price.  We returned to Parissa by bus and relaxed by the hotel pool for a couple of hours.  As dusk approached we wandered back to Perissa town and found the God's Garden Restaurant, recommended by my son Dan, and had a wonderful meal.  Pat had lamb in a lemon sauce and I had lamb shoulder that had been baked all day in a special oven.  The meals were delicious and very filling.  As we walked back through the town towards our hotel, every bar & restaurant had large TV sets playing the Euro Cup 2012 final between Spain (the winner) & Italy.  All the broadcasts were in English.  The game didn't start until 9:45pm and we aren't late night people so we returned to the room and watched most of the first half before going to sleep.