Furry friends

Coming from a home inhabited by two crazy cats and a loyal but mischievous dog, it seems strangely quiet on this trip not to wake up and find a cat on the bed or a dog racing to the door to greet us when we get home.

But there’s been plenty of pets to help fill the void. In China we saw loads of Pomeranians (and thought of you Nat and Kat!) as well as bigger dogs like huskies and beagles being exercised on the footpaths and in public parks.

Everywhere you look in Greece there’s cats and dogs, as well as horses (we thought of you Shelley when we pulled our quad bike over to the side of the road to pat a local horse), donkeys, goats and even the odd cow.

The cats laze around near the beach, can be spotted roaming around outside homes and churches or curled up under flowerpots outside restaurants.  Our hotel in Mykonos even had a few resident cats who hung out beside the pool every now and again.

There was a cat hanging out on the caldera with her three kittens -- from outside their humble home in a shed they had some of the best views in Santorini! We spotted a ginger kitten by the boardwalk at the beach in Mykonos beside the banana lounges and rows of umbrellas, and we saw the same crazy ginger feline (at least we think it was the same one) trying to climb onto the back of a 4WD so he could go on an adventure.  Yes Damien Brown, the crazy ginger made us think of YOU!!  We even spotted some cats enjoying a feast of prawns and one clever cat in Santorini was keeping a close eye on the local fish market in the hope he would score himself a feed.  Rome was also crawling with cats -- apparently Cleopatra introduced cats to Rome, giving them as gifts to Julius Caesar.  Turns out he was allergic so he threw them out onto the street, expecting that they would die, but of course they were tough, and started breeding -- needless to say there are still heaps of cats roaming the ruins of Rome today.

However our favourite pet so far has been ``Hitler Cat'', who we met in Mykonos -- he came up to Bryan. said hello and then climbed on his back for a cuddle like they were old pals.  Or maybe he was just hoping to rule the world.

Cute, but still not as good as Levi and Suzuki...

Livin' it up like the Greeks do

Perhaps one of the reasons Greece is such an enjoyable place to holiday is because even the workers – the hotel staff, taxi drivers, waiters and bar staff -- are all on a holiday (of sorts) too.

On the way from Mykonos Port to our hotel (which, by the way had amazing views of the Ornos Bay beach AND a fabulous pool and hot tub!) our 20-something driver revealed that he was not a Mykonos native but loves the laid-back lifestyle on the island.

Hailing from Athens, he works in Mykonos for six months of the year, and makes enough money in that time to return to the Greek capital to, as he puts it to: ``have a holiday’’ and ``do nothing’’ during the off-season, when the temperature cools, the wind picks up and holidaymakers no longer consider the islands such an attractive prospect.

It is a similar story across the islands – in Santorini our host at Efterpi Villas, Christos Prekas, who I’d guess is aged in his 60s, revealed that he left Athens and started working in Santorini in 1979 – the same year Bryan and I were born! He’s been going there from March to October every year since, returning to his home in Athens for the low season.

If Santorini and Mykonos have pulling power like that for the Greeks, it’s no wonder foreigners can’t resist the charms of the islands!

Stunning Santorini

We were whizzing along a quiet street on a rented quad bike, exploring the far reaches of Santorini, when a little old Greek man put his hand out to stop us. At first I was expecting him to be angry that our buzzing engine was making too much noise in his peaceful neighbourhood (I had earlier met a grumpy Greek stallholder at a nearby beach who yelled at me when I tried to take his photo). But I couldn’t have been more wrong this time around. This gentleman took a break from the bucket of handwashing he was wringing outside his back porch, pointed to the camera hanging around my neck and gestured for us to come into his humble backyard. Here, we soon realised, was an unobstructed view of the sparkling blue waters of the Aegean Sea with the white-washed houses of the caldera in the distance, a sight the landowner was clearly proud of.

Admittedly the view (above) was good (although not the best we’d seen on the picturesque island) but what was more fantastic was the generosity of this kind stranger.

''England?'' ''America?'' The inquisitive greek asked in his thick accent. When we told him we hailed from Australia his eyes lit up and a beaming smile spread across his face as he excitedly recounted the six months he once spent working in Melbourne and Sydney for a Greek shipping company.

He then ducked inside his laundy before re-emerging and presenting us with a perfectly kept postcard of nearby Red Beach (the same beach where I met the rude jewellery seller who wouldn't let me take his picture -- although look closely and you'll see him in the foreground of the picture below, as if I would let anyone tell me NO!)

The old man then waved us off, wishing us the best of luck for the rest of our holiday. This encounter is typical of the great hospitality shown to us by the Greeks so far. And typical of the many spectacular views on offer around Santorini, which turned out to be bigger than I expected -- the main island is more than 30km long and takes almost an hour to drive from end to end.

Before the trip someone warned me that I wouldn’t be able to put my camera down. And they were right. Bryan, as always, was very patient as I took about a million images capturing the essence of the ocean, the volcanic landscape, the people, the buildings and the beautiful sunsets.

We even stumbled across a traditional Greek wedding at sunset.

Before we left Santorini I swore to myself and to Bryan that I’d had enough of photographing cute white churches with striking blue dome roofs.

Lucky for me the tops of the churches in Mykonos turned out to be mostly red…

Food, glorious food!

The food in Greece is amazingly tasty (and amazingly cheap) -- this is fish and chips, Santorini-style!

Love at first sight

``Let’s move to Greece,`` Bryan declared with enthusiasm as we wandered through the narrow cobbled streets of Athens that wind up to the city’s famed Acropolis (above).

By the time we had visited the ancient ruins, shopped at the street markets, visited the stadium where the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896 and guzzled frozen lemonades to offer some temporary relief from the hot sun overhead (average temp in Greece is currently a sunny 30C), I was starting to think his idea was not so crazy after all.

And then we arrived in Santorini, which is every bit as picture-perfect as you imagine, and I must confess that I am well and truly smitten.

From the amazing caldera views from our very own whitewashed villa overlooking the ocean, to the friendly people, the endless sunshine, the tasty €2.50 souvlaki lunches on offer, the cheap beer and vodka and the plethora of shops serving up delicious home-made ice cream, I think I could live here FOREVER!

the view from our balcony in one direction...

and the other direction

So if I don’t arrive home in 7 weeks you’ll know where to find me…

Around the world in just one day

We're supposed to be travelling the world in 8 weeks.  But in China we found a way to see all of the world's main attractions in just a few hours.  World Park is a bizarre themed park (popular for Chinese weddings) which replicates iconic scenes and buildings from around the globe -- think Eiffel Tower, London Bridge, the White House.. even the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House were there! 

We also made a few new friends along the way...

And you thought newspapers were for READING! Not in China...

A teenager enjoys an afternoon nap at Beijing Zoo