Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Greece - Sounion

I have never stayed at a Greek resort, so I had no idea what to expect when D's grandmother picked the Grecotel at Cape Sounion. The location was clearly fabulous, but I had doubts about whether fancy resorts actually existed in Greece. While traveling alone, I had never spent more than 30 euros a night for a hotel room (and more frequently paid 10 euros for some distinctly questionable accommodations), so I am obviously not an expert.

I needn't have worried. We were greeted by a giant pear (which was actually part of a fruit platter, and accompanied by a bottle of wine) and robes. Apparently this is standard resort practice. Who knew?

greece - sounion - huge hotel greeting pear
{sounion - hotel greeting pear}

We spent most of our time by the saline pool but we did make it down to the beach.

greece - sounion - hotel pool
{yes, my legs are as pale in greece as they are everywhere else}

greece - sounion - beach
{palapas - or whatever they are called in greek}

It wouldn't have been our vacation without a little weirdness. We all signed up for the sunset champagne cruise, which sounds super luxe. We were a little thrown when the captain couldn't get the boat into the cove, had us clamber out on the slippery rocks in a failed attempt to board, commandeered Dustin to act as deckhand, and finally (rather inventively) solved the whole problem by having us mount a broken down jet ski, three people at a time, that he tied to an inflatable canoe with a bit of twine and proceeded to row us out to the boat.

greece - sounion - sunset cruise
{d, with the jet ski and the canoe}

We made it to the boat, clutching our champagne for dear life. And it was worth it.

greece - sounion - sunset cruise
{captain}

greece - sounion - sunset cruise
{temple of poseidon}

greece - sounion - sunset cruise
{sunset cruise}

Totally different from any Greek experience in my repertoire, totally lovely. And a truly perfect way to spend the tail end of a busy trip, with a bit of relaxation after all the craziness a family trip entails.

13 comments:

  1. Oh gosh. This sounds so lovely and luxurious, but...well, it's making me a little jealous. I'm bleary-eyed, sitting down at my PC for another long day of work, and...wishing I could be on a sunset champagne cruise instead! D'oh.

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  2. I love a little out-of-the-ordinary on a trip!

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  3. i agree - sooooo worth it.

    and...everyone needs great stories to share.

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  4. i want to go on vacation!!!!!!

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  5. aw, i love your dustin/twine/canoe story. macgyvered cruises are the best kind.

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  6. i love the tradition of getting a pear and a robe upon check-in!

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  7. Great pics! And my daughter's is constantly telling people that pale is the new tan. :)

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  8. WOW looks amazing! I love that sunset! I truly need to be there right now. I hope you continue to have a great time!

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  9. The cruise looks like it was amazing!

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  10. An enormous pear and a an eye of Rachel! And Dustin saving the day en route to the Temple of Poseidon! What an adventure and what SPECTACULAR pictures! Welcome home, woman.

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  11. Amazing. I wish I could walk into my room and be greeted with a gorgeous fruit platter, a robe, and a bottle of wine. (That I didn't put there myself.) Vacation is wonderful, isn't it?

    We talked about going to Greece today. Well, today, we talked about taking a trip to Greece. Though going to Greece today would've been awesome.

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  12. It sounds like a great trip...even the odd boat story :)

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