We were having breakfast the Galini café when I decided to give Swana a ring, a call that would leave me shell-shocked when she asked if I received her SMS about Michael Jackson’s death. I hadn’t, so the news took me completely by surprise. Michael Jackson dead? From cardiac arrest at 50? Un-freakin-believable. I was stumped.
Just a few hours earlier I had read online about Farrah Fawcett’s passing, and there was nothing about MJ, I thought it was a bad rumour but nope, it was true. The King of Pop had popped. Poor guy. I was one of those hysterical screaming fans in tears when he performed in Singapore during my teenage years. We grew up with his music, never mind that he had some personal issues – he was legendary and in a league of his own. It’s really sad, RIP Michael.
While reflecting on his death, we walked to Fira, this time via the cobblestone path behind our hotel instead of the main road – much more scenic. Walked as far as the Orthodox Cathedral which stands out in the Santorini skyline, before stopping for a drink in Fira Square.
After getting back to the hotel, we attempted to walk in the direction of Imerovigli, up the slope from Firostefani but it was a long, steep slope! Halfway through, I gave up – the sun was beating down on our backs and my thighs were aching. So on we hopped the bus to Oia where I went in search of blue-domed churches and the wall that everyone watches the sunset from.
I found the old castle that has become the best place to watch the Oia sunsets, but pity it was still early afternoon. Nevertheless, I managed to get a peep at the port of Ammoudi, which is supposedly nice to have a meal, but was too lazy to climb up and down all the steps.
Whilst waiting for the bus back, picked up an ice cream from a minimart that had interesting packaging. The brand was either called The Daily Pleasure or Scandal, we had regular chocolate and pistachio but there was a flavour called Chocolate Orgy…wonder if Singapore sells?
Rested a bit at the hotel before heading back out to Fira to have dinner and possibly catch the sunset. Nickypoo was already pining for his mee pok and soups, so we ended up at a Chinese restaurant that looked like the owners were Vietnamese. The fried rice was not bad, but costs the equivalent of S$16. I had a corn and chicken soup, and he had hot and sour and we shared some appetizers.
We managed to finish eating in time to catch the setting sun and it did not disappoint with hues of pink, yellow, orange and blue.
There was a bar we had spotted on the first day that I die-die wanted to try called Mylos Cafe. Prices were rather reasonable considering it was one of those uber-chic café bars with a fabulous view so we decided to have a drink. We had a glass of champagne each and shared a bowl of fruit with honey for just 21 euros.
Service was excellent, they even provided a large bottle of water for no additional charge, a small packet of nuts and some chocolate-coated strawberries which were the best I ever had. The chocolate wasn’t milky so it tasted better with the berries.
As it was Friday night, people were in a partying mood but we turned in early as we had to check out the next morning to catch our ferry. But sleep eluded us as there was music blasting somewhere or a concert of some sorts going on. Just as well we were awake, for we felt the earth move (literally!) not long after winding down.
Nick felt it first, I thought maybe some heavy vehicle was passing the road behind us or something but no, it was an actual earthquake! The room was shaking and there was a loud rumbling noise, it only lasted a few seconds but when I heard the noise, I thought the volcano was erupting. Didn’t see any signs of lava or signs of panic, so we gathered it was not an unusual occurrence. But still, we were on edge, I did fear for my life for a split second.
Tried to google recent seismic activity in the area and found out there are low frequency earthquakes all the time. A few minutes later, there was an aftershock. Oh, and then at 1am we heard loud explosions and thought the worst but they turned out to be fireworks from a nearby party! Drama or what?
Just a few hours earlier I had read online about Farrah Fawcett’s passing, and there was nothing about MJ, I thought it was a bad rumour but nope, it was true. The King of Pop had popped. Poor guy. I was one of those hysterical screaming fans in tears when he performed in Singapore during my teenage years. We grew up with his music, never mind that he had some personal issues – he was legendary and in a league of his own. It’s really sad, RIP Michael.
While reflecting on his death, we walked to Fira, this time via the cobblestone path behind our hotel instead of the main road – much more scenic. Walked as far as the Orthodox Cathedral which stands out in the Santorini skyline, before stopping for a drink in Fira Square.
After getting back to the hotel, we attempted to walk in the direction of Imerovigli, up the slope from Firostefani but it was a long, steep slope! Halfway through, I gave up – the sun was beating down on our backs and my thighs were aching. So on we hopped the bus to Oia where I went in search of blue-domed churches and the wall that everyone watches the sunset from.
I found the old castle that has become the best place to watch the Oia sunsets, but pity it was still early afternoon. Nevertheless, I managed to get a peep at the port of Ammoudi, which is supposedly nice to have a meal, but was too lazy to climb up and down all the steps.
Whilst waiting for the bus back, picked up an ice cream from a minimart that had interesting packaging. The brand was either called The Daily Pleasure or Scandal, we had regular chocolate and pistachio but there was a flavour called Chocolate Orgy…wonder if Singapore sells?
Rested a bit at the hotel before heading back out to Fira to have dinner and possibly catch the sunset. Nickypoo was already pining for his mee pok and soups, so we ended up at a Chinese restaurant that looked like the owners were Vietnamese. The fried rice was not bad, but costs the equivalent of S$16. I had a corn and chicken soup, and he had hot and sour and we shared some appetizers.
We managed to finish eating in time to catch the setting sun and it did not disappoint with hues of pink, yellow, orange and blue.
There was a bar we had spotted on the first day that I die-die wanted to try called Mylos Cafe. Prices were rather reasonable considering it was one of those uber-chic café bars with a fabulous view so we decided to have a drink. We had a glass of champagne each and shared a bowl of fruit with honey for just 21 euros.
Service was excellent, they even provided a large bottle of water for no additional charge, a small packet of nuts and some chocolate-coated strawberries which were the best I ever had. The chocolate wasn’t milky so it tasted better with the berries.
As it was Friday night, people were in a partying mood but we turned in early as we had to check out the next morning to catch our ferry. But sleep eluded us as there was music blasting somewhere or a concert of some sorts going on. Just as well we were awake, for we felt the earth move (literally!) not long after winding down.
Nick felt it first, I thought maybe some heavy vehicle was passing the road behind us or something but no, it was an actual earthquake! The room was shaking and there was a loud rumbling noise, it only lasted a few seconds but when I heard the noise, I thought the volcano was erupting. Didn’t see any signs of lava or signs of panic, so we gathered it was not an unusual occurrence. But still, we were on edge, I did fear for my life for a split second.
Tried to google recent seismic activity in the area and found out there are low frequency earthquakes all the time. A few minutes later, there was an aftershock. Oh, and then at 1am we heard loud explosions and thought the worst but they turned out to be fireworks from a nearby party! Drama or what?
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