Sesame chicken in Santorini

Day 34
Santorini, Greece

With so much to see on this small island, we opted this morning to rent a bad-ass lime green Hyundai. It was a four-door and automatic. Behind the wheel of this 4-cylinder, it became immediately clear that no Greeks would be messing with us on the road today.

Our first stop was Oia (pronounced e-ah), a village that, like Fira, has been built precariously into the mountainside and offers tremendous views of the caldera and Aegean. It was once home to wealthy sea captains. Today, its narrow streets are lined with art galleries, jewelry stores and small shops selling unbelievable amounts of tourist schwag.

Santorini is well known for its wine, in particular a light white and dessert. We set out for Boutari Vineyard, the winery that produced the bottle we enjoyed yesterday afternoon. Five euros got us a tasting of their four varietals (two whites, a red and dessert).

Next, we drove south towards Perivolas, where a volcanic, black sand beach runs for miles along the water.

Just about 10 minutes away, in nearby Akrotiri, is Santorini’s unique Red Beach.

Our final destination was Pharos, the lighthouse on the south-eastern tip of the island. We returned the car and rested up at the apartment before heading into Fira for dinner. Greek food has been great, but after eight days and way too many gyros, souvlakis and mousakkas, we’ve started itching for something different. Walking through town, we came across China Restaurant — this is the actual name of the restaurant — and it occurred to me that I’ve not had any Asian food (Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Malaysian) in over a month. This has to be some type of record.

We shrugged, took our seats and ordered some extra spicy sesame chicken, fried rice and chicken and broccoli. It wasn’t Hai Hong and it wasn’t Meiwah, but you know what? It wasn’t half bad.