Megalochori, the little "big village"

We rented a scooter and this is what you will see when driving around the island -- white washed houses. I think there is a strict regulation that you cannot paint your house with any color other than white, or any of the pastel colors allowed.

On the way to Perissa which is another beach stretch in Santorini with our Peugeot scooter that looked more like a huge motorbike really, we saw a sign on the main road that said – Greek Traditional Village: Megalochori

I told Dutchman we should go there one day and indeed the next day we did the village visits to Pyrgos which will be my next entry and Megalochori.

The white and quiet narrow alleys of Megalochori. This bell tower gateway gave an authentic and charming feel. The village also has a few churches.

Typical white traditional Cycladic houses in Megalochori with blue doors and windows - these two in the foto offer two varying hues of blue.

Megalochori – or Megalohori in Greek means “Big Village” which is a rather blunt euphemistic twist as there are less than 500 resident houses in the village. They, however say that the most powerful families in Santorini used to live here, perhaps shaping, and influencing the name of this little quiet town.

Greek salad for snack and this bread is really delicious. I love dipping bread in to olive oil mixed with balsamico + salt + pepper. The simplest things in sauces are the best.

It is also one of the Greek villages in the island that managed to keep its traditional ambience. White-washed houses and architectural features that typifies the archetypal Cycladic house, narrow quiet alleys drenched in white paint, corner streets that leads you to a flight of steps bringing you to yet another narrow alley washed in white, are all available to see, to be explored, and to be experienced when you step inside this immaculate white village.

More fotos of Megalochori can be found here: Megalochori - Santorini, Greece

The pretty church bell tower that also serves as the gateway to the main square of the village where the taverns congregate - that is me by the way standing under the arch gateway in the foto. Next foto is one of the taverns in the square and I love the how the pink bougainvillas hang from the wooden trellis.

The little town is also home to the local fine craft of wine making, a once major economic livelihood of Santorini. Boutaris, the largest and well known wine factory in the island offers educational and cultural wine tours.

I never bothered to drag the unwilling Dutchman to the wine factory, not even to the wine museum near Kamari where we stayed (he already protested before I entertained the thought!) as I knew this would only be a pure, and nothing less, cultural nightmare for him.

Kamari, the Beach

The Black beach of Kamari behind the mountain where the ancient settlement of Thira (Santorinis old name) is situated.

We stayed in Kamari Beach for our entire holiday as this was supposedly a summer beach holiday. Due to the island being what now remains from a massive volcanic eruption during the height of the Minoan civilization sometime 3,600 years ago, the beach stones and sand are black. When you dip in the water, you don’t feel stones and sand tingling under your feet but huge slabs of compounded stone that solidified throughout the ages on the shore.

In Kamari, the Greek colors of white and blue are also plenteous. On the right foto is a typical Greek Orthodox Church.

The beach is 3-kilometers long filled with parasols and sun beds that can be rented all day. It is located in the south of the island nearby the airport. Everyday, every hour, we could see the planes go down, so near that the beach area is a perfect place to sit down with a glass of cold drink and airplane watch. Otherwise, lounging by the pool or lying down on an airbed on the pool is Dutchman’s idea of perfect enjoyment and relaxation while I keep reminding him its time we visit some little Greek village and partake in the local culture. He frowns on this by the way.

The Kamari Boulevard along the beach coast; a nice place to walk, eat, drink, shop, and be seen during the day, and also at night. It is always busy here even late into the evening after midnight.

What I love with Kamari is the gezellig boulevard; very chic, busy, colorful, and lively at night. The shops bring in a breath of fresh air. Here in Kamari, they are not selling rubbish like in many popular touristy places. However, I noticed that many of the little boutique shops were selling designer labels from the last season or two with 50% discount on the tags. Still, the items were quite expensive when you are talking about prices starting at €1,000 or €500, which gives you already an idea what type of holidaymakers come to Santorini.

More fotos of Kamari here: Kamari - Santorini, Greece

Mythos is the local beer brand and this is the famed Greek yoghurt with honey and crushed walnuts. Super yummy! As for the white wine in this picture, it was my worst ever that I swore I would never ever drink house wine from then on. The next day I avoided wine and ordered bitter lemon for dinner. This white wine on the foto totally ruined my wine appetite for 2 days, lol.

Dutchman and I dined in different restaurants every evening which he did not really fancy at all arguing that my cooking at home was way, way better. Hah! Well, I’ve only had seafood the whole time; Greek salads for lunches and Greek yoghurt with honey and walnuts too. I always say this every time -- you can never have a great Greek salad or Greek yoghurt outside Greece. The tomatoes here are sweet and crunchy; the onions sweet too?, the yoghurt packed and creamy, and the honey so, so thick. It’s never the same anywhere else.

Menus outside the restaurant - I like how the menu boards are displayed on the roadside.

So the explanation I received from the locals is, it’s because of the dark vulcanic soil and the mineral properties that go with it making the vegetables sweet. And speaking of the subject sweet – the island is also known for its production of sweet white wine. It is interesting to note that the vineyards here are cultivated so low. The vines crawl on the grounds as opposed to climbing on a wooden trellis. The island is so windy (like the coast of the Netherlands) that it is not practical to build vineyard trellises as they will only capsize like what happened to our parasol in the balcony one day. Nowadays wine has become a supplement to the number one industry in the island, tourism.

The boulevard at night - interesting foto as usually there are many people walking but in this foto there were almost none!

Going back to dinners, I think the best dinner I had was the grilled tuna in the boulevard. I actually ordered a different seafood dish called Spetsioteko Psari. The waiter who attended to us strikes me as someone who was a bit dodgy said they only serve the dish during winter. He further explained while looking at my frame with sleepy eyes that I would not want to eat it for dinner as it would be too heavy for my stomach. He gave me a grin that totally spoke of -- trust me, I am the waiter or I could be the damn chef so I know! In turn, I asked what he can recommend from the house. He replied confidently, with pride – tuna, we have the best tuna. Alright then, I am taking tuna, grill it, and make it well done for me please... Ah, it was the best seafood dinner, grilled tuna with courgette on the side I ever had in this holiday. Thanks to this dodgy looking waiter.

To end this post, if I were to recommend a beach place to stay, it will be Kamari. Between the 2 busy beaches in Santorini, Perissa (which I will be posting an entry and pictures later) and Kamari – Kamari is the place to be.

Romantic Oia

Considered perhaps as one of the best places in Europe to rendezvous, splurge a romantic weekend date with that special someone, get married, or spend your honeymoon!

The village of Oia is situated in the north of Santorini Island in the Cyclades Group of Islands.

They say that Oia – pronounced as “ia” or “ee-ya” is the most picturesque Greek village in the Greecian archipelago. Perched beautifully on top of the rugged and dark volcanic rock cliffs is the pristine and traditional village of Oia blossoming with white - pastel colored houses and blue domed churches.

This is my favorite shot in Oia. I personally took this shot and in fact I was in a panic and scrambling my fingers with the camera to get the right angle as the ponies galloped past me so quickly! I ran after them and voila, click! Thankfully, it was a superb shot :-) Walking paths here too are made of marble and volcanic cobblestones.

Here you can find more fotos of beautiful Oia: Oia - Santorini, Greece


Those blue domes that reflect the skies and sea are Greek Orthodox Churches and Chapels, and a Church bell tower overlooking the Caldera.

Dutchman has been here twice, a very long, long time ago when there were only a handful tourists present, mostly young and fresh out of school backpackers like him. He said there were no touristy shops, no hotels, no crafts shops, and very few cafes and taverns in this quiet village. The island of Santorini, and in particular Oia, was an undiscovered beauty back then, where mass tourism was very much unheard of, some 20 years ago.

Ah, I also like this foto of me along the pretty cliffside trails. Dutchman had to hurriedly take this shot while nobody else was on sight within camera range, which is actually a huge challenge as there were always people walking everywhere. Oia is very popular!

Oia is also famous for its stunning sunset. Many tourists wait for the end of day to witness the mighty yet romantic sun goes down the red-orange horizon. One evening, we had the honor to be captivated by the magestic beauty of this renowned Oia sunset. In a boat floating on the sea, we were temporarily anchored just right below the village cliff while having our evening meal. It was a romantic dinner cruise we booked that night and the highlight of the trip was the Oia sunset.

We had our lunch in Oia in a lovely tavern overlooking the Caldera. We ordered the usual Greek yoghurt with honey and tried a different salad -- the Santorini salad with fresh spring onions (I ate them with gusto because they were chunky and sweet!) and topped with the local Santorini cheese which tasted really nice. I thought the cheese was a cross between emmental and comte cheeses with the feta flaky qualities in it.


Beautiful Oia, blue and white is the theme of this immaculate and romantic village.

Another favorite foto that I personally took. The ruins on top of the white-washed houses with blue doors and windows is the Oia Kastro castle ruins. This is the north tip of Santorini where the spectacular sunset goes down the horizon of Caldera.

Many couples get married or spend their honeymoon in Santorini and Oia. I have never seen so many newlyweds - bride and groom still in their wedding garb with flowers and champagne in their hands, in my holiday ever!

Back

Hi there, we are back from the lovely and mythical island of Santorini in Greece and I will soon be posting entries and fotos about it.

This particular foto was taken in a posh hotel overlooking the panoramic and breathtaking Caldera in Fira, the main town of this volcanic island Santorini with the crater of the volcano in the background.

Squinting my eyes as sun was hot hot!


Laters for now.

I need a holiday

We will be off to Santorini, Greece in less than 48 hours and I still don’t feel the holiday feeling flowing in my veins. So I thought, perhaps writing about it – blogging it, would help me get into the holiday mood.

I’ve managed to print a list of places to visit in Santorini and in the nearby islands of the Cyclades Islands-Region. They say that Santorini is the most beautiful, with breathtaking and unique views, and is the most popular island of Greece. The pictures make me look forward to the holiday but with many things to do before the actual flight, everything seems like a last minute run, a miasma of activities.


The kitchen needs cleaning and I don’t know where to start. Ugh, I swear I have failed housekeeping. I’ve never hated housekeeping this much until I came to live in the Netherlands. Dutchman promised to vacuum the place before we leave. He better do it as I am not in the mood.

I still have to pack! It’s not going to be quick mixing and matching clothes and accessories. Are my favorite clothes clean? I know Dutchman did a load of wash yesterday. You know that feeling that you must, in whatever circumstances, bring your favorite shirt?

And then there’s work. Right, work is preoccupying my mind right now. There are politics at work to be dealt with. There are things I want. I know what I want. I WANT IT. I swear. I WILL GET IT. I have to. I MUST.

It’s the end of the month, the end of the quarter. There is still 1 day to go and I am stretching myself far and wide even though I am way over my targets for the month, quarter, and year. I am never satisfied. I am a slave driver to myself.

I need a holiday right.

360-Degree Customer View

I’ve been in the IT industry for over a decade now and I have sold monstrous software applications in the past from ERP to CRM to DW and BI’s. In every company and customer I have dealt with the holistic pitch is always about having a clear 360-degree view of the customer in a single database. Every competitive organization aims for this dream, which unfortunately proves to be quite elusive in reality thus the proliferation of customer management tools and applications in the market today.

There is indeed raw power when all relevant information a company needs about their customer is stored in a single database, real time and online (or at least within a 2-4 week period) – information that can be extracted anytime.

Well here is the story -- recently I had a very interesting customer experience with the giant credit card company, American Express. This financial institution is a perfect example of a very large and successful organization that failed to capture the very basic information about their customer -- They were cold calling me, a customer! They thought I was a prospect?

Over a year ago Dutchman decided to take on an additional credit card mainly for the reason that KLM has a frequent flyer partnership program with American Express.

We are far from being die hard credit card users. We rarely use the plastic card. Europe as a whole too is not a credit card continent that feeds on credit. The real payment engine here is debit. The Dutch in particular prefers to pay their purchases through debit cards (which are almost equivalent to cash) or if they buy online, they pay through IDEAL, a local payment system. Credit cards here are an expensive method of payment as many establishments, mostly the online based, charges a hefty fee.

In addition, the Dutch mentality discourages credit, which I would say is probably the main reason why credit cards will never fly off in the flatlands. Credit cards will definitely be used, but they will never become a household thing.

Financial controls and regulations too are very tightly placed in this country. The infrastructure here is not just geared for credit.

For example, no credit card company will give you a credit card if you have no job. No credit card company will give you a credit card if you are earning below the required income. The government here will never allow financial institutions to hard sell credit schemes to naive debt ridden customers. And all credit card purchases are automatically deducted from your main bank account at the end of every month. This is a standard payment condition and loaning extra credit days are based upon the discretion of the credit card company, usually looking into your income = buying power.

Anyway, to continue my story...

On top of my Mastercard, I have the American Express card as Dutchmans extended card holder. Between Dutchman and me, I am the frequent user of the card – I credit any transaction as much as possible, which includes searching for establishments accepting American Express, in order to get the points. It’s all about the air miles. The frequent flyer points!

So yes, I was surprised, having been using the Amex card a lot when American Express called me trying to sell their credit card. Can they not see me in their system that I am already their customer?

Tsk, tsk, tsk...

In Baarn

We have been visiting Baarn lately, and our most recent visit was this morning when we met with a real estate agent to check out this vrijstand house with a 1930’s architectural facade design.

The house was lovely from the outside. However, my first impression when I stepped inside the living room was nowhere near ecstatic. It was actually a bit of a downer. There were no sparks flying. No love at first sight kind of thing. Only the bathroom impressed me as it was so luxurious I could imagine myself lying in the tub with the bubbles.

Nevertheless, I would like to post some of the fotos I took in Baarn on our visits on several occasions.

Pretty Baarn... stately mansions now offices and thatched roof shops in the Centrum.

This is the De Generaal Cafe just right across the Baarn railway station. It is one of the old establishments in the village that remains open and servicing customers today.

What I love with Baarn is the exclusive, suburban, and living with nature feel. There are lots of trees, parks, and forest groves in the area. The famous Lage Vuursche forest where the Drakesteyn Castle owned by Queen Beatrix is located just right by the corner. Beautiful and stately mansions abound in the village that is now transformed into elegant offices. And Amsterdam is just half an hour away (without traffic) via the A1 highway.

A few more fotos can be found here: Baarn, (Utrecht) The Netherlands

Lots of green in Baarn and next foto was me taken a few weeks ago in one of the huge parks.

So even though the visit to this house in Baarn this morning was a bit disappointing, we will keep searching until we find the right house, hopefully in Baarn or somewhere else equally nice.

38

I turned 38 this week, and Dutchman and I had drinks and dinner in Amsterdam Centrum after work to celebrate my birthday.

This was taken last Thursday when I turned 38 in a Spanish restaurant in Amsterdam where Dutchman and I had dinner.

Birthdays for me are nothing special really until I came to live here in the Netherlands and was confronted with the fact that birthdays in this part of the world are exceptional days of your life that everyone in the direct family must celebrate, yearly, until the day you die (seriously!).

I also got used to receiving “congratulations” (and also giving) during birthdays. It’s a strange Dutch custom to congratulate you on your birthday. They even and literally congratulate everyone related to you on your birthday too! lol

A lot of people say I don’t look 38. Their attempts at explicating this matter are simply entertaining. They say it must have been the magical (superior? ha-ha) Asian genes, or because of the skin, or because Asian women are just tiny, they all come packed in XS, S, 34, 36 and under 160cm. So ergo most Asian women that take care of themselves always look like 10 years younger? OK. Fine.

I don’t know really but what I do know is that many women my age look way older than me. It should be a compliment right, but on the other side of the coin it is extremely annoying when people think I’m just starting with my life therefore not taking me seriously.

I sometimes am tempted to put a sign on my forehead that says I am born in the year 1970! So when I have important meetings I always put my hair up (and I always wear make up) so I will look older.

For me, and this sounds a bit of a cliché by the way so please excuse me – intelligence, experience and maturity is much more important than (fleeting) beauty and looking young.