Schirrman's report from Greece

Janet and I are currently in Greece. We left Calgary Wed last week and and spent a few days in Athens. For reasons unknown to us, Athens has been trashed-talked by many people but we had a great time. Our accommodation was good, we took in all the sights and enjoyed some excellent restaurants. It was a great start to our vacation.

We then flew to our feature destination - Santorini. We are staying in the town of Oia, which is perched on the cliffs of an ancient volcano. The setting is incredible with stunning views of the remains of the volcano, the Agean Sea, great sunsets, lovely villas and other dwellings, blue skies and hot weather. Oia is away from the main town of Fira, which is the focal point for all the cruise ships and the masses of tourists. We are staying in a traditional Santorini 'cave' villa and look out onto the water with Fira and the cruise ships across the way. The atmosphere is very relaxing - the biggest decisions of the day are when to get up in the morning and which restaurant to select for dinner. I keep passing out in the afternoon at siesta time and will be totally comatose by the time we leave, regretably, next Sunday.

The remainder of our vacation next week will be spent in Amsterdam. The main reason for the visit is to catch up with my aunt - my father's sister, who is our last remaining Dutch relative. She lives in a small town north of Amsterdam and I haven't seen her for over 20 years. No doubt, it will be an interesting visit.