Personal contribution to the Greek economy

I'm only about 3 months late but better late than never. One of the many benefits of attending an international B-school is the wide geographical network of friends. When such friends get married, well the inevitable conclusion is a trip abroad to join in their wedding celebration in Santorini, Greece.

We decided to combine the wedding weekend with our own vacation and embarked on our Greek adventure. Mama Mia Mama Mia! 

Arriving in Santorini on Friday around noon we had plenty of time to get ourselves settled in and enjoy the amazing caldera views from our hotel. Based on recommendations from the bride and numerous good reviews on TripAdvisor we stayed at the Dana Villas in Fira Stephani. Superlatives like amazingly beautiful or ridiculously gorgeous really don't do justice here. Spectacuamazeballshyperpretty gets you to maybe 70% of an accurate description. Maybe 80% if you throw in a f***. 

Hotels in Santorini are all constructed to face the ocean and thus are erected in a terrace style fashion to accommodate the fact that you're on a freaking cliff. The beauty can assuage the fact that you're about 50 feet from tumbling down to the craggy volcanic rock below. 

The rooms were sparsely decorated but very nice. I found it pleasant and clean. 

They gave us a welcome basket of fruit and wine. It's an easy way into my heart. Booze. 

Getting my gangsta lean on while watching the sunset. 

The first night we didn't venture far and had dinner at a spot right next to our hotel. Well, I wish you had seen the amount of wine they gave us when we got 1 glass each. They essentially filled it to the brim and said, enjoy vacationers. Enjoy, I did. I was liking the Greek hospitality. Food portions were ample. Vacation spot restaurants know what's up. I am not there to eat healthy or portion control. I'm on vacation dammit. Feed me!!!

Breakfast was buffet style with a serving of caldera view. It looks like I'm eating by myself but the SO just hadn't arrived yet from filling her plate up with food. She eats a lot so it takes her more time to gather it all. 

Santorini, well actually, the Greek islands in general are HUUUUUUGE cruise destinations. It makes sense considering it's called the Greek islands. Thus, the ocean is dotted with mega ships waiting to port and drop off the day's worth of tourists. 

Local fruit vendor selling his wares. 1 euro got me like 3 plums. 

Our morning walk to Fira was nice. The cruise passengers don't really start permeating the streets of Fira until noon or so. One thing we noticed was the very large contingency of mainland Chinese tourists. To say, they were interesting to watch is an understatement. I hate to generalize but they really need to learn TPO, as my mom liked to say .Time. Place. Occasion. 5 inch heels on cobble don't work very well and their valiant efforts to try to take glamour shots offered much entertainment.  

Santorini essentially has no natural resource. Even water had to be imported until they built a desalinization plant The landscape albeit beautiful is stark. 

The wedding ceremony took place in Oia. It oozed Greece traditional.  

The inside was quite ornate and ended up being packed with people. Definitely a fire hazard but I was hopeful that we were being watched over. *sarcasm*

I'm totally fuzzy on the order of this. Was it beer, then ceremony and then rice? Or was it ceremony, rice and then beer. Well, whatever. We drank some Yellow Donkey beer. It didn't taste like ass. 

They gave us lavender infused rice to throw at the couple. The wonderful smell must've been nice as they were pelted with 60mph rice. Damn I even made it rhyme. 

The reception was at a hotel, once again cliffside, with a spectacular view of the ocean. Would you like some sunset with your champagne? Why not says I while thanking everyone and everything that allowed me to enjoy something like this in life. I love you all. 

We all had to stop and take photos for Facebook. Remember it's not how interesting your life is, it's how you portray it on Facebook. 

A harp. Only thing that would probably work as musical accompaniment for a scene like this. 

The next day we took a catamaran cruise around the island. T'was a small boat so I was worried I would get sea sick but luckily the winds weren't too strong. 

Our first stop was a natural hot spring. This stop was eventful for the wrong reason. That brown area was where the hot springs were and you had to swim there from the boat. It's surprisingly far. I was swimming out there and there was a dad with this college aged daughters swimming alongside. About 2/3 of the way to the hot spring he started to struggle and really calmly asked us to help him out. Kudos to the guy for not panicking because I don't think I could've kept my calm like that knowing I was on the verge of drowning. In any case the SO, who was closer to the boat, swam back and got him a life jacket  for the swim back. That was the end of his swimming in open water. 

The rest of the trip was spent staring at the beautiful scenery and not drowning. 

After 3 days in Santorini, we arrived in Mykonos Monday afternoon after taking a 3 hour high speed ferry from Santorini. The obligatory sightseeing. Windmills that reminded me of the windmills from Don Quixote. Previously used for grain, now used for cheesy tourist photos. 

Sunset happy hour. 

Dinner on our first night in Mykonos was at Katerina's. Kinda pricey but everything in Mykonos was really expensive in general. Personally, I would've axed Mykonos from our itinerary but lesson learned. 

These look like mussels. 

I can't quite remember what this dish was. Some sort of beef with red wine reduction? It was good though. 

Beef stew? I should really write these things down. Stay tuned for Delos, Crete and Athens. Greek Bailout Part 2. 

It's cold weather season

Winter is upon us here in NYC and with the onset of the cold weather I decided to add another staple of cold weather gear; the tried and true leather boot. 

I've been researching various boots on and off for the past couple of months. Similar to a suburban mom trying to figure out which off-road capable SUV to drive, I reviewed a number of boots that offered unnecessary protection from the elements that I would never encounter in the urban jungle of Manhattan. 

After much searching I decided upon the Wolverine 1000 Mile Boot. Styled after the original 1914 Wolverine boot.

"Recognized for its long-standing dedication to comfort, durability, and style, Wolverine is debuting a one-of-a-kind collection of boots and shoes inspired by its own classic designs.

The cornerstone of the new collection, the 1,000 Mile Boot is crafted with the same attention to detail found in the original 1,000 Mile shoe that was first developed in 1914. Wolverine designers worked meticulously to replicate the original aesthetic of that first boot created so many years ago. Made in America, the boot features soft, supple leathers in weathered tones, a

stacked leather midsole and outsole and classic welt construction."

After 3 days of waiting I got a wonderful package from Nordstrom's.

Such a pretty box. Even the box was crafted in meticulous fashion. 

Gotta keep 'em clean you know what I mean. 

Fresh out of the box. I got rust colored because nothing says manly like rust. Steel. Tough. Made in USA. It's like a Dodge Ram commercial.

Profile shot. The laces kinda remind me of some nice flat udon noodles. Maybe I'm hungry. 

Some may contend that a leather sole is completely counterproductive for an outdoor boot. It's quite slippery in wet conditions and doesn't have great traction. It is. So not all things true to form from 1914 is good. I'm sure Belgium would agree to that assessment as well. 

What it looks like on my feet. The boots are superb. They fit like a glove and look amazing. They are rugged, manly boots perfect for a rugged, manly Japanese man. Maybe it's time to go do some outdoors-y stuff. Nah. I'd rather just look like I do outdoors-y stuff.

I summered in the Hamptons

Typing the title automatically popped my Polo short sleeve shirt and curled the cuffs of my chino slacks. 

Ever since we moved to NYC we've always wanted to spend a weekend in the Hamptons. I think to "summer" in the Hamptons you have to actually stay for an entire summer but our lack of F-You money meant that we could only swing a 4 day weekend. 

Pics courtesy of my BIL and photographer-extraordinaire. 

Our rental home was located in Spring, NY. A 3 bedroom, 2 bath house it had a large backyard, views of the ocean and access to a private beach for the residents of the community. 

These shots look like they come from Home and Garden but they were actually shot by my BIL. If being a doctor doesn't work out he can always be a real estate photographer/

The white couches were the same Ikea couches I had back when I was in college. So the place was nice but the furniture was a bit meh.

I spent a good amount of time just standing there staring out at the ocean reflecting on life. I surmised that life was good. 

The sunsets here were just ridiculously gorgeous. Rich people, I envy your permanent access to places like this. 

We made sure to bring enough libations to last the 4 days. My liver died a little bit but it was well worth it. 

Full frontal shot. 

The deck was primarily used for napping purposes. 

We got there a bit earlier than the other car so we decided to take a walk to the beach.

The beach stretched a good mile or so and was absolutely devoid of people. 

We decided to make a postcard shot just so that everyone can throw up from the cheesiness of it. 

I'm just gonna throw in all these pics because it just looks cool. 

 I always see these fences in movies and now in real life. What the hell are they really used for? They aren't sturdy enough to keep people out and it's got big enough holes for small creatures to get through. Is it just used to make these properties look more East Coast? Do West Coast beach homes need a surfboard and a half naked Matthew McConaughey playing bongos to get that look?

In front of the house, and separating the backyard from the beach was a mini lake that attracted a lot of wild birds. I saw a bunch of interesting looking birds. All I can tell you were that they were colorful and pretty.

For the first night we decided to cook dinner. From the pics below it would seem as though all we had were vegetables but I'm 100% sure we had some meat to go along with the greens. We try to eat healthy but we aren't that good to our bodies. 

Making mashed potatoes. 

The SO and I hard at work. Mostly the SO cooking while I peel stuff. 

Mini cabbages aka brussel sprouts. Always a staple when cooking for groups. 

Some white wine to start. I think beer was before this. Then it was red wine and then hard liquor and then it got really hazy. 

BBQed corn. Does corn have any nutrients? Yeah. Not much. 

The spread. A wonderful meal was had by all and all was good. BTH 3:16

The next day was our Beach Day and we spent it at Main Beach near South Hampton. Once again, devoid of people. 

Our base camp for the day. 

Atlantic Ocean water. Still salty. Not too cold. 

Preparing for naptime. I was tired after a long day at the beach. 

The Hamptons are home to over 45 wineries so on our 3rd day we decided to check out some. 

Well, actually 1. We ended up enjoying ourselves at the Wolffer Estate Vineyards so stayed there for some time. 

First order of business. Wine. Lots of wine. 

2nd order of business. Listen to live music while drinking more wine. When they say bourgeois I think they meant boozergois. 

On our last day we headed out out to the sleepy beach town of Montauk. Montauk reminded me of Santa Cruz a bit. Much more of a laid back beach town. It didn't have the pretentiousness of the Hamptons 

The Montauk Point Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse in New York state. It's so old your mom saw it being built. Just kidding. It was actually George Washington. 

Nowadays the lighthouse site is used for weddings. I'm just gonna buy a patch of land on a seaside cliff so that people can use it for weddings. What a racket. 

A 4 hour drive and we were back in NYC. Truly an amazing weekend in Long Island and hopefully the start of an annual tradition.