Scoot 787 Dreamliner to Athens & Greek islands: Mykonos and Santorini

[yflyer]

Back in our hotel room at the Hilton, I opened the curtains and stood in the balcony...



...and took a long final look at the Acropolis, far in the distance, with the Parthenon bathed in the glow of orange lights...



The next morning, we checked out headed to ATH for our first Scoot long haul economy class experience...

To be continued!

[yflyer]

Our next wine was a Rosé wine from Troupis Winery, made from the Moschofilero grape...



This was a light, and slightly sweet, accompaniment to a wonderful prawn orzo risotto, which had incredible mouthfeel and a rich umami flavour...



And finally, a very tender and tasty beef skirt...satisfying...



...accompanied by a single vineyard red wine from Lyrarakis' Plakoura vineyard in Crete...



...a deep oaky wine, made from the Mandilaria grape - Another Greek varietal we had never heard of...



We ended our meal with dessert...



...and Samos Vin Doux Grand Cru, a sweet wine made from white muscat...




Mrs yflyer asked our warm and knowledgeable sommelier why Greek wines were not so well known in other parts of the world...she replied that one reason could be that the supply of Greek wines, especially the best ones, was very limited, and a lot it was sold in Greece for domestic consumption. She was a young sommelier who was deeply passionate about Greek wine, and had the gift of being able to explain just enough about the history and nature of the wine to get you interested in it and appreciate its taste...



We ended the meal with one macaroon each...one had already been eaten before I remembered to take a photo...all that wine was starting to make me light headed...



An exceptional meal, one of the most wholly satisfying dinners on our trip.

[yflyer]

For our last dinner in Athens, we took a stroll from the Hilton to restaurant Vassilenas, which I had booked online prior to departing for our trip.

This is actually the oldest restaurant in Athens, established in 1920, and had recently moved from their original location in Piraeus, near the port, to a quiet neighbourhood just walking distance from the Hilton.



The restaurant now serves what it terms modern Greek cuisine in a very fine setting. While modern, we found that the flavours were still rooted in tradition, and that the restaurant still sees itself as something of a Greek culinary ambassador.

Vassilenas offers a signature 7 course degustation/tasting menu for 40 Euros, and an accompanying wine pairing for 20 Euros.



The quality of cuisine and service was exceptional, and so was the sommelier, as well as the selection of paired wines to accompany our meal.

This was stupendous value for money!

There is also an a-la carte menu, but the degustation menu looked irresistable.

Bread and olive oil to start.



The selection of Greek wines that came paired with our courses was a revelation: Mrs yflyer and I were stunned by the quality of the wines we tasted -- why are Greek wines not better known?

We were bowled over from the very first glass...a white wine named "Tear of the Pine" from Kechris, made from the Retsina grape varietal -- one we had not heard of before...



This was a crisp and zesty white wine, with a very rich bouquet...



A creamy Taramosalata (Fish roe spread) as a first course...



...and then a rich fish soup, made with brown grouper, which had a very refined, rounded flavour...



The next white wine was a Domaine Sigalas Assyrtiko 2016, made from the white Athiri grape...



This was a very balanced, yet powerful white wine...I couldn't get enough of this wine...



...I later learnt that Domaine Sigalas was one of the most well known wineries on Santorini...right under our noses when we were there, in Oia, although we didn't know it at the time!

We had the Assyrtiko with the next two courses...

First, a prawn and amberjack tartar...the fish and prawn combination had a wonderful texture, and tasted of the sea...



And then, a crisp, hot, cod fritter...served on a bed of cabbage and garlic salad...

[yflyer]

The remainder of the afternoon was spent at Ermou Street, Athens' main shopping street...



I took a break and sat by the 11th century Church of Panagia Kapnikarea and watched people go by, while Mrs yflyer did a round of shopping, before heading back to the hotel.

_____

There is a bar and restaurant on the rooftop of the Hilton Athens.

When we returned to our hotel, we found a voucher that had been slid under our room door. The voucher was given to all Hilton Honors members staying in the hotel that day, regardless of status tier, and was good for 2 cocktails at the rooftop bar.

Voucher in hand, we headed up to the rooftop for a drink before dinner.



The bar has a view of Athens and the Acropolis.



Comparing Acropolis views from the Hilton and the Grande Bretagne, the GB Roof Garden Restaurant view from the Grande Bretagne was a lot closer, and the angle was better too. The view from the Hilton was a little too distant to have the same impact, but all that said, the ropftop bar at the Hilton Athens had a nice vibe, and was a very pleasant spot to spend an evening...

We approached our bartender to redeem the voucher, and learnt that it was for a special cocktail created at the Hilton for guests. It was served in a martini glass and was a striking blue in colour, with a red flower petal floating gently on its surface...



I took a sip...a sweet, intense cocktail with the taste of lime, and hints of almond...it did not taste blue...or at least what I imagined blue would taste like...and it packed a strong vodka punch....yum...perfect for a hot, sunny day....

Mrs yflyer went to the bartender to ask him what it was called...it was called "Beautiful" with the blue colour representing the Greek blue sky.

[yflyer]

This was our last day in Greece...we took the metro to Monastiraki...



...and took a walk to the Central Market...



Just outside the market, a store sellng all manner of bazaar items...





We took a walk into the market...



By then, it was mid afternoon, almost close to closing time. The market was not busy and quite a few stalls had already shut...



...but enough was still open to get a sense of what the market was like...





Like many markets all over Europe and the world, the stall holders were not squeamish showing all parts of their product...



...and at that hour the workers were more relaxed and keen to chat, and even pose for pictures...

[yflyer]

When we had initially checked in before noon, our room was not yet ready. We were invited to relax in the lobby or restaurant, or use the pool in the mean time, and we decided to grab a bite at the poolside restaurant...



The poolside F&B was outstanding...

First, cocktails to cool down...



...and then crisp sardines...served piping hot, with slices of chilli on each fish for extra kick. These were very light, crunchy and tender -- they could be eaten, head, bones and all...



The sea bass carpaccio was outstanding as well...



We finished with flatbread with Greek sausage, cheese and greens...served hot from the oven.



Very satisfying!

[yflyer]

Once again, we took the metro/train to our hotel in central Athens. We would have about 24 hours in Athens -- just one more night, before our flight home on Scoot TR701, departing the next morning at 11.30am.

For this final leg of our trip we would be staying at the Hilton Athens, recommended by kapitan and SQflyergirl when I posted my request for advice on a Greek trip on SQTalk. (Thanks for yet another a great recommendation, kapitan and SQflyergirl!)



The Hilton is not a new hotel: It was in fact the first of the large chains to open in Greece in 1963, with Conrad Hilton present for the opening.



The rooms and public areas have been beautifully renovated.



Our room was large and bright, with very clean, modern decor, and light wood tones...



After staying in delightful, but smaller and more modest family hotels on Santorini and Mykonos, it was quite a contrast to be staying in a large modern hotel again...we were now back on familar ground as far as hotel rooms were concerned...



The bathroom equipped had both bath tub and shower...





Our 4th floor room had a balcony with a view of the Acropolis...



Too bad about the unsightly concrete block, which distracted from the Acropolis views, at least from the lower floors of this hotel...the Acropolis view was better at night, when the unlit concrete block was not visible.



Our room also had a view of the large hotel pool...

[yflyer]

Just 220km from Santorini to Athens...with a scheduled time of 45 min and actual flying time between approximately 27 to 37 min...



On this short flight, there wasn't even enough time for beverage service. The cabin crew did make a pass through the cabin to give out fluffy chocolate croissants...





Before long we were descending into Athens...



Note that the airport in the picture above isn't ATH...it is the old Hellenikon airport, the previous international airport, no longer in use after the new Athens International Airport was opened in 2001.

Landing in Athens...



...and parked at the gate...

[yflyer]

A brief safety video...



...and a short taxi to the single runway...



...and take-off to the west...



...giving passengers on the port side one final view of Fira, Imerovigli and Oia as we climbed out...

Fira, overlooking the volcanic island...



Imerovigli...easily located by observing the rocky outcrop on the far right, Skaros Rock...



Oia...you can just make out the zig-zag staircase down to Amoudi Bay at the western end of the island...

[yflyer]

Inside, the usual 3-3 seating...



...with surprisingly decent seat pitch...



...especially for such a short sector, with scheduled time of 45 min.



The real cloth headrest covers had the Aegean and Star Alliance logos embroidered on them, a nice touch...

[yflyer]

As our flight was too early in the day to catch the island bus services, we had pre-arranged a private car transfer from Anemoessa Villa to Santorini's airport (IATA: JTR)...



This was, in fact, the only time we opted for paid car transport on our entire vacation: apart from complimentary hotel transfers on Mykonos and an ATV ride, all other travel during this vacation was on public transport, such as bus or metro/train.



The airport itself is a small one, catering mainly to narrowbodies, with frequent flights from Athens on Olympic/Aegean. Because of its popularity as a tourist destination, JTR is also served by quite a number of European carriers, including BA, Eurowings, Easyjet, Vueling, Ryanair and Condor, just to name a few.

Arriving early in the morning, we were pleasantly surprised to find many F&B outlets just outside the terminal. You could have coffee, and a very filling breakfast before your flight.

The terminal building is quite undersized for the number of passengers passing through it. So much so that the check-in queues are actually outside the building...



You are only allowed into the terminal building when the check-in counters for your flight open...



After tags are placed on your bag, you physically lug your bag to a nearby security station to deposit your checked luggage, before existing the building to enter the gate area via a different entrance...



There were foggy conditions that morning, and so the first Aegean/Olympic flight to Athens for the day, scheduled to depart an hour or so before our flight still had not departed.

The airside holding area was packed...so far it had not been the most idyllic passenger experience...



But we were soon called for boarding, and as the weather had cleared up, both the Olympic/Aegean flights to Athens boarded in quick succession, with our 2nd flight following not long after the first...



Boarding through the rear doors, on this Star Alliance liveried A320...

[yflyer]

Continuing with the TR...

After our hike from Fira to Oia, we rested in the hotel, refreshed up, then headed back to Oia for dinner at Red Bicycle, which was right in the middle of the old town, set high on the caldera...



By this point in the visit to Santorini, we had run out of superlatives in our vocabulary to describe the view from our table...



Suffice to say anyone who wanted to have a romantic and/or memorable dinner in Oia would be hard pressed to find a better spot...

While there was a degustation menu available, we decided to go a la carte on this occasion...



...beginning with a marinated prawn and green bean salad with apricots and fresh mint...



...and roasted squid served on fava bean puree and fennel root, in a caper and raisin sauce...



For our mains, Mrs yflyer chose another starter, a white aubergine ravioli in tomato consomme, served with lemongrass and smoked eel, a dish which she found quite delicious...



I opted for the 12 hour slow-roasted lamb shoulder with aubergine, and gnocci with feta cheese, and Santorini tomato...which was a very popular dish that evening, judging from how many other tables were eating it...



We dined as the sun set...watching the cliffside transform into a sea of lights and brilliant blue pools of blue...



Our dessert, Red Bicycle's take on a traditional Santorini dessert, "Melitini"...served with a lemon-coconut sorbet and sweet cherry tomato-geranium preserve...



...followed by a glass of vinsanto, a very sweet ending...



Our meal at the Red Bicycle was remarkable both for the unique setting, sitting high up on the Oia caldera, as well as for the fine modern cuisine, with very creatively matched ingredients and flavours. The food, the wine, the ambience and service, were all impressive.

Later, though, when Mrs yflyer and I reflected on our meal there, we reached a surprising conclusion: We missed the bright, intense primary colours of more traditional and down-to-earth Greek cooking, just a little. Red Bicycle's flavour palette, by comparison came in more subtle, pastel shades. We enjoyed our dinner at Red Bicycle, but we also enjoyed the simpler, more rustic cuisine at other restaurants like Kiki's or Katina's just as much. Perhaps this wasn't a valid comparison -- these were all very different restaurants. But we wouldn't have wanted to give any of the restaurants we tried so far a miss. And Red Bicycle was a wonderfully intimate and romantic place to spend our last evening in Santorini.

We took a slow walk through the streets of Oia back to our hotel for a good night's sleep before an early ride to the airport the next morning...

[yflyer]

People say I'm mad for having gone to Santorini 3 times. Your TR reminds me that I'm not.

Anyone who has visited would be mad not to want to go back!

Great TR yflyer. Thanks for sharing

Thanks, SQ218!

A couple of years back, we pulled the kids out of the school for a week to go on a quick trip to Greece on a QR promo (and as an aviation geek, to be one of the first to fly an A350).

Three thumbs up for 1) Managing to get the kids out of school for a holiday, 2) Snagging a QR promo fare, and 3) Checking out QR's very nice A350's!

But most of the nights were spent in quieter Naxos, and this was off season....Greece off season off the beaten path was phenomenal - we have warm memories.

Off season in Naxos is probably better than off season in Santorini, or Mykonos for that matter. I suspect both those places pretty much shut down off-season.

One of the days, we rented a car (from a rental agent who served me 2 glasses of ouzo right after handing me the keys )

That sounds like Greek hospitality, all right!

Ouzo is strong stuff! I drank that too along the way. I actually prefer tsipouro, which is also very strong, but has a more neutral taste, without the flavour of anise...

[SQ218]

Great TR yflyer. Thanks for sharing

[259850]

A couple of years back, we pulled the kids out of the school for a week to go on a quick trip to Greece on a QR promo (and as an aviation geek, to be one of the first to fly an A350). We went to Athens and Santorini, of course, for reasons obvious from this wonderful TR.

But most of the nights were spent in quieter Naxos, and this was off season. One of the days, we rented a car (from a rental agent who served me 2 glasses of ouzo right after handing me the keys ) and drove out to some really small villages generally not on tourist radar. Greece off season off the beaten path was phenomenal - we have warm memories. Looking forward to ylflyer's report on his trip back on TR Y to see if we can survive it.