Happy 22nd Elliot!

The Birthday Boy continues his streak celebrations in exotic destinations! Minimal photos today as we mostly left our phones in the room. We'll have to see if the go-pro has some decent footage!

It appears that most people don't wake up early. We took the opportunity to kawak around the island. It was an opportunity we should have declined. Even though the island was small, kayaking for 40 minutes straight was exhausting!!

The other excursion of note was a visit to Tintipán lagoon. Honestly, it was a bit eery at first as we were in a motorboat very close to the water level and it was DARK. The lagoon has photo-plankton which glows when your skin makes contact. This light was apparently not capturable (is that a word?!) in photographs. It was cool but not cool enough me to jump into the salty water to have to take a shower before dinner. Lara, Elliot and Jonah thought the same so only Mal jumped in. Onya Mal!

Still the sweetest boy! Happy Birthday!

Our morning hangout

It looked like tofu but those square chunks were cheese!

A very large cake that we couldn't finish

Happy Birthday Elliot!

Still semi full from yesterday's overindulgence, we struggled to get through the generous breakfast that was included. Our buttocks had recovered sufficiently from our previous cycling excursion and so another e-bike tour it was! Many attractions in Bergamo were still closed on account of the holidays and so we had to sightsee what was free or outdoors. Fortunately for our behinds and quadriceps, this e-bike tour was much easier and more relaxing than the one at Lake Maggiore. The children declared that it was nowhere near as exciting as our Lake Maggiore e-bike tour, but that the good lunch more than made up for it. 

Our guide, Franco, was great despite limited English. We never felt unsafe or uncomfortable on the roads and he travelled at a comfortable speed. He covered vineyards and the more rural areas including Monastero di Astino, a cycle through of the Citta bassa with a brief walking stop, highlights of the Citta alta which we had not already visited, as well as the peak of Bergamo, San Vigilio, where we had our final stop. Lunch at Relais San Vigilio for Elliot's 20th birthday. We did not realise how fancy the restaurant was. It seemed like we make a habit of being underdressed. They had kindly seated us at the special chef's table knowing it was Elliot's birthday despite us being all in cycling gear. The food was excellent.

Initially we thought...was that it?!

Then this came

Followed by this

Was not game to take photos or videos while cycling so this is from our first stop!

Chiesa del Santo Sepolcro attached to the old monastery (Monastero di Astino)

Inside the chapel

The monastery dining room had its own Last Supper! This one by Alessandro Allori painted in the 1500s just left there unguarded...

The Monastery had a photography exhibition of vintage photos from around the world. It was actually very good!

The monastery grounds. Popular in summer. Now an events venue

The centre of citta bassa. Should probably mention that Bergamo was roughly in 2 halves the older medieval walled town of citta alta (also higher hence the name) and the newer and lower citta bassa

Donizetti Theatre

One of the 4 gates to enter citta alta, Porta San Lorenzo. You can also see the Venetian wall system either side

Rocca at the citta alta

Views of the valley below

From San Vigilio looking back down to citta alta. You can see all the bell towers

Chef's table!

Complimentary drink. So good but couldn't remember what it was

amuse-bouche

Duck ravioli with black truffle and parmesan broth

These 2 got the special angus steak

From Spain of all places...

Great view of the kitchen

Best gelato ever. Chamomile gelato!

San Vigilio

Franco, our great guide, who the kids thought looked a mix between Rafael Nadal and Lord Farquaad from Shrek

Dinner at the hotel restaurant was simple, but good quality. We voted it as having the best margherita pizza so far. To make it more enjoyable, it was served by a guy who looked like Tony Soprano, was bursting the seams of his apron and seemed to love life and his job. Fortunately, they were able to book a maxi-taxi for early the next morning that was prepared to negotiate the narrow streets of the old city. Two full days was just right.

Birthday meal #2 at Da Mimmo

Pretending to be an angel

Happy Birthday Jonah!

Happy Birthday Jonah! What better way to celebrate than to be on the island of Santorini!

Our experience with the islands of the Cyclades so far had been something akin to speed dating. Hello island. I only have one day island. Show me your best! I will then decide whether or not I like you island. Not the most economical to be doing private tours everywhere but definitely time efficient. Like on Mykonos and Naxos, we covered the highlights of Santorini with another exuberant driver. He gave us a very DETAILED history of the island, including those of the Phoenicians, Myceneans, Minoans, Greeks, Turks and seemingly everyone else in the region. We were worried that there would a quiz at the end! Malcolm did manage to stump him when he enquired if the 2 islands he could see were the "Breasts of Athena". At first, we were worried that this was something Angelo made up...but then soon realised that Malcolm got the wrong Goddess. The twin island "breasts" that he was referring to belonged to Aphrodite, not Athena. 

Good morning Santorini!

Birthday breakfast pancakes from the hotel!

Monastery of Prophet Elijah in the background built in 1711. No women allowed...so they built a small chapel (in the byzantine style) and viewing platform

How grapes are grown in the cyclades. Ingenious. Woven into a basket and the grapes grow inwards and are protected from the winds by the leaves covering over the top 

The traditional village of Megalochori

where we stopped for ice-cream and coffee

"Heart" rock

And just a little further down, Agio Nikolaus, a private church carved into the rock. Our guide said it the doors were unlocked we were allowed to go in

A full view of the caldera from above heart rock

One of the black sand beaches

The second half of the day was devoted to the water. Sadly, the winds were particularly strong today so we avoided the caldera. However, it didn't detract too much from our sailing excursion, the waters where we anchored was calm and the water absolutely beautiful. The winds created a natural (and erratic) pseudo air-conditioning system. It was hot under the sun when it was shining, then you get a cold reprieve when the winds blew clouds across the sun. Overall, it was warm enough to be in the water! Our catamaran was nowhere near as big or flash as some of the other yachts and boats we saw, but what we had was a lovely husband and wife team who provided great conversation and home style cooking (instead of a BBQ). As Eli was from the mountains of mainland Greece, the food was good! Nothing was pre-prepared, it was all cooked onboard. From the sailors, we got a geography lesson on Santorini. We definitely ended the day very informed! Let us see how long it lasts...

So...was Santorini worth the hype? Mal's sentiments pretty much summed it up so I'll plagiarise and insert his response. 

"Yes! It is beautiful, but busy. A population of 22,000 takes in up to 17 cruise ships per day (25,000 people) - a friend for everybody!

The solution: if you are going to spend the time and money to come here, pay the little extra to avoid the barbarians. From the right villa there is no need to fight for a good photo spot or restaurant.. Just enjoy the cool breeze, the warm sun, a good book and a glass of whatever takes your fancy."

Out of the three Cyclades Islands we visited, we liked Mykonos the least. Santorini was the most beautiful and Naxos had the most character and enjoyability that was not luxury related. Mykonos won't be getting a second date but we will leave Naxos and Santorini our number. 

Beer and bean bag. He was sorted

Getting warm in the sun

Clear, clear waters of the Aegean

Our delicious lunch

Another birthday cake! Thomas and Eli also sang in Greek which was so sweet and gave Jonah a present of home made honey

Exploring the caves where one of the Tomb Raider movies was filmed

Happy Birthday Elliot!

Look at the difference 2 days of snow makes!

Happy Birthday Elliot! Well we asked for snow and snow it did! Stary Smokovec had taken on a whole new magical look and feel, the copious fresh snow also meant much better skiing conditions. The whole group oohed and aahed at the transformed surroundings all the way to Jasna in the low Tatras. Unfortunately for me, my lungs had relegated me to the status of "non-skier". At Jasna, I was to "wander and shop" with the others at the bottom until lunch time while the rest of the family skied. Bah! We cafe-hopped before settling for lunch at Angus Restaurant where we rendezvoused with the skiers.

A skiing report from the skiers (Mal):

Jasna is a massive ski resort with a vast array of runs and chairlifts. It was busier than the other mountains, but that may have been due to the ideal conditions or because people had time to travel after spending Christmas eve with their families. There is a short school break at the moment. This meant something that we hadn't encountered on the ski fields to date: lines! This was only really an issue at the base because one of the two main base lifts was out of action. This pushed us higher up the mountain into the upper red and above areas otherwise it would've been a 20 minute wait between runs. This would've been an issue of day 1, but we had regained a bit of muscle memory and, more importantly, the snow was now pure powder without the wind and icy sections. It has only been a few days, but now the snow making machines were no longer required and looking around from the chairlift all one could see was white. 

If we ever return I would look to ski in mid-January just after the kids return to school and to catch the snow like it is now. It would also be worth looking into the fast pass system. There are three lines: A general line, a line for ski schoolers and a "fast pass" line. There didn't seem to be an option for this via go-pass, but I wasn't specifically looking for it and the pages require translation.

Trees that looked brown and bare a few days ago look that much better with snow on it!

At the bottom of Jasna

Our group, our van and Roman, our driver!

The non-skiers!

Funky cafe

Faux fur walls!

Warm thick hot chocolate European style

With the group reunited, we headed for Tatralandia. It is a large water fun park with a series of indoor and outdoor pools (normal and thermal), waterslides and the optional extra of Celtic Sauna World. Unfortunately, even with a combo ticket you can't repeatedly hop between the Sauna World and the rest of Tantralandia. You have three hours in Sauna World but once you leave Sauna World you leave.  

Celtic Sauna World is a little hard to describe. For obvious reasons, cameras are not allowed inside so we don't have any photos. There are 21 saunas/steamrooms all in small complex that is downstairs with no windows. The structure resembles a big cavern with quite well done faux rock walls housing the wooden doors to the various saunas. There was a board outside each room describing the temperature, features and dress recommendations. The wooden etched and painted boards were also "themed" so, along with the walls and the background music (that was somewhere between tribal and whale), the whole place had a vibe that was a bit like some of the lines in the US theme parks. One major difference, however, was the intermittent passing of completely naked men and women who casually ambled between saunas without bothering to encumber themselves with either of the two sheets that were provided. 

OK, so it's time to discuss European sauna etiquette. Firstly, we are not prudes. We enjoy onsens and proudly wear the tiny towels on our heads. Onsens, however, are usually split into gender groups and tend to be a lot steamier. Here you are given two sheets - one smaller one that is large enough to wrap around your waist and one larger one to lie on in rooms where the benches are too hot for comfortable skin contact. The choice to wear the smaller one is optional, except in the water or steam rooms where no sheets are allowed. 

We giggled our way through the various rooms trying not to be too loud so as to maintain the relaxing ambience. The children actually loved it but being the heat intolerant people that we were, we didn't last the whole three hours that we were allocated! The  highlight was the outdoor hot jacuzzi situated next to the Well of Courage. The concept is simple - get out of the hot bath and then jump into the neck deep icy well... and then get out naked! Lara is never cold so she did it without blinking. Malcolm was the only other one to do it and made a much bigger fuss. He was very quick to grab the sheet of modesty after that one.

Next was Tatralandia. By night it is an outdoor pool disco party/rave/orgy. By day it is a family fun zone with the pools and waterslides. We tried them all and then spent some time at the swim up bar until we were sick of being prunes. 

Elliot's birthday would finish with a group dinner at a Koliba not too far from Jasna. It was in a high end hotel with live entertainment. Peter had organised a Slovakian birthday cake complete with "Happy Birthday" in Slovak on top. It's lucky that we told him that we only wanted a small one because it more than fed all of us plus Martin and the driver. Sťastné narodeniny Elliot!

Took very few photos inside

Outdoor thermal pool! Photo courtesy of Luan

Sour potato soup

Beautiful upmarket place to celebrate a birthday

Timber everywhere

Happy 17th Birthday Elliot!

Check out this "small" cake!

Entertainment!