Day ?

Well, probably should be day 3 - 8!

Sorry it has taken so long to post something on here....
Technology can be tricky at times and when you are kind of busy, it is hard to keep up.
We have all had a bout of Istanbul belly, with Dave being the worst.

The time spent in Santorini was not as good as we had hoped in a way, because we felt like we not only could go very far, but the washed out feeling one gets from pooping a lot and eating very little took its toll on us.
The biggest disappointment for me was not being able to eat the fresh Greek foods that I was looking forward to . Anyway there are some Greek restaurants close to our accommodation her in Paris, so we could have a yiros to make up for it. We all seem to be over our illness now, touch wood, with everyone having a proper meal last night. Not sure what happened with the others overnight, but I am safe.......

The highlights of Santorini was the wonderful view of the Caldera from our accommodation and the photo tour which Lawrie and I went on.

The view to the left from our room



Lawrie getting a posing lesson from Olaf

Our guide, Olaf took us to a little town which is rarely visited by tourists, except on a Friday. Lawrie learnt a lot about how to use the basic settings on the camera, and I learnt about how to become a better travel photographer, putting my camera into P mode. Olaf talked about the three 'C's in photography. Cheeky (get the shot and ask for forgiveness later), Curiosity (what if I do this?) and Control (know about the camera and it's settings.

The Cheeky shot

 

There were some amazing architecture in the place that he took us. We went into a little Greek Orthodox Church, but no photography was allowed as they were holding vespers. The sound of the priests singing and the smell of the incense was intoxicating.

Opposite the Church

It was a brief stop at the church, photos taken in the immediate area and then onto a 'secret' location for sunset shots, followed by some night photography just past Fira town.

One of the highlights for Dave, Mitch and Lawrie was the black sand beach, where Dave and Frank had gone many years ago to participate in cliff jumping. Lawrie, Dave and Mitch did some cliff jumping and Lawrie said that was the most fun he has had all trip.



Mitch chasing aeroplanes



Paris, has been an eye popper for the boys thus far. It has been fantastic to see the excitement in their eyes and voices.
Mitch, Dave and I went for a walk to get some supplies, only to discover that the supermarket type shops are closed on Sundays. (later in the day, we also found that Galleries Lafayette and Printemps are also 'firme'.)
Anyway, we came home with some items from the Boulangerie and convenience store.
That took it's toll on Mitch and he stayed at the apartment whilst the rest of us went on an open top bus ride, which took us around most of the big sights, including Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower et the Notre Dame.


On the open top bus

Speaking of the Louvre, you can just about touch it from our apartment, but you have to reach over the Pont Neuf to do so!

We took an open boat ride last night, after dinner. This was the first time Mitch had seen the Eiffel Tower and was very excited to see it in it's beautiful lit up glory. He took many photos of bridges and other things along the way too!

One of Mitch's photos
 

Will try to keep up with posts from now on, especially since we are feeling better and I have all my technology under control now (I think)!