This is Santorini, perhaps the most stunning place I have ever seen, from my vantage point in Imerovigli as I sit perched along a seemingly impossible cliff sipping my morning freddo. 

 A car, a train, a bus, a plane, a bus, a plane, a bus, a plane, a car and twenty-three hours of travel:  I am not going to lie...it is worth it! This is not an easy journey, and when the plane arriving at Mykonos had to make a second go to try to land because the wind was too much, I thought I might just lose it.  I held it together, and  at last, we arrived at our hotel, Grace Mykonos is just as beautiful as our own Vanderbilt Grace Hotel, though with a different historical sensibility, of course.

And, finally, after a series of lackluster airport meals, about which I will not elaborate, we ate, and it was precisely the fresh, satisfying food that Greece is known for, food that satisfies because it is salty and sweet, filling but healthy, beautifully colorful and just kissed with lemon juice and bright fruity olive oil.

The simplest salad, yes, I know, but each piece is the very best ingredient.  Flavorful and fresh, crisp, and delicious.  I felt rejuvenated and healthy.  And, I tried my first wine of the trip, Assyrtiko, which drinks a bit like a lean chardonnay, fruity and fresh, refreshing and flavorful.  It was fabulous...perhaps it was the salt air, the sunshine, the girl friends, I don't know, but it all seemed perfect.