Wedding Blog
Part 1- What we were looking for
Part 2- So Mr. Dahlia vetoed Mexico
Part 3- We almost went to Spain, but had one small problem- Mr. Dahlia had fallen in love with someplace else.
Picture is from National Geographic.
Greece.
And we both fell in love with one place in particular- Ikies. Nestled on the outskirts of Oia, Ikies offered private outdoor jacuzzis, breakfast on your own private terrace, and the nearly impossible perfect 5 rating on tripadvisor.
Check it out.
A view of the property.
Isn’t that terrace amazing?
The rooms aren’t too shabby either.
Look at how beautiful it is at dusk!
Only trick was, while Greece is new to Mr. Dahlia, I have been to the Greek islands before. Although it was while I was backpacking through college, and was only on Santorini briefly because we missed our ferry stop in Ios (think MTV spring break, only with Aussies instead of Americans), I still wasn’t settled on going someplace I had been before. Besides, we wanted city! And I am not a big fan of Athens. And somehow, to me, Greece just doesn’t sound too exotic.
So what if we went to Istanbul as well? Turkey sounds exotic. And we could stay at MiSafir Suites, a place that has (say it with me now :-D), amazing tripadvisor ratings. Just look at it:
That way I could get my passport stamped in a new country as well.
Like all the places thus discussed, there was just one trick. This time, it was that there is no good way to get from Santorini to Istanbul. Flights must go through Athens, and there are two airlines available: Olympic and Turkish. Flights are expensive, and it seemed difficult justifying spending $800 to go to someplace mostly because I wanted to go to someplace new. But what if we just went to Turkey?
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Share this post: Oh The Places We’ll Go, Part 4
we sooooo want to go to greece on our honeymoon….that just looks fantastic….i can’t wait to see the pictures!
I stayed in Misafir Suites when I was in Turkey and they were great! You can’t beat the location…literally right off the main shopping street. The rooms are huge by European standards (or American) and the owner is really nice. he prices are very good for Europe. Plus you get breakfast included whenever you want it (sleeping till one or two, etc.) The only negative is that the area is so lively sometimes the rooms can be noisy even late at night b/c of the singing in the taverns nearby. Istanbul doesn’t have the beach scene but it’s beautiful and fascinating…plus Turkey has beaches nearby so you could stay in Istanbul for a while then go to the beaches.
Had to comment because hubby and I just returned from a two-week honeymoon in Turkey and it was FABULOUS!!! The beaches along the Mediterranean coast were incredible and Istanbul was amazing.
We stayed at the Sumahan on the Water in Istanbul which I would highly recommend - absolutely breathtaking hotel! It’s in a quiet neighborhood on the Asian side, away from all the noise and tourists, and an easy ferry ride from all the sites.
We also started with the Greek Isles and decided on Turkey because it’s not so overrun with tourists, and we didn’t want to see Athens, just Istanbul. Go for Turkey!
we went to greece during high tourist season (late july to mid august) which is when everyone in europe was on holiday (it was all french tourists). we stayed in athens for a 5 days at FRESH hotel (it was so crisp and trendy, its part of the same chain of hotels that hotel gansevoor in nyc is..that is a very beautiful hotel).
it didn’t seem exotic, but it was so much fun, my first, my husbands 2nd. fresh hotel was beautiful with a roof pool but not so expensive.
we spent about 10 days in santorini (rented a car), staying at Enigma(in FIRA) for about 7 days, and Porta Fira for the rest of the trip. Enigma had a nice private jacuzzi, but Porta Fira had a lovely HUGE private terrace that overlooked their pool.
Santorini is beautiful, i think Fira has a lot more stuff to do and places to go that Oia, but Oia has the world famous sunset.
IF you go to Santorini, there’s a lovely restaurant in Fira called “MaMa’s kitchen” run by a wonderful swedish man. They have great breakfasts and great prices. (considering the horrible dollar-to-euro conversion.
i hope you have fun and get to go to greece again! it was so amazing, i also recommend eating at dolphins at black beach. and there is an amazing private black sand beach that runs alongside the coast by the airport…
My mom and I visited Istanbul 2 years ago and had a completely different experience. I really wasn’t thrilled with the city. There were too many street vendors yelling at you and I didn’t find the people there to be friendly. That said, we were with a larger group of tourists so that may have been part of it. The Today Show even included Turkey as a honeymoon option for their wedding - you should check it out.
Turkey is absolutely fabulous! I loved Istanbul as well as cruising down the cost. Try Bodrum also!
I have been to both Greece and Turkey. Before the trip, I thought I would enjoy Greece much more than I’d enjoy Turkey, but I was wrong. We loved Turkey. We went to Istanbul (the Blue Mosque has to be one of the most impressive buildings I’ve ever seen), Capadoccia (take a hot air balloon ride), and Ephesus/Kusadasi (the ruins are better than those in Greece, in my opinion). We can’t wait to go back to Turkey!!
Santorini! That’s where I want to go…looks beautiful
Turkey is gorgeous, but don’t just stick to Istanbul! Cappadocia is amazing, one of the coolest places I’ve ever been (and I’ve been a lot of places), and Pamukkale has to be seen to be appreciated.
Also, be sure to have a real Turkish bath while you’re there (real as in, not co-ed for the Western tourists). You will not believe how clean and refreshed you feel after!
IKIES - Is the most beautiful place with the kindest and most generous managers. They even mailed (for free) a bowl I made at a pottery studio that I couldn’t get back in time before leaving back home from my honeymoon. They can’t be beat….trust me!
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Ms. Dahlia, Detroit/Cleveland
Age and Occupation: 24, PhD Student
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, IT System Administrator
Engagement Date: December 31, 2006
Wedding Date: May 2008
Blogging Since: September 19, 2007
Venue: United Methodist Cathedral & historic downtown hotel in Cleveland
About Me: I enjoy cooking, dancing and swimming. I am a geek and apply game theory to my everyday life. Winter is my favorite time of year, especially when spent curled up with good coffee and a book by Madeleine L'Engle.
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