DocDivaTraveller: March 2016

3/31/2016 2 comments

So we were finally in our dream destination Santorini. Where to begin now? We were staying in Perissa and by the time we were done with relaxing in our resort, it was six in the evening. (Not that you are supposed to relax on a tight adventure), by relaxing I mean taking a dip in the pool and soaking in the newly arrived land. WE were dead hungry. The best part of our resort was that everything was at a stone's throw distance. So we hopped to the bakery and grabbed a few delicious bites. I settled for all things chicken while hubs got a veg pizza for himself (thankfully). We later learned that bakeries in Santorini were open for 24 hours. That was a blessing for travellers like us who were looking for delicious cheap eats at any time of the day. We also took freshly squeezed orange juice which was of 2 euros.

Sipping freshly squeezed orange juice

After filling our stomachs we hopped into the departmental store nearby. I had plans of whipping up breakfast in Santorini to get a true apartment feel. While hubs took interest in all the exotic vegetables, I stocked up on cheese, bread, pasta sauce, green apples, etc etc. WE felt like true Greek residents :D

Shopped to my heart's content

After dumping our buy at the room, we left for Perissa beach. It was around half past seven and daylight was dwindling. Sunset takes place at around 8 45 in summers. The beach was just a hop away. The way to the beach was wild...tall grasses on both sides.

The volcanic sand felt too good to walk over. However it was burning hot during the daytime

When I caught the first glimpse of the beach, I was shocked (pleasantly)! The whole beach was black...literally black sand. Sand of volcanic origin. I had never seen anything like this before in my life. The sand granules were very coarse and they felt so good under the feet. I felt that I was having foot spa. Since it was late evening the sand was warm. During the day this volcanic sand can get so hot that it would burn your feet even if they are exposed even for a single second.

Rolling on the Black Sand

I started rolling in the sand. My tired body got rejuvenated with the warm coarse sand massage. Since I already had swam in numerous places earlier during daytime, I was not dressed for swimming here. Three beaches in Paros island, our pool in Paros and the pool in our Perissa resort was enough for a day. But somehow I could control myself and jumped into the sea. The water was freezing.

The water was freezing in the evening!

After playing with the dwindling sun for sometime, we started walking towards Perivolos beach. I chose to walk through the water but my feet gave up after sometime. Then we took the sand route and finally the concrete route. The night was yet to begin.

I still can't get this black sand out of my mind!

Dress: Zara

Sunnies: Aldo

Accessories: Forever 21

Purse: Furla Candy

3/23/2016 8 comments

How important is a photographer to a blog? Well it depends. Is yours a photo blog or a poetry one? The photographer is an integral part of any blog that remotely caters to travel, fashion, photography or reviews. Well my blog is I can say 90% dependent on photography. Whether its my travel diaries or product reviews or OOTDs, I am helplessly dependent on my photographer aka the husband for my blog.

My husband takes pride in knowing that I am helpless without him. Whether its driving the car, buying groceries or taking pictures of me for my blog, I pretty can't do much without him. Well I had never imagined to stay apart for work as I always had plans to leave everything and move with him if the situation ever demanded. I always used to wonder when other couples lived apart for work.

Well I recently got a taste of it when my husband had to go to the Middle East for performing surgeries. Middle East meant no way of me accompaying him. Also I could not take leave from my clinic for so long. So I came up with my set of plans. First I tried to stop him from going there. But his hospital was adamant. I fell sick but that did not work out either. Finally I had to let him go. It was a trip of 12 days and hoped that time would fly.

I had a lot of projects pending for my blog. Outfit pictures had to be taken. I tried to schedule all those photography sessions before he left for the Middle East. But not all of them could be completed. Still I was thankful that he squeezed so much time and effort for me amidst his crazy schedule. Those 12 days were the longest in my life.

The photographer returned yesterday. He was jetlagged but I dragged him out for a fancy dinner (and pictures too). I had received this beautiful studded white jacket, mint top and this fringe bag from Dresslink.com and it was apt for the ocassion. Though I love the entire outfit, I am especially in love with this beige fringe bag.

Notice the studded details of this cute white jacket. How cute is this peace pendant?

How cute is this brown fringe bag? Its so much cheaper than the usual Steve Madden fringe ones.

I can't get over this mint off shoulder top.

P.s Did you notice the irony of this post? This post is dedicate to the photographer aka my husband but contains no picture of him. Its an OOTD post after all. Also I forgot to click even a single picture of him :D (covering my face)

Blazer: Dresslink.com

Bag: dresslink.com

Top: Dresslink.com

Pendant: Dresslink.com

Pants; Limeroad.com

Rings, Bracelet: Globus

Sandals: From Thailand
Lips: MAC Up The Amp

3/14/2016 4 comments

Blue doors are an innate part of the Greek lifestyle...

The most common name which we came across while in Greece was undoubtedly Katerina! Probably every third girl we came across was Katerina! In Paros island, I asked the hostess Katerina whether it was the commonest Greek name. She had replied that it was Maria! Well for us it was Katerina!

Our apartment in Santorini was named after the owners...John and Katerina. John was an elderly man and we had read rave reviews about his kind nature on tripadvisor. His property was beautiful and had a pool. So we took it!

This happened for the first time that we were deliberately staying away from city centres. In Athens we stayed at Pireaus instead of Syntagma. In Paros we stayed in Parikia instead of Naoussa. In Santorinin too we chose to stay in Perissa instead of Fira, the capital or Oia, the dream city!

There were various reasons behind it. The hotels in Fira which had a swimming pool overlooking the caldera were stupendously expensive...around 25,000 INR per night! I was not ready to stay at a normal (read pool less hotel) for just staying in Fira.

Secondly living on an island is meaningful only of you stay close to the beach! So cheers to Perissa! This incredible beach was 10 minutes walking from our place.

The Perissa beach is nothing short of a marvel. Well I did not have the idea that it would turn out to be so beautiful but knew that a black beach is special in itself!

We were for four days here and enjoyed every bit of it. I however would not recommend this place to people who love to stay indoors as the room was not that luxurious. But the grounds, pool area and the people were wonderful. We made many friends...from Finland, Canada, UK, Japan etc etc. Everyone including us would be found lounging around the pool early in the morning or late night. WE used to have breakfast in the courtyard. I used to star watch lying there at night. God knows after how many years I did that.

One thing that baffled me right after we set foot on Santorini was the crazy wind! Believe me it was making us impossible to stand erect! Hair, hat clothes etc all were flying. While lounging in the pool area in the morning, I had to wear my Venus sweatshirt because the wind was so chilly! While having breakfast often it happened that our ketchup sachets flew away! And don't get me started on the temperature of water of the pool. It was so cold! Thanks to my floater, I could enjoy the pool without swimming!

The best part of floaters is that you can enjoy water without actually getting wet!

Entry to our hotel

Waking up to a beautiful morning!

We used to star gaze from here every night...the skies are so clear...its unimaginable here in Delhi!

Cover up: Zara

Sunnies: Aldo

Hat: from Malaysia

Earrings, Bracelets: Forever 21

Purse: Furla Candy

3/09/2016 22 comments

Our 24 hours in Paros Island were probably the most fruitful hours of our trip. Since we disembarked at the island at 11 am, we had been on a whirl right after. We were supposed to leave for Santorini at quarter to 12. So we had to utilize the morning too!

Our scooty by which we had covered the entire Paros Island

On our first day we had already covered 4 places. For the morning we kept two other sides of the island ; comparatively nearer to our hotel. First we went to explore the very place we were staying...Parikia. Parikia is a port where the vessels of Blue Star Ferries and Sea Jet et al dock. Though Nauossa is the capital as well as a port, the connection to Athens and other big islands is through Parikia only. The very reason for taking a hotel in Parikia was the easiness with which we could board our ship. We have a real bad history of getting late, as you must have read here. Our hotel was 15 minutes walking from the port.

Every restaurant in Parikia ended in the Aegean Sea...

It is said that the book closest to your eyes is the most ignored one. The same goes for Parikia too. We had roamed all around Paros through our base camp, but ignored it all together. We set out to explore it early in the morning and our first stop was the 'Traditional Settlement'. These kind of settlements can be found all over Greece. These areas were untouched by commercialization and provided real glimpses into the lifestyle of the Greeks.

Blue doors and bougainvilleas

One may think at a point that the beautiful white houses, blue doors, cobbled streets and the pink bougainvilleas are a part of the decoration; to make these places look beautiful. But the truth is that these are a part and parcel of their lifestyle. he traditional settlements were even more beautiful than the commercialised areas. In fact whenever I spotted a deserted house, I saw coloured flower pots and beautiful curtains...which were even prettier than the decked up places. WE have to admit that the Greeks have a truly beautiful style of living!