(this is part V of my recent European trip journal. If you haven't seen them yet, you should read part I, part II, part III, and part IV)

4-4, 11:30 PM, Fira, Santorini

Picking up where we left off...after the sunset, we had an hour's wait in a cold drizzle for the bus back to Fira. When we got the hotel, we bid goodnight to the ladies (and hello to Victor, since he'd been elsewhere all day), and also goodbye, since the girls were scheduled out on a boat the next day. Then I proceeded to have what has been the best sleep of the trip, so far, by far: about 12 hours, with none of that waking-up-at-4am-wide-awake nonsense that sometimes happens.

That brings us to today. Today was somewhat less exciting, but very relaxing. Rachel and I spent most of it wandering around Fira, looking at random shops, drinking coffee, eating crepes, buying books, and so on. I had a lot of time to read and write, and also to play with the numerous dogs which roam freely about Greek streets. For the most part, they are clean, well-behaved, and healthy-looking animals--our tour guide in Athens said the government actually takes care of them! Dogs are great. Anyway, we had a late dinner with Victor, then a few drinks with him and a Canadian couple at an Irish bar here in Fira. I didn't like it--the bar felt fake, with American waitresses and music. I suppose if I'd been gone for longer, I'd have liked it, but it felt wrong in this place, like it was spoilng something. It was there that someone told me that Florida won the NCAA basketball championship vs UCLA--which, if true, means I had a really awesome basketball bracket. Well, time for bed--tomorrow I hope to find a modern Greek Bible, then we're on the afternoon ferry back to Athens, where we'll spend the night. We had to Prague the day after (Thursday)!