OMG! I’m so freaking tired after a long haul flight and
decided to blog a haul. Before that, I’ll give you all some shopping tips, just
in case you’re traveling to Greece soon. Basically, the souvenir stuff is
pretty generic and standardized throughout Greece. For example, whatever you
want to buy from Santorini are available in Athens too, and vice versa. But
there are certain things which are cheaper in certain places.
I will start with Santorini because that’s my first stop.
There are two main tourist places in the island which is Fira and Oia. Fira is
the “town” area and Oia is a pretty relax coastal village.
Rule number one, remember to bargain. If you’re going with
friends/family, remember to buy all your souvenir in one place. That way, you
can get better price when you’re buying in a huge quantity. We did that in a
shop in Fira, Santorini and was able to get 10% off.
If you have the time, scout around to compare prices. I
think I bought some stuff which is much more expensive in Fira and then found
out it is much cheaper to buy in Oia. It is also cheaper to buy those “Greek
goddess” dress in Santorini than in Athens, although Athens have much more
choices.
Then in Athens, you should shop in the Roman Market, which
located at the foot of Acropolis. You might get confused what to get for
souvenir as there are plenty of choices from different shops there.
And here is my haul. Let’s start with the very typical
souvenir…
I bought a handpainted curio box for Christine. I actually
choose a very nice one for her, but they exchanged it with another one that
looks quite crappy. Although both the box are the same painting, but the one I
got has some handywork flaws. Lesson learnt, when shop for souvenir, hold on to
your stuff before paying and check to see if it is what you wanted to get. The
church model is for Alie and the fridge magnet is for my housemate who collects
fridge magnet from different countries.
At Athens, I bought these…
The magnet totally broke in half. I was so devastated
because it is for my housemate. If you’re going to buy those clay souvenir,
remember don’t put it in your check in luggage. Or better still, don’t buy the
clay souvenir. They’re so fragile. Just a little knock it will shatter. Luckily
I bought another magnet of Athena figure for her. For myself, I got the Panthenon
model for memories. It is one of those place you must visit before you die.
Although ruined, it is still beautiful.
I
bought a Lady Justitae figure to put on my office table. Sadly, the Lady’s got
completely beheaded. I actually hand carried this figure, I think I must have
knocked my backpack while carrying it inside. Now I have to find a way to fix
it back and paint it. I’m thinking of painting it in pink.
I got these pretty expensive souvenir for mom. A handpainted
tea cup from Santorini and an antique-like jewelry box from Athens. I really
love the jewelry box and thinking of keeping it for myself.
Keychains, obligated to buy when travel.
Some local produce from Greece… the olive oil and honey.
Greek’s olive oil is much sweeter than the Italian’s. It is perfect to eat with
bread. And I’m not too sure about the honey though. I bought it for my aunt
because I don’t know what else to get for her.
Santorini is famous of their white wine Nykteri. If you love
sweet wine like Moscato, you’ll love this even more.
Also brought back some x-rated stuff. Hahahahahaha….. Must use Playboy centrefold as inspiration to work harder for nicer body!!!!
Lastly, some beauty related stuff. I think I’ve mention to
you guys about the brand Korres before? My friend introduced this brand to me
and I fell in love with it immediately. This brand is originated from Greece
and it cost so much cheaper there. Initially I wanted to grab the whole store
because it is really cheap. But I came to my senses and bought only the Guava
Body Butter and the Milk Cleansing Wipe. The body butter is super good!!! I’ve
been asking everyone to try this, so you should too. Don’t worry about flying
to Greece. You can buy it from Luxola and they will send it directly to your
doorstep.
Greece is really proud of their olives. Since I love olive
in my skincare, I got all these…
The Peeling Soap Sponge is really cool. Basically it has few
layers of sponges and the last layer is made of soap. You need to rub the soap
part on your body to create foam and then use the sponge to exfoliate. This is
the first time I see such thing. Bath bombs that made from olives. These are
amazing!!! I tried the Olive with Olive Leaves already to distress myself from
the long flight. It is superb! It leaves the skin thoroughly moisturized and
all the rough skin on my feet are all gone after soaking myself in it for 20
minutes. And soap bar made our of 100% pure olive.
As part of the norm after my trip for you all. Ok… Not all,
but only 1 person. 1 reader of this blog will receive a special souvenir pack
from me. The souvenir pack contains:
1. One natural olive soap bar from Greece – they’re so good,
I decided to give one away.
2. A L’Occitane travel pack that contains shower gel,
shampoo/conditioner, and body lotion – this travel pack saves me a lot of space
and really useful during my trip. I’m giving one set away so you can bring it
for your next trip.
How to get this souvenir pack?
1. As usual, you have to be a subscriber of this blog. If
you haven’t, click on the “Join this site” tab on the right hand side.
2. Comment below by leaving your email address. If you don’t
leave your email then I will assume that you’re just commenting and don’t want
the souvenir pack.
3. I will pick a random reader and send email to her on 23rd May (Thursday).
I want to go back to Santorini so badly! It’s so nice there
and the view is nothing like what I’ve seen. OK… Now I’m getting my ass back to
work, earn some money and plan for another trip again.