Santorini Greece

There we stood, on the side of a highway on this Aegean island's wine country. We were stranded. Darkness was about to fall. I glanced at Peggy, my buddy through thick and thin. Returning a worried look, she nodded. We turned to the traffic and struck the pose: right arm out, thumb up. Cars whizzed by. Some were packed with no room for more, but solo drivers also ignored our gesticulations. Were we invisible?

There we stood, on the side of a highway on this Aegean island's wine country. We were stranded. Darkness was about to fall. I glanced at Peggy, my buddy through thick and thin. Returning a worried look, she nodded. We turned to the traffic and struck the pose: right arm out, thumb up. Cars whizzed by. Some were packed with no room for more, but solo drivers also ignored our gesticulations. Were we invisible?

We are on Atlantis, the lost continent, gazing dazedly from the veranda of our hotel room (yes, gentle reader, Atlantis has hotels) at the flat roof terraces below, blindingly whitewashed, dappled with parasols, the milk-white expanses punctuated by apricot and azure domes of churches flying the Greek flag. Below and beyond this panorama of sunbaked buildings and cliffs, the glassy, indigo wilderness of the Aegean Sea shimmers under the rays of Phoebus' fiery chariot.

We are on Atlantis, the lost continent, gazing dazedly from the veranda of our hotel room (yes, gentle reader, Atlantis has hotels) at the flat roof terraces below, blindingly whitewashed, dappled with parasols, the milk-white expanses punctuated by apricot and azure domes of churches flying the Greek flag. Below and beyond this panorama of sunbaked buildings and cliffs, the glassy, indigo wilderness of the Aegean Sea shimmers under the rays of Phoebus' fiery chariot.

  Don't just dream about the turquoise waters of the Aegean or the sunset seen from the island of Santorini when you can drink this stunning white wine made there. Vineyards have been established on Santorini for a while ? oh, about 3,500 years. Put away any outdated ideas about Greek wines tasted years ago: The wines have come a long way. Estates such as this one are producing some terrific, very contemporary wines. This 2009 Domaine Sigalas Asirtiko Athiri made from a blend of the two white grapes from 50-year-old vines is a great example.

Those looking for a last-minute Mediterranean cruise with some sweet savings may want to check out a seven-night sailing in the fall from Rome to Istanbul aboard the Seven Seas Voyager. The small-ship cruise offers a special rate of $5,499 a person for a limited time. The Classical Havens cruise begins in Rome and proceeds to Italian ports in Capri and Sicily then on to Olympia and Santorini in Greece and Ephesus in Turkey before ending in Istanbul. There are more than 20 free shore excursions that come with the sailing on the ship, which holds just 700 passengers.

You can't sweat the small stuff I'm not sure the blanket answer in the Jan. 31 On the Spot ["When a Hot Tub Is Not"] about a nonworking hot tub was carefully thought out. The big question, in my mind, was whether the presence of a hot tub was a determining factor in choosing a particular hotel. If it was, and if, as is the case with the particular writer, you've called and talked about the hot tub, you have reason to expect compensation. But I don't think it's realistic for a hotel to be able to say that on a particular date (often far in advance)

When packing, pick one basic color around which to create your "fashion palette" so you have plenty of mix-and-match outfits to choose from. Marlene Hassel Newport Beach Keep extensive notes on your trips. I have traveled a great deal and have kept those notes. I filled up a notebook on my 30-day trip across Europe on a Eurail pass. Now that I am about to celebrate my 100th birthday and am writing my memoirs, I have all the juicy details of things that happened on my trips: forgetting to take a towel to swim in the Olympic pool in Munich, Germany; the reception I went to in Salzburg, Austria; the green and red figs in Dubrovnik, Croatia; the 550 steps at Santorini, Greece.

For Europe-bound independent travelers who have plenty of time but limited money, guidebook publisher Lonely Planet has introduced an extensive new source of helpful information--the 1,224-page "Europe on a Shoestring." And for travelers who don't want to tour completely on their own, the European backpacker bus service, Busabout, is expanding its tour routes so that travelers can stop in any of 60 cities. A well-researched guidebook should save you its cost many times over.

The 836-passenger Olympic Voyager from Royal Olympic Cruises is the first of a pair of passenger ships that can claim to be the world's fastest, at a cruising speed of 27 to 28 knots and a maximum speed of 33 knots, achieved in sea trials before Voyager's debut last June. For vacationers with limited time, the Olympic Voyager offers the highlights of the eastern Mediterranean in only a week.

Fish for 25-inch rainbow trout in Colorado on a three-day weekend fly-fishing trip Aug. 23 to 25. Participants meet in Denver and are transported to their cabin, which has a view of the Rocky Mountains. Fishing begins on Lunker Lake for rainbow and brook trout. Guests will also fish in a stretch of Colorado River for 15- to 22-inch brown trout and travel through Rocky Mountain National Park to stop at places to fish for cutthroat.