We are two seniors who love beautiful scenery, ornate buildings, and flowers, as well as museums. We have a fixed travel time in late October-early November, which is a bit late for most European places. We don't expect either flowers or ornate buildings in Greece at this time, which leaves scenery and museums. No lounging on the beach, either. Unlike Rick's itineraries, we prefer to stay at not more than 3-4 places per vacation, and limit walking to a couple of hours a day. We will not be renting a car. Here is what we came up with:
Fly from the US to Istanbul, spend 4 full days there (5 nights), fly to Athens. Without leaving the airport, take a flight to Santorini.
Sleep in Oia (or ?) for 2 nights (1 full day), get a taste, fly back to Athens.
Stay in Athens (with daytrips) 4 or 5 full days, fly back to the US.
The idea is to see the main sites when it's relatively cool and to come back for more if we really like Greece. What do you folks think? We've found the threads here quite informative.
Thanks to everyone who could help!