Category: Samos (page 2 of 5)

Kokkari’s waterfront restaurant row

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Kokkari village Samos

Taverna signs compete for customers’ attention along the waterfront pedestrian promenade in Kokkari village on Samos island.

 

 

Kokkari Samos

Another view of “restaurant row” from a position a bit farther along the strip

 

 

Kokkari village Samos

A view from across the bay of restaurants along part of the Kokkari waterfront

 

 

Kokkari village Samos

The tavernas have sheltered dining terraces either right next to the water or beside the narrow shore that extends along part of the harbourside

 

 

Kokkari village Samos

The tables offer scenic views of the harbour, in all directions …

 

 

Kokkari village Samos

… while some waterfront bars offer comfortable cushioned seats for customers to relax in while enjoying drinks and the Kokkari scenery

 

Picture yourself … in Vathi on Samos

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A stone house across the bay from Vathi, the main town on Samos island

A stone house sits across the bay from Vathi, the main town on Samos

 

Wine Enthusiast features Greece’s Aegean Islands on list of top 10 wine travel destinations for 2014

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View toward Oia on Santorini

This is just part of the jaw-dropping caldera view that tourists enjoy while visiting SantoWines on Santorini. At upper right is the clifftop village of Imerovigli, while in the distance beyond the cruise ships is the scenic village of Oia. This photo appears in Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s profile of the Greek Aegean Islands as one of 2014’s top wine travel destination.

 

 

All about the Assyrtiko: A leading international wine magazine has named Greece’s Aegean Islands as one of the world’s top wine travel destinations for 2014.

The listing by Wine Enthusiast Magazine cites three islands in particular as great places for oenophiles to visit this year: Santorini, Samos and Crete.

“With whitewashed villages that cling to steep hillsides, which drop precipitously toward the deep blue sea, few people think of the Aegean Islands as a wine destination. But if you look carefully, you will see that the island of Santorini is essentially one large farm, Samos has terraced vineyards on Mount Ambelos, and Crete is home to a variety of white and red grapes,” writers Mike DeSimone & Jeff Jenssen observe.

The magazine’s profile of the Aegean Islands wine destinations includes tips on things to see and do, places to dine, where to stay, and of course where to taste the local wine.

It recommends visiting the SantoWines facility on Santorini (seen in the photo above) to taste wines while enjoying the fabulous scenery and watching one of the island’s legendary sunsets. 

“In Crete, sit back in a comfortable reclining chair, sample a variety of wines and learn about the history of Greek winemaking at Boutari’s state-of-the-art theater. On Samos, visit the Malagari Winery, part of the Union of Vinicultural Cooperatives of Samos, to sample the local sweet wines and to visit the Samos Wine Museum,” the profile adds.

You can read the full Aegean Island profile, as well as the listings for nine other top wine travel destinations, in the Top Wine Getaways feature on the Wine Enthusiast Magazine website.

 

Pic of the day: A house on a hill in Samos

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a house in Vathi on Samos

Many visitors to Vathi, the main city on Samos, don’t seem to venture beyond the commercial area along the waterfront near the port. But it’s well worth taking time to stroll some of the residential neighourhoods on the hills behind the business district. There are plenty of scenic streets with neoclassically-styled houses like the one above, plus great views of the city and Vathi Bay.

 

Pic of the day: A Samos sunset

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A sunset seen from Samos island Greece

One of the sunsets we enjoyed watching from a hillside near Vathi on Samos

 

Pic of the day: Seeing red on Samos

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Bold red bougainvillea cascades above the entrance to Hotel Helen in Vathi (Samos Town) on Samos

A canopy of bold red bougainvillea above the entrance ensures that it’s easy to find Hotel Helen on Grammoy Street in Vathi on Samos island

 

Greece getting good press as international media promote travel to Athens & the Greek Islands

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Agriolivadi Bay on Patmos

Agriolivadi Bay on Patmos, part of the Dodecanese island group. Patmos is one of five  islands that the Globe & Mail says travellers “need to see.”

 

 

Good time to visit: During the past five years of economic turmoil, Greece has been subjected to extensive bad publicity in the world press, with a steady barrage of negative news stories focussing on strikes and riots and the massive social upheaval caused by high unemployment and painful austerity programs. It’s refreshing to see the tide changing, with major international media outlets now regularly publishing feature articles that recommend travelling to Greece instead of avoiding it.

One article in particular — Luring tourists back to Greece by Liz Alderman of The New York Times — has been republished in major newspapers in countries around the world. In that piece, published on May 23, Alderman notes that “travelers are returning in greater numbers this year, lured by discounts of up to 20 percent on hotels in major cities and on Greece’s stunning islands, as well as assurances — at least for now — that Greece won’t be ditching the euro and returning to the drachma after all.”

Writers at other high-profile newspapers have been filing their own reports explaining why the time is right to visit Greece, and recommending where travellers should go.

Here’s a roundup of several interesting travel reports I’ve discovered just in the past week alone:

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What’s cooking in Kokkari?

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 Buildings along the harbourfront at Kokkari village on Samos

Mountains provide an impressive backdrop to the scenic town of Kokkari on Samos …

 

 

Harbour view of Kokkari village on Samos

… situated about 11 kilometers from Vathi on the north side of the island  …

 

 

Harbour view of Kokkari village on Samos

 … next to a sheltered harbour where dozens of bars & restaurants along the water’s edge …

 

 

Signs along a row of restaurants in Kokkari

… all engage in eye-catching competition to attract the attention — and business — of the throngs of thirsty and hungry tourists who visit the village each day

 

 

Sunbathe, swim, eat & repeat:  Two impressions have stuck in my mind since we visited colourful Kokkari village on Samos three years ago.

The first is the picturesque beaches that bookend the village: Long Beach on one side, and two back-to-back beaches called Small Lemonakia on the other.

The second is the rows of restaurants lining the town’s sheltered harbour as well as much of the length of Long Beach. It’s almost impossible to walk more than a few steps without passing a waterfront café, bar or taverna, or signs pointing the way to dozens of different places to eat and drink. There are myriad restaurant ads and menus attached to posts and walls, and dozens of sandwich board-style signs scattered along the narrow lanes and footpaths.

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