Category: Great sunset viewing spots (page 4 of 6)

Bay watching on Milos

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Bay of Milos

Halara Studios view of the Bay of Milos and the island’s west side

 

Scenic viewpoints: Several readers recently asked about places to stay or visit on Milos to enjoy amazing views and scenery. On our last trip to the island we stayed at Halara Studios in Plaka village, where we had inspiring views of the Bay of Milos from our windows and from the long terrace outside our room.  (Plaka is the capital of Milos island.) Another option for accommodations is Studios Betty, about which I’ve heard good comments. It’s located only a few meters from Halara, and offers substantially similar views.

But the best vantage point on the island is Kastro, the summit of the peak that rises a few hundred feet above Plaka. If the thigh-burning uphill hike to Kastro doesn’t take your breath away, the views from there certainly will — especially at sunset. (If your legs and lungs can’t handle the hike all the way to the top, the terrace outside Thalassitra church part way up is a good viewing spot, too.)

And if you have mobility issues and can’t climb the steep stairs to either Thalassitra church or Kastro, head for the Korfiotissa church in Plaka. The wide terrace on the west side of the church offers marvellous views as well. Want to sit back and sip a drink or glass of wine while watching the sun go down? You can’t beat the patio at Utopia Cafe (see my April 4 2012 post about sunset watching from the bar.)

Below are several pics showing some of the Bay of Milos views from Halara Studios, Plaka and Kastro.  You can view additional photos in the Milos 2011 photo collection on the MyGreeceTravelBlog Flickr page.  Take a look, in particular, at the Halara Studios, Plaka village and Kastro at Sunset albums.

Also visit the Plaka Milos Facebook page for more photos and information.

 

Bay of Milos

Another Halara Studios view of the Bay of Milos

  Kastro view of Milos

Kastro view of Plaka village and the Bay of Milos

 

Kastro view of Milos

Kastro view of Plaka (right), Tripiti village (center) and the bay

 

Kimisi of Theotokou church Milos

The church of Kimisi of Theotokou (Assumption of the Virgin church) is a superb sunset viewing spot on Kastro, high above the Bay of Milos (left)

 

Thalassitra church Milos

Thalassitra church sits roughly halfway up the mountain peak between Plaka and Kastro. Its terrace is an excellent place to view the sunset if you can’t make it all the way up to Kastro. 

 

Steps to Kastro  on Milos

Looking down some of the steps on the mountainside below Kastro. At left is the Thalassitra church.

  Steps from Kastro to Plaka

A great view of the Bay of Milos from steps farther down the hill

 

Korfiotissa church in Plaka

The terrace at Korfiotissa church in Plaka is an excellent place to take in the sunset and the superb Bay of Milos scenery

 

View from Plaka Milos

An afternoon view from Plaka toward Cape Vani, the rocky point at the mouth of the Bay of Milos (upper left), and nearby Antimilos island

 

Sunset’s glow at Roditses beach on Samos

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Roditses beach on Samos

The setting sun casts a warm golden glow on Roditses beach (foreground) and nearby Vathy, the capital and main commercial center on Samos island 

 

Roditses beach and Tasos Taverna

Roditses beach is about a 15-minute walk from Vathy, in a predominantly residential area with apartment buildings, elegant holiday homes, rental studio accommodations and a few hotels. It’s also the location of Tasos Taverna, whose open-air dining terrace is visible at upper left.

 

Roditses beach

Roditses is a rather unremarkable small beach, with a surface comprised mainly of stones and pebbles.  There are scores of beautiful and more scenic beaches on Samos, but Rodises is quick to reach on foot from Vathy,  and it’s suitable for some quiet time or sunbathing.

 

 Roditses beach

Two big apartment buildings on the hill behind Roditses beach

 

Roditses beach

Looking toward the Tasos Taverna seaview dining terrace, from the rocky southeast end of Roditses beach.  Tasos is the #1-ranked restaurant for Vathy on TripAdvisor.com, where reviewers praised the reasonably-priced Greek cuisine and the taverna’s views of Vathy Bay and the sunset.

 

sunset over Vathy Bay Samos

Although Roditses beach is far from spectacular, that’s not the case for the views from Tasos Taverna, where diners can watch as the sun sets in the distance beyond Vathy Bay

 

Syros: Our favourite new island destination

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Kini Bay

Harbour view of Kini, a scenic beach resort area on the west coast of Syros

 Ermoupolis Syros

Ermopoulis, the marvellous port city and capital of Syros

 

Hits the spot: Our Greek holiday in May included a long-overdue first-time visit to Syros, an island in the Cyclades that has piqued our curiosity and been on our must-see list for the past 10 years.

We got our first quick peek at Syros back in May 2004 when the highspeed ferry we were riding from Athens to Mykonos stopped briefly at Ermoupolis, the port and capital city of Syros. We managed only brief glimpses of the city’s grand neoclassical mansions and its hundreds of colourful houses seemingly stacked one atop the other on the two steep hills behind the port, but we were intrigued — especially by Ermoupolis’s stark contrast to the brilliant white “sugar cube” architecture we saw everywhere else in the Cyclades.

We have briefly seen Syros during a couple of ferry rides since then, and also got a great bird’s eye view of it during a flight from Athens to Naxos in May. We finally got to set foot on Syros soil on May 24, and almost instantly fell in love with the island.

We spent our first two nights in the enchanting port city, Ermoupolis, followed by four nights at Kini, a village and beach resort on the west coast. We thoroughly enjoyed Ermoupolis, but we particularly loved Kini, and wish we could have spent more time in both places. In fact, we now consider Kini one of our favourite beach destinations in Greece.

I’ll be telling and showing you a lot more about Ermoupolis, Kini and other parts of Syros soon. In the meantime, I have posted a few more photos of Kini Bay below. Click here to see hundreds of additional Kini photos, and click here to see my Flickr albums for Ermoupolis, Ano Syros, Lotos beach, Delfini beach, and other places on Syros.

  Kini Bay

Hillside view of the Kini Bay harbour (top) and beach

 Kini Bay

A view of the garden- and farm-filled valley behind Kini

Kini Bay

A view of Kini Bay from a hillside near the hamlets of Dani and Chrisonisos

 Kini Bay

View from peaceful Lotos beach on the west side of Kini Bay

 Kini Bay

Evening view of Kini village and beach

 Sunset view from Kini Bay

Sunset view from our terrace at Kini Bay Rooms and Apartments on May 27

 

Tuesday’s sunset views from Naxos beaches

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sunset on Naxos

We had clouds and rain on Monday, our first day back on Naxos. But Tuesday the weather was gorgeous — sunny and warm (24 Celsius). The beautiful day ended with an impressive sunset, seen here from Agia Anna beach (top photo) and Agios Prokopios beach (bottom picture) on the west coast of Naxos.

 

 

sunset on Naxos

Sea, sky, sunsets and scenery: amazing timelapse film of Santorini’s incomparable sights and views

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Click the arrow on the image (above) to watch the Studio Phosart production, Timelapse in Santorini, a breathtaking film of Santorini’s spectacular scenery

 

Year-long project: When you view Santorini’s marvellous scenery in person, it literally leaves you breathless. The island and its views can look equally stunning in photos and videoclips, too. And if you click on the link posted above, you’ll get to see the island’s immense natural beauty from a different and utterly amazing perspective — time-lapse film photography.

A production of Athens-based Studio Phosart, the Timelapse in Santorini video was filmed by Miltos Fotopoulos. According to notes on the studio’s Vimeo page, the project took a year to complete — but once you view the film, I’m sure you’ll understand why.

 

Our memorable meals at L’Osteria da Claudio and the Delfini Hotel restaurant on Sifnos

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Delfini Hotel on Sifnos

The outdoor dining terrace at the Delfini Hotel on Sifnos. The Delfini restaurant is open to the public as well as to guests of the hotel, and serves excellent home-cooked Greek cuisine and seafood dishes.

 

 

Dining terrace at the Delfini Hotel on Sifnos sunset view

Clear windscreens shelter Delfini restaurant guests on windy evenings, but still allow views of the sunset and Kamares Bay

 

 

Fond food memories: An online conversation about Sifnos restaurants a few days ago prompted me to pore through my travel journal and hundreds of photos we shot during our four-day visit to the island back in 2007.

Good food was the topic of our message exchange, and it also happens to be something for which Sifnos has long been famous.

While researching islands to visit on that trip seven years ago, I learned that Sifnos has been well-known for fine cuisine for hundreds of years, largely because the excellent pottery and ceramics produced on the island gave Sifnian cooks an early edge in developing culinary techniques and honing their kitchen skills. I also read that many of the top chefs in Athens and elsewhere in Greece got their training and started their careers on Sifnos.

I don’t know how accurate those stories are, but I can confirm that we did eat well on Sifnos; in fact, we still talk about the food we enjoyed there.

 

Two excellent dinners at Delfini Hotel

Two of those meals were in the restaurant of the Delfini Hotel where we were staying on the far side of Kamares Bay, directly across from the ferry port at Kamares. 

Our room was situated right above the Delfini’s seaview restaurant terrace, and the delightful food aromas that wafted from the kitchen through our open windows enticed us to have our first dinner there instead of walking into town for the evening. We had home-made spinach pies, stuffed aubergines, a hearty seafood soup that was chock full of fish and vegetables, wine, and a yummy cheesecake for dessert. The meal cost €42 and was wonderful.

We walked into Kamares for dinner on our second night, and saw a queue outside L’Osteria da Claudio. We recognized several of the people waiting in line for a table — they, too, were staying at Hotel Delfini. They told us they had eaten at da Claudio before (some had been there more than once) and thought the Italian cuisine was amazing. The waiting time for a table inside the small dining room would be about an hour, but they said it would be worth it.

 

L'osteria da Claudio on Sifnos

A sign at L’Osteria da Claudio, on the main street in Kamares. The popular Italian restaurant had many repeat visitors when we stayed on the island.

 

Please click on the link below to continue reading and to view more photos on page 2 of this post.

 

 

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Picture yourself … watching a sunset on Sifnos

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Sifnos sunset

This was one of the impressive sunsets we watched from the seaview terrace of our room at Delfini Hotel in Kamares on Sifnos island

 

A sensational Mykonos sunset

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A fishing boat motors past Mykonos during a spectacular sunset on May 15 2013

A fishing boat motors past Mykonos during the dramatic sunset on May 15 2013. I shot this photo from a road above the Kouros Hotel in the Tagoo district of Mykonos. Click on the image to view a full-size picture.

 

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