Category: Cyclades islands

  • Favourite tavernas: Fond memories of traditional Greek cuisine at Aktaion taverna on Santorini

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    Aktaion Taverna Santorini

    Aktaion taverna in Firostefani village on Santorini

     

    Local specialties: We haven’t been to Santorini in several years, but we still talk about how much we have enjoyed Aktaion taverna in Firostefani.

    We discovered this little restaurant gem back in 2004 when we stayed at the Santorini Palace Hotel during our first trip to the island.  Aktaion is situated just a short walk from the Santorini Palace, right beside the scenic clifftop footpath that links the village of Firostefani with the island’s bustling main town of Fira.

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  • Greece holiday pic of the day

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    windmill on Ios

    A windmill on a hilltop near Chora on Ios

     

  • Greece holiday pic of the day

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    Adamas port town on Milos

    Overlooking Adamas, the port town of Milos, from the highway to Pollonia

     

     

  • The Naxos Imperial Resort’s Figure 8-shaped swimming pool

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    Naxos Imperial Resort & Spa swimming pool

    This pic from the Naxos Imperial Resort & Spa website shows the Figure 8 shape of the hotel’s swimming pool above Agios Prokopios beach

     

    Swim in circles: One of the big changes we noticed on Naxos during our May 2009 visit was a brand-new resort just a few steps down the road from the Lianos Village Hotel, where we have enjoyed staying on our last two Naxos holidays.

    We could see that finishing touches were still being applied to the five-star Naxos Imperial Resort & Spa, which had been built during the winter of 2008-2009. But the large luxury resort (it has a main building with restaurants, bars and spa facilities, plus six separate wings with single, double, triple and quadruple hotel rooms) didn’t appear to have any guests at the time. At least, there were none that we could see.

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  • Greece holiday pic of the day

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    kitten in a window in Egali on Amorgos

    A kitten peeks from behind a curtain in a window in Egali on Amorgos

     

     

  • Greece holiday pic of the day

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    White Shop in Mykonos Town

    The appropriately named White Shop in Mykonos Town

     

     

  • Amazing Amorgos and the bedazzling Big Blue

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    vivid blue Aegean Sea

    “The Big Blue” is a nickname that befits the breathtaking colours of the Aegean Sea off the east coast of Amorgos, below the Chozoviotissa Monastery …

     

    Kalotyri Bay Amorgos

    … but there are striking, vivid tones of turquoise and blue all around Amorgos, including Kalotyri Bay on the north coast off Nikouria Island (top) …

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    Nikouria Island across Egali Bay on Amorgos

    … and Egali Bay, seen here looking southwest toward Nikouria Island

     

    Breathtaking blues: I’m always surprised when I read online travel forums and see how many people seem to believe that Santorini is the only island in the Cyclades with spectacular scenery. Santorini is incredibly beautiful, there’s no doubt about that. And while it may be incomparable, it doesn’t hold a monopoly on drop-dead gorgeous landscapes and seascapes. I’ve been impressed by the scenery on Milos and Folegandros, too, and I’ve been absolutely awestruck by Amorgos. Or, as I sometimes like to call it, Ahhhh!morgos.

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  • Greece holiday pic of the day

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    Naoussa harbour on Paros

    Tables at a harbourside taverna in the scenic fishing village of Naoussa on Paros