Category: Cyclades islands

Favourite tavernas: Drakos at Mylopotas for relaxed dining with beach, bay & sunset views

Drakos Taverna at Mylopotas beach on Ios during sunset on May 23 2011

Seaside drinks & dining: We found our favourite taverna on Ios thanks to advice from a fellow Canadian traveller, Cathy, who visits the island regularly. Last March, I asked if she could recommend any reasonably-priced seaside restaurants that offered scenic views as well as tasty traditional Greek cuisine. At the top of Cathy’s list was Drakos Taverna at the far end of Mylopotas beach. “It’s a really good authentic restaurant,” she said.

We were at Mylopotas on May 20 when I started feeling peckish for a light midafternoon snack. I recalled that Cathy had suggested Drakos taverna, so that’s where we headed. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

August 30, 2011
Greece holiday pic of the day

Overlooking Mylopotas beach and bay from a hillside on Ios

August 29, 2011
Our windowless cave-style Santorini hotel room with its low ‘hobbit’ door

Room 119 at Grotto Villas/Cliff Side Suites in Firostefani had no window …

… and the door was only 5 feet 5 inches tall. Don’t forget to duck!

Head knocker: Santorini is world-renowned for spectacular scenery, and its magnificent caldera views drew us back to the island three consecutive years in a row. We just couldn’t get enough of the breathtaking landscape, colourful clifftop villages and endless views of the gorgeous blue Aegean Sea. So imagine our reaction when we arrived at the Grotto Villas/Cliff Side Suites hotel in Firostefani to discover that our assigned room — #119 — didn’t even have a window!

That happened back in 2006, but I still remember our surprise and disappointment like it were yesterday. It would be bad enough to be assigned a windowless hotel room anywhere when you’re travelling on vacation. But on Santorini of all islands? There ought to be a law against it! To add insult to injury, the room door had a low frame, and I kept banging the top of my head on it whenever I went in and out. I’m only 5’7, and until I arrived at Grotto Villas/Cliff Side Suites I never expected that I would ever be too tall to walk into a hotel room while standing upright!

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August 28, 2011
Flower towers in the Cyclades

An agave flower stem towers above Plaka beach near Orkos on Naxos

Island highrises: Colourful bougainvillea and geraniums are the flowering plants you’ll see the most often while travelling in the Greek Isles. However, on Naxos, Milos and other islands in the Cyclades, distinctive agave flower stems will catch your attention, too. They’re hard to miss, particularly since the slender green stems of these peculiar succulent plants can soar two storeys tall. (I think they resemble giant asparagus stalks.) We’ve seen them near Plaka, Mikri Vigla and Agia Anna beaches on Naxos, as well as on Milos and other islands. Often called “century plants,” the stems of these perennials flower only once and then die, often tilting at sharp angles as they begin to rot.

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August 27, 2011
Greece holiday pic of the day

This blue gate in the Santorini village of Firostefani overlooks Thirasia island (top left) and offers a teasing peek of whitewashed buildings in the village of Oia on Santorini’s northwest tip, partially visible behind massive Skaros Rock (right)

August 27, 2011
Greece holiday 2011: Much-talked-about tavernas we didn’t get to visit on Mykonos this year

Joanna’s Niko’s Place at Megali Ammos Beach was the taverna getting the most buzz amongst travellers to Mykonos this past spring

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Rave reviews: Mykonos has such a wide variety of restaurants — serving virtually everything from traditional Greek cooking to Italian food to contemporary international cuisine — that it can be difficult deciding where to eat, or what to recommend to other travellers. It’s also tough keeping track from one tourist season to the next of what’s hot and what’s not, what’s new and what’s gone. A favourite from one visit can be a big let-down next time around, or it could disappear altogether. There are tavernas in remote beach areas that can’t be reached without private transportation because the local buses don’t serve every corner of the island. Some restaurants don’t even open until June, so regular May travellers like us never get a chance to try them. And, of course, personal taste has to be factored into the equation. Some people prefer expensive haute cuisine, while others want cheap ‘n’ cheerful Greek comfort food. Some abhor obvious tourist traps, yet others can’t get enough of them.

Each year, there’s a handful of restaurants that attract a lot of attention in travel magazines and websites, and in conversations between visitors, hotel staff and local residents. This year was no exception.

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August 26, 2011
Greece holiday pic of the day

Feet street: footwear displays outside fashion shops in Naxos Town

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August 25, 2011
Greece holiday 2011: Three Mykonos restaurants that hit the spot with great food, service & prices

The dining highlights of our Mykonos visit in May included a delicious home-cooked lunch on Agia Anna beach at the Nazos family’s Nicolas Taverna …

… a hearty and very satisfying dinner at Oregano Cook & Grill …

… and a wonderful meal with a good friend at Ithaki on Ornos beach

Mmmm-mmm Mykonos: I hope you’ll pardon the pun, but one of my biggest “beefs” about Mykonos is that the island has so many dining spots, you smell food cooking and see people eating practically everywhere you go. That’s especially the case in the confusing maze of streets in Mykonos Town, where a half-hour stroll will take you past dozens of tavernas, cafés and snack bars with chairs and tables in the narrow streets or bougainvillea-shaded terraces and courtyards merely steps away. It literally seems like everywhere you look, restaurant staff are busy serving food and beverages, while tourists and locals alike are sitting down to enjoy their snacks, meals or drinks. Of course, everything always looks tantalizing and smells divine!

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August 25, 2011