MyGreeceTravelBlog.com
Photos & memories from our trips to Athens, the Peloponnese, mainland Greece & Greek Islands — plus profiles of places we would love to visit

  • I wish I was going here for dinner!

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    Alati seafood restaurant

    I love the high arched ceiling and rustic stone walls of the dining room at Alati, a new seafood restaurant that has just opened at the Vedema Resort on Santorini. Located in Megalochori village, the Starwood Luxury Collection member resort consists of suites and villas in 45 coquette houses built around a 400-year-old winery. This photo of Alati’s stunning interior caught my eye when it was posted on the Vedema Resort Facebook page today. To see more of the exclusive resort, which follows “a barefoot chic philosophy,” check out this 1 minute 46-second promotional video (below) from the Vedema website.

     

  • An awe-inspiring Aegean Airlines video trip to some of the ‘most magical places in Greece’

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     Enter Greece is a fabulous 11-minute Aegean Airlines-produced film that will give you “a taste of the most magical places in Greece!”

     Sensational scenery: If Greece isn’t already on your “bucket list” of places to visit, the Enter Greece video from the Aegean Airlines YouTube channel might well convince you to include it among your top “must see” destinations.

    Even if you have been to Greece before, whether as a one-time or repeat visitor, you’ll still enjoy watching sensational cinematography of what the airline calls some of “the most magical places in Greece.”

    The 11-minute film clip includes amazing views of the Athens Acropolis, the Acropolis Museum, Cape Sounion, Spetses, Santorini, Mykonos, Delos, Milos, Crete, Zakynthos, Lefkada, Meteora, Monemvasia, the Corinth Canal and many more outstanding island and mainland Greece destinations.

    “Travel through the blue sky and sea, the taste and history, unique landscapes, art and tradition of Greece,” the video summary states.

    It delivers as promised — I developed an immense craving for Greek food and wanted to book a flight to Athens immediately after watching the video!

  • Santorini claims #1 spot on T+L magazine readers’ ranking of best islands in Europe & the world

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    Oia Santorini

    Luxury hotels crown the spectacular caldera cliffs in Santorini’s Oia village

     Reader favourite: Santorini is the world’s best island for 2014, according to a survey of Travel + Leisure magazine readers.

    Santorini beat out three Hawaiian islands as well as Bali, Indonesia to claim top spot in T+L’s World’s Best Awards 2014. Last year, Santorini held fourth place.

    The American travel magazine announced the results of its 19th annual reader poll on July 2.

    Although Santorini was the top-rated island globally and the only European island to make the worldwide Top 10, Greek islands scored well on the Top Islands in Europe poll, claiming three of the top 5 spots.  Santorini captured the #1 rating, of course, while Crete took #3 and Mykonos claimed #5. (Two Italian islands, Capri and Sicily, took the #2 and #4 places, respectively).

    Last year, Santorini and Crete held the same rankings for best islands in Europe, while Mykonos failed to crack the Top 5.

    The annual reader survey is highly influential and should help Greece maintain its record-setting appeal to travellers from North America. Last year, Travel + Leisure had an average monthly print circulation of nearly 1 million copies, and its web edition achieved an average of 38 million page views per month. The publication has a readership of 6.5 million people, more than 2.4 million of whom are considered “affluent” travellers with a high personal net worth.

    When the magazine announced Santorini’s top ranking in a post with a photograph of Oia on the T+L Facebook page, one reader added the comment: “Now I understand why gods choose Greece to live.”

    Indeed!

    You can view hundreds of photos of the world’s #1 island in my Santorini photo collection on Flickr.  There are thousands of pics of Europe’s #5 island in my Mykonos photo collection, also on the MyGreeceTravelBlog Flickr page. Unfortunately, there’s no collection of Crete photos at this time — I haven’t been to that island since 2004 and don’t have images from that vacation online. Clearly, I’ve got to get back to Crete!

  • Cyclades islands celebrate summer with festivals for food & wine, arts & literature, culture & sports

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    International Festival of the Aegean

    A promotional poster for the 10th Annual International Festival of the Aegean taking place July 6 to 19 in Ermoupoli on Syros island.

     

    Food & culture fests: I love travelling to Greek islands during low season, particularly in the spring, but that means I always miss out on major cultural and gastronomical celebrations that are held only during the summer.

    Just in the Cyclades group of islands this month alone, a wide variety of food & wine festivals, painting & photography shows, arts & literature events and fun sport competitions will be taking place on Antiparos, Naxos, Paros, Santorini, Schinoussa, Serifos and Syros.

    (Cultural events abound in other island groups, too, and of course there are scores of religious festivals throughout the country, many of which take place during the summer. But those are topics I’ll cover in future posts.)

    Below is an outline of just a few of the festivities you can check out if you happen to be island hopping in the Cyclades between this weekend and the end of September. You’re in for a big surprise if you thought the Greek islands were only about picturesque villages, beautiful sandy beaches and gorgeous scenery!

     Click on the 2 in the link below to continue reading about activities on Antiparos, Santorini, Naxos, Paros, Schinoussa, Syros, Serifos and Mykonos.

     

    CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

  • New clubs open & July/August events announced as Mykonos summer party scene starts sizzling

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    Nova Club Mykonos

    Promotional image for tonight’s (July 1 2014) grand opening of Nova, an exclusive new private members’ social club on Mykonos

     

    [Editor’s update: This report has been updated with information about special events taking place during August 2014. Be sure to check my post Beach parties on Mykonos this summer for updates on August events taking place specifically at Mykonos beach clubs.]

     Summer sizzle: July 1 marks the start of the peak summer party season on Mykonos, and with two new club openings and a host of additional entertainment events just announced, the island is set to cement its reputation as one of the top party destinations in the Mediterranean.

    Here’s a look at some of the parties and special performances that will be rocking Mykonos this month:

     Nova Club grand opening

    July kicks off with opening celebrations for a new high-end social club and special event venue, Nova, which is located in the Lakka Square area of Mykonos Town. The exclusive private members’ club will be open from 23:00 (11 p.m.) every night and promises to offer “the highest class and sophistication.” The Nova Club Facebook page recommends “dressy” attire for guests, and says walk-ins are welcome, though table reservations can also be made by contacting the club.

    Check the club’s Facebook page as well as the Nova Mykonos Twitter feed for further information.

     Nova Club Mykonos

    This teaser image was posted on the Nova Mykonos Twitter feed to show “a little of what is yet to come” from the brand-new social club and special performance venue in the Lakka Square area of Mykonos Town

     Sass Cafe Monaco party

    This image, from the events listing on the Nova Club Facebook page, promoted an August 4 party held in conjunction with Sass Cafe in Monaco. The sold-out event is among many special theme parties taking place at Nova this summer.

     Click on the 2 below to read about more special events and parties taking place at bars and clubs across Mykonos.

     CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

  • 2014 Greek holiday report and photos Part 3: Our breezy afternoon bike ride to Mikri Vigla beach

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    Kitesurfers challenge the wind and wavs off Mikri Vigla beach on Naxos

    Kitesurfers challenge the wind and waves off Mikri Vigla beach on Naxos. We shot this photograph from our dune- and seaview table at Kontos Taverna. Click on the picture to view a full-size image.

     [Editor’s note: This is the third instalment in an ongoing series of reports about our Greek holiday in the spring of 2014. Click here to see Part 1, and click here to access Part 2. Full-size versions of the photos shown below can be viewed in the Naxos May 21 2014 album on Flickr.]

     

    Wednesday May 21

    Hikes & bikes: Warm, bright and breezy would summarize Wednesday succinctly. Morning brought a clear sky, light breeze and warm temperatures that would climb into the high 20s (Celsius) during the afternoon. Our big decision of the day would be figuring out whether to just chill out and relax for awhile at the Lianos Village Hotel pool, do something more active like hiking or cycling, or do a bit of both.

    During our leisurely breakfast, Dan and I agreed to take a short hike along the coast in the Stelida area to get some exercise first, and then see how the rest of the day would unfold. So we left the hotel and made our way down the hill to the northwest end of Agios Prokopios beach, where we could access hiking trails on Cape Agios Prokopios from the end of the road near Avali restaurant.

     buildings in Stelida

    This telephoto image, shot from our terrace at Lianos Village Hotel, shows two white and blue apartment buildings on a hill overlooking the north side of Cape Agios Prokopios. That’s Paros island across the channel. Walking trails on the Cape offer excellent views of the east coast of Paros.

     a building in Stelida

    Studio apartments along the road to Agios Prokopios beach

     Naxos Imperial Hotel

    Pedestrians get a good view of the Naxos Imperial Hotel and its swimming pool as they pass the resort on the main Stelida road to Agios Prokopios beach

      a building in Stelilda

    Pink bougainvillea provides a pop of bright colour on a white apartment building with blue trim next to the road to Agios Prokopios beach

      sheep on Naxos

    Sheep snooze under a shade tree on a farm field in Stelida

     a church in Stelida

    Springflowers fill a churchyard at the northwest end of Agios Prokopios beach

     a road in Stelida

    Tall bamboo lines one side of a Stelida road at the end of Agios Prokopios beach

     Agios Prokopios beach

    A view of Agios Prokopios beach from the dirt road shown in the photo above

     Avali restaurant Naxos

    Avali restaurant is located on the hillside at the northwest end of Agios Prokopios beach. Walking trails on Cape Agios Prokopios can be accessed from the road that runs past the restaurant. Avali has the best beach views of any restaurant at Agios Prokopios; its seaview terraces are perfect places to enjoy the Naxos coastal scenery while having a drink or meal.

     Cape Agios Prokopios

    Wildflowers flank a footpath on Cape Agios Prokopios

     

    Please click on the 2 in the link below to continue reading and view dozens more photos from our day on Naxos.

     CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

  • 2014 Greek holiday report Part 3: Videos of Plaka, Orkos, Mikri Vigla & Agia Anna on Naxos

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    Above is a brief video that I shot from the southern end of Plaka beach, near Orkos, during our May 22 bikeride along the west coast of Naxos. This and the six other short clips (below) accompany Part 3 of my trip report (posted above).

     

    Orkos Bay

     

    Orkos beach

     

    Mikri Vigla beach and bay

     

    Views from Kontos Taverna at Mikri Vigla beach

     

    Kitesurfers at Mikri Vigla

     

    Agia Anna beach, viewed from the pier at Agia Anna harbour

     

  • More photos added to Naxos trip report album

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    windsurfers at Naxos

    A windsurfer skims across St George’s Bay near Naxos Town

     

    Bigger album:  Just wanted to advise that more photos have been added to the Naxos May 20 2014 Flickr album that accompanies Part 2 of my holiday trip report, which I recently posted on the blog.

    More than 90 additional photos have been uploaded to the album, which you can view by clicking here.

    I’m currently putting Part 3 of the trip report together and hope to publish it later this week.

    If you want to see more of Naxos in the meantime, click here for instant access to the Naxos photo collection on the MyGreeceTravelBlog Flickr page. The collection features thousands of pictures from our two Naxos holidays in 2013 as well as previous visits to the island, and also includes photos of the various hotels at which we have stayed.

    Further information about Naxos is just a click away in one of my most widely-read posts: Our Top 15 reasons to visit Naxos