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

Spring colours at Epi Studios on Paros

A bougainvillea-covered trellis shades a window at the Epi Studios Matsas Windmill hotel in Naoussa village on Paros

Colourful corner: It finally feels like spring in Toronto today, but we’ve got still got a few weeks to go before spring flowers begin to bloom. Gardens, yards and parks are foul-smelling, muddy swaths of brown and grey as remaining patches of dirt-covered snow and ice gradually melt away.

To get a glimpse of greenery and spring flowers in the meantime, I’ve been looking through photos from my May 2012 visit to Paros, where vibrant gardens and landscaping around whitewashed houses provided picture-postcard scenes throughout Naoussa village.

One corner in Naoussa was particularly colourful thanks to the bougainvillea, flowers, bushes and trees growing on the grounds of Epi Studios Matsas Windmill, a hotel complex of 18 kitchen-equipped studios a short walk from Ag Anargyroi beach.

Not much information available online

Out of curiosity, I searched online for information about the hotel, to see what the rooms look like and find out what it costs to stay there.

Surprisingly, I couldn’t find a website for the property — only dozens of listings for it on booking sites like Expedia, otel.com, dhr and others. Although the listings include some photos showing the traditionally-decorated rooms, I couldn’t find prices — all the dates I entered into the various different search fields showed no availability. And there aren’t many online reviews providing descriptions of what it’s like to stay there. For instance, the Epi Studios listing on TripAdvisor.com only has four reviews, the most recent of which was posted in 2010.

Nonetheless, Epi Studios is still a picturesque place to see if you happen to stay elsewhere in Naoussa and take a walk around the town, as the photos below indicate.

Street view of Epi Studios Matsas Windmill

Another street view of the Epi Studios and Matsas Windmill

Bougainvillea clings to the wall beside the Epi Studios sign

Flowering shrubs add more bursts of colour in the gardens at Epi Studios

A view of the Matsas Windmill, which stands proudly near the corner of an intersection in Naoussa village

March 31, 2014
A colourful lane on the Kastro hillside on Milos

Pots of pink and red geraniums add pops of colour to a blue-painted footpath on the Kastro hillside above Plaka village on Milos island. This is only one of many impressive sights visitors will encounter while hiking the steep footpath from Plaka to Kastro. The spectacular panoramic views from the Kastro mountain peak, especially at sunset, are a “must-see” attraction on Milos.

That’s me at the blue lane during our climb to Kastro for sunset

Pink geraniums in a white pot beside the blue lane

You’ll pass the lane partway up the path to Kastro. It’s a pretty place to stop and catch your breath before climbing the rest of the steep steps to the mountaintop.

A wall-mounted planter brings the lane’s blue theme to eye level

The lane bathes in the golden glow of the slowly-setting sun

The Gulf of Milos and mountains on the west side of the gulf are visible from the end of the lane …

… as you can see from this shot, taken facing toward the west and looking down the steps we have climbed so far

We saw this cat sitting in the lane during our first visit to Milos back in 2007

March 27, 2014
Looking sheepish on Sifnos

Sheep watch warily from behind a thicket of bare shrubs at a farm property in a valley near Kastro village on Sifnos

March 27, 2014
SkyGreece takes test flight; aims to start 5x weekly service between Athens and New York in June

This image of a flight crew posing beside the SkyGreece Airlines Boeing 767 ER was posted on the SkyGreece Facebook page this past weekend.

Excitement building: If the traffic to my blog and the number of emails I’ve been receiving recently are an accurate indication, there is a tremendous interest in SkyGreece Airlines — and especially its as-yet-unannounced schedule for flights between Athens and the United States.

For months, SkyGreece has been one of the top 3 most-searched topics on my website, while during the last few weeks I’ve received more email inquiries about SkyGreece than I’ve received about any other subject in the past two years.

People keep asking me when SkyGreece will launch flights to and from New York and Chicago, and also want to know what fares will cost. Some people are even asking if SkyGreece is hiring any flight crew or ground staff in the USA.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to answer any of the questions or provide up-to-date information because SkyGreece hasn’t released any. Until this past weekend.

Test flight over Taxiarchis Monastery on Lesvos

According to a news report on the Greek Travel Pages website, SkyGreece conducted a test flight of its Boeing 7667 ER aircraft last Friday, taking a group of airline executives and officials from the Civil Aviation Authority on a flight that passed over the Monastery of Taxiarchis at Mantamados on Lesvos island. The flight was highly symbolic since the SkyGreece plane is named Taxiarchis, after the Greek patron saint of aviators. The next day, SkyGreece updated its Facebook page with two photos of the flight crew posing next to the jet.

Without providing specific details, the GTP report added that SkyGreece will launch its year-round direct flights between Athens and New York City sometime in June. There will be 5 flights per week between Athens and NYC in the summer, and 2 flights per week during winter. SkyGreece also plans to offer 3 flights per week from Athens to Montreal and Toronto, and at some future unspecified time will launch service to Chicago and to South Africa.

Airline awaiting flight permits from USA & Canada

GTP said that SkyGreece has obtained its licence in Greece, and is still waiting to receive permits from the United States and Canada that will allow it to operate scheduled flights to New York and Toronto. Until those permits are received, SkyGreece will offer flights on a charter basis only.

No information was provided about when the flights to Canada will commence, or what fares will cost — so please don’t email me to ask for those details! I do not have contact with anyone at SkyGreece, so I don’t have any “inside information” that I could share with you. I will post that information here on the blog if and when SkyGreece announces its schedules and prices.

And if you’re interested in employment with the airline, keep checking the SkyGreece website for possible career opportunities. Today, the website indicated that applications for an E-Commerce IT Specialist, based in Athens, are being accepted until April 2.

For my previous reports about SkyGreece, see my January 10 2014 post and my June 25 2013 post.

March 25, 2014
All walled in: A hillside estate on Patmos

Stone walls enclose a private villa on a hillside above Grikos Bay on Patmos

March 24, 2014
Marvellous winter moments on Mykonos

Mykonos Island “when no one’s watching” from Andreas Bekas on Vimeo.

Mention Mykonos, and most people instantly imagine sun-scorched rocky hills; crescent-shaped beaches packed end-to-end with people partying under searing sunshine; throngs of tourists swarming the iconic windmills on the hill near Little Venice; gigantic cruise ships docking at both of the island’s ports; and luxurious private yachts dropping anchor in almost every bay. That’s a fairly accurate image of what the island is like during the peak travel months of July and August.

But Mykonos has a completely different look during winter when the island’s 10,000 residents have the beaches and monuments entirely to themselves. The hillsides are verdant with winter flowers and greenery; the quiet beaches are empty of people, lounge chairs and umbrellas; and there’s nary a soul to be seen near the windmills or on the seaside at Little Venice.

Spectacular video by Andreas Bekas

In his spectacular time-lapse video Mykonos Island: When no one’s watching, photographer Andreas Bekas captures the Mykonos landscape in moments of peace, quiet, solitude and colour that few tourists ever get to see.

The 2.5-minute video opens with striking sunrise views of the Agios Iakovos chapel near Agios Sostis (which I profiled in a June 10 2013 post), and features scenes including: the five windmills at Alefkandra; the Armenistis lighthouse; the Bonis windmill on the hill above Mykonos Town; vast expanses of green countryside; the blissfully empty beaches at Paraga, Kalfatis and Panormos; the remarkable Paraportiani Church; and a moody view of the Little Venice seafront. The clip concludes with an aerial view of an eerily quiet Mykonos Town and harbourfront at sunset; a star-filled sky above a rustic dovecoat; and tall green grass rustling in wind.

Makes me wish I could take a winter trip to Mykonos!

March 4, 2014
Greece’s top museums & archaeological sites to open 12 hours daily from April through October

The Knights of St John established the magnificent Palace of the Grand Master of Rhodes during the 14th Century. Situated in the medieval city of Rhodes, the palace occupies a site where a Byzantine fortress originally had been built in the 7th Century. The Grand Master’s palace is one of more than 30 major museum and archaeological attractions in Greece that will operate under new extended hours from April 1 to October 31 in 2014.

Don’t rush: The Greek Ministry of Culture has some good news for travellers who like to take their time while visiting museums and exploring archaeological sites — hours of operation are being extended for more than 30 of the country’s top attractions.

From April 1 until October 31, archaeological sites including Olympia, Delphi, Epidaurus, Mycenae and Mystras, plus the Acropolis in Athens, will be open to the public from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. every day.

The longer opening hours for the historic sites, and for a number of important museums in Athens, Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Rhodes and other locations, were announced this week. They are among a series of initiatives that the Culture Ministry is undertaking to enhance and update the visitor experience in Greece. The other improvements, which will be rolled out later this year, include installation of Wi-Fi networks, the design of mobile virtual tour applications, and the launch of an e-ticketing system for entrance to museums and archaeological sites.

Greece anticipates record tourist traffic in 2014

The extended hours couldn’t come at a better time: Greece is expecting a record number of tourist visits in 2014 — over 18.5 million, to be precise.

The longer hours will be particularly appreciated by cruise ship visitors, whose tight time schedules in the past have forced them to rush through major sites, or miss seeing them altogether.

The extended hours apply to a total of 33 sites and museums which account for more than 95 per cent of visits to Greek historical attractions. One of the monuments, the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion, will remain open until sunset each day.

Here is the complete list of attractions that will offer longer hours of operation:

◊ the archaeological site of the Acropolis, the Theatre of Dionysus and the Ancient Agora in Athens;

◊ the archaeological site of the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion;

◊ the Olympieion — Arch of Hadrian;

◊ the archaeological site of Epidaurus;

◊ the archaeological site of Mycenae;

◊ the archaeological site of Olympia and the archaeological museum at Olympia;

◊ the archaeological site of Delphi and the archaeological museum of Delphi;

◊ the archaeological site of the Royal Tombs of Vergina and the archaeological museum of Vergina;

◊ the archaeological site and museum at Delos island near Mykonos;

◊ the archaeological site of Akrotiri Thera on Santorini;

◊ the archaeological site of Lindos on Rhodes;

◊ the archaeological site of Asklepieio on Kos;

◊ Ancient Kamiros on Rhodes;

◊ the archaeological museum of Rhodes;

◊ the archaeological site of Knossos on Crete;

◊ the archaeological site of Phaistos on Crete;

◊ Cave of Psychro on Crete;

◊ the archaeological site of Ancient Corinth;

◊ the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes;

◊ the Ancient Castle of Kos;

◊ the archaeological site of Mystras;

◊ Spinalonga on Crete;

◊ Corfu Castle;

◊ the archaeological site of Palamidi;

◊ the archaeological museum of Heraklion on Crete;

◊ the archaeological museum of Thessaloniki;

◊ the Byzantine & Christian Museum in Athens;

◊ the National Archaeological Museum in Athens;

◊ the White Tower Museum in Thessaloniki; and

◊ the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki.

The Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion will remain open until sunset each day from April 1 to October 21.

March 4, 2014
Colours on the west coast of Naxos

October sunshine brings out brilliant colours in the sea and on land along the west coast of Naxos. We saw this secluded beach while hiking in the island’s Stelida district. Click on the photo to view a full-size image.

February 28, 2014