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Mykonos-Naxos-Santorini - The Non-Honeymooner Trip Report

Mykonos-Naxos-Santorini - The Non-Honeymooner Trip Report

Old Jun 24th, 2011, 07:06 PM
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Mykonos-Naxos-Santorini - The Non-Honeymooner Trip Report

Thanks so much to everyone for their advice when I was planning our first trip to Greece. We got back a few days ago (just before the demonstrations in Athens turned bad), and I’m just getting my thoughts together about the trip. It was pretty close to perfect – the weather cooperated (2 weeks without rain!), the planes were on time, the ferries were almost on time, we tap-danced around the strikes and slowdowns, and ultimately tried to immerse ourselves in the culture enough to experience and appreciate being in the midst of the demonstrations in this unique period in Greek history.

Overview stuff…

We were able to use frequent flyer miles for plane tickets to Athens, and I managed to find a few pretty incredible deals that allowed us to stay in some fabulous hotel rooms, adding to the “event” nature of the trip. We travel to Europe every year or two, sometimes for long-weekend city visits that are fairly easy to do from the East Coast (Paris, Rome, Amsterdam), and other times for a week to 10 days to explore a region (Amalfi Coast, Provence/Riviera, Tuscany), but we’ve never been to Greece. For this trip we planned 2 weeks, and wanted to visit Athens and 3 islands. With much help from this board, we decided on Mykonos, Naxos and Santorini. It turned out great. We deliberately chose the order of island visits to build up to Santorini, and it didn’t disappoint, but for a while we thought we were the only non-honeymoon couple staying in all of Oia (which means we got to give a lot of marital advice!). But that comes later. Anyway…

I know that everyone told me not to plan too much, to be prepared to go with the flow and change plans at the last minute, but I’m a little compulsive about planning, and I couldn’t stop myself. So, all of the hotels were booked in advance (and because the dollar was so good on the euro last fall, about half of them were prepaid). The inter-island flights were planned as soon as Olympic announced their summer rates, so we managed to grab good flights at good fares for the Athens-Mykonos and Santorini-Athens legs of the trip. Ferries were booked in advance online (SeaJets for Mykonos to Naxos, and Blue Star from Naxos to Santorini), and the ferry tickets were delivered by courier to our hotel in Athens before we arrived. I thought it was well worth the 3€ courier fee to have the tickets delivered and waiting for us at the concierge desk before we arrived, so we never had to track down a ferry office. I would recommend that plan to anyone.

About a week or so before the trip, the protests and strikes in the Athens area started up again (after being quiet for the past several months). Thanks to this board I added livingingreece.gr/strikes to my Twitter list so we could stay updated on strikes when they were announced, in case we needed to change any plans. I also activated an international data plan for my iPhone so I could download email to my phone when there wasn't wifi available and get/send text messages easily. Both were very useful.

We made a point of packing for carry-on only, and I still felt that I packed about twice as much as I needed. We were moving every 3 days, and by the second move (from Mykonos to Naxos) I found myself packing almost half of my stuff in a vacuum bag, shoving it in the bottom of my rollaboard, and never opening it again. Sigh. I really thought I was a better packer than that!

Enough of the overview. First stop, Athens!
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Old Jun 25th, 2011, 12:33 AM
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Looking forward to the rest!
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Old Jun 25th, 2011, 08:16 AM
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Already eager to read more!
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Old Jun 25th, 2011, 11:24 AM
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Day 1 - Athens
Did I say the trip was close to perfect? Well, there were some “close to” parts scattered throughout, but the first hiccup was our arrival in Athens on Monday morning. The Delta flight from JFK was actually a little early, we didn’t have checked luggage, and we were some of the first people off the plane. It should have been a good start, but we came out into the airport, looking at the sea of drivers with little signs with people’s names on them, and…. Nothing. Because of the potential for strikes, I had succumbed to my over-analyzing, over-planning side and booked a car transfer from the airport for our arrival. I decided that other transfers we could do by taxi or even metro, but for the “I’m jet-lagged, I’ve-never-been-here-before, I-just-wanna-get-there” transfer (especially if there was a chance that taxis might be on strike when we arrived) I decided it was okay to plan in advance, pay a few extra bucks, and have a transfer waiting. I decided against using the metro as a transfer option a couple of weeks earlier, when a neighbor got back from a visit to Greece and reported that one of her travelling companions had been pickpocketed on the metro heading from the airport to Syntagma Square – she lost her cash, credit cards and passport right at the beginning of her trip. So, a transfer it is. Our transfer was late, but one of the other drivers saw us searching in vain, and offered to call our contact number for us (local call for him, but would have been an international call for me from my phone). Pretty soon our driver showed up -with a hand scribbled name card that was written in colored magic marker (seriously people, how hard is it to use a printer???). I will never do this again in Athens. The “English speaking driver” spoke no more than a few phrases of English, and the “upgraded” private car (in lieu of reserving a taxi) was a horrible Hyundai hatchback. I’ll happily stick with a taxi from here on out, especially since most taxis are Mercedes E-series cars, and the new €35 flat rate to and from the airport is fairly well enforced (at least FROM the airport). Lesson learned.

So, off to Athens and Syntagma Square, where I had managed to score a great deal at the Grande Bretagne, the grand dame flagship hotel that is way too fancy for us but makes you feel like a rock star just by stepping in the door. I had planned to stay at Athens Gate based on so many great recommendations from this board, but found a deal that I couldn’t pass up, and it ended up being really fascinating to be able to stay right on Syntagma Square, in the middle of everything. When we got there Monday morning, it was the morning after 100,000 people had gathered on the square to protest the new IMF loan talks, pension cuts, and every other frustration they are dealing with right now. There were a few tents on the square (but nothing like what we saw when we came back to Athens two weeks later!) and several banners up, but the square in daylight looked pretty normal.

Hotel sidebar - For anyone going to Athens in the future, the Grande Bretagne, the NJV Athens Plaza and the King George are all side-by-side on the Square, so if you can find a good deal at any of them, take it. When I first started planning this trip, a travel agent suggested staying at the Athens Hilton. I am so glad we didn’t do it. The Hilton is way too far from anyplace that a tourist would want to be (a metro ride away from anything), while Syntagma Square is walking distance to the Plaka, the Acropolis, great shopping, and most of the nightlife.

Of course, at 11 AM the room isn’t ready. But in the spirit of trying to relax a little, we changed into swimsuits and went to the roof to take advantage of the rooftop outdoor pool. A quick COLD dip (“refreshing” became our buzzword for the next two weeks), change, and we were ready to head down to the Plaka, wandering through the tiny streets with what felt like millions of tourists, including huge numbers of cruise shippers. Lunch at one of the battling gyro places (with the rest of the tourists, but it was good!). A bit more wandering, then back to the hotel for a nap. At 6:30, refreshed, we wandered out for strolling, beverages and eventual dinner.

Through the beautiful pedestrian shopping streets to the Plaka, up and down the restaurant steps, then through the Forum and the Tower of the Winds, where we rounded a corner and found what became our favorite little restaurant in Athens – Taverna Platano. A great little place in a hidden alley, with tables outside under a vine canopy. Lots of people, fabulous food, and very reasonable. Dolmades (stuffed vines) in Athens is a delight – so different from the dolmas at the Turkish place down the street at home (and, it turns out, different from the dolmades on the islands, which are also like the small stuffed grape leaves that we are familiar with). These are magnificent. Huge grape leaves stuffed with a hot rice and meat mixture, covered with a warm, creamy, slightly lemony white sauce. The dolmades are followed by lamb chops for DH and fresh grilled calamari for me (getting ready for the islands!). With a passable carafe of wine, we are out for about €35. A perfect first evening.

We headed back toward the hotel at about 11 pm, and found Syntagma Square a very different place than the one we had left 4 hours ago. About 50 thousand demonstrators are gathered to protest the IMF loans and government pension changes. Coming from DC we are used to protests, but this is different. Street food vendors are everywhere, and the atmosphere is almost festive. The crowd and the speakers seem very organized, and the large crowd is enthusiastic and even cheerful. I had no idea what to expect, but I didn’t expect this. The police are standing shoulder to shoulder at the steps of Parliament, and the crowd is politely staying a few feet away – shouting and chanting, but not the least bit violent. We wandered through the crowd for a while listening to speeches that we couldn’t understand, then decided to go to the top of the Grande Bretagne for a nightcap to get a bird’s eye view of the Square. The top floor of the Grande Bretagne is an open air restaurant, and it is packed with people having dinner or hanging at the bar. The noise from the crowd below is loud, and from high above you can really see how big the crowd is. With an incredibly overpriced glass of wine in my hand, looking down at the demonstrations, I’m feeling a little too much like Marie Antoinette. Time for bed.
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Old Jun 25th, 2011, 11:45 AM
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Great start to your trip report! Keep it coming.
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Old Jun 25th, 2011, 11:47 AM
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Vivid! ... one feels right in the thick of it (I was, a few blocks away) ... glad to have a Greece newcomer describe the atmosphere; perhaps readers will believe it, from you. Continue!
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Old Jun 25th, 2011, 12:09 PM
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I'm so enjoying your report as we just returned from the same places as you visited - first timers as well. We, too, had a peaceful demonstration in Athens just down the street from Athens Gate Hotel. We had a birds eye view from the restaurant's terrace of the growing crowds in one direction and the Acropolis and setting sun in the other.

Looking forward to more or your report.
I could go back tomorrow!
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Old Jun 25th, 2011, 02:09 PM
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Day 2 – Athens
Up early, with a lovely breakfast on the rooftop, looking out at the Acropolis on what promises to be another beautiful day. How did we get this lucky? Since we only have one full day in Athens, we decided to get a guide for a half day tour. Thanks to a link posted on this board I located Vicky Papadimitriou and booked a half day with her. Because we were only doing a half day and were staying so central (and would probably be spending most of our time at the Acropolis), I thought she would probably meet us on foot for a tour. Nope. She wanted to pick us up in her car to make sure that we got a good overview of her beautiful city and were able to see some of the things that we might not see by ourselves on foot, particularly her favorite view of the city from Lykavittas Hill.

Licensed guides – particularly in a city like Athens – are a wonderful thing. They are regulated (I think they all might charge the same half day and full day rates), they get to go to the front of the ticket line anywhere (and bypass tour groups), they know the crazy back road shortcuts through the city, and they are authorized to park in the no parking areas next to the historic areas. Plus, Vicky’s family had lived in Athens for generations, so she was able to give some interesting insights into the current financial problems, Greece’s already crazy tax codes, the ramifications of cutting pensions, and the real fears about the impact of billions of dollars in new IMF loans for a country of only 11 million people. We visited the basics – Temple of Olympian Zeus, Panathenaic Stadium, Lykavittas Hill, etc., and, because we told her we were interested, we stopped at the Central Market and the flea market long enough to walk around a bit (we love those kind of places) before heading over to the New Acropolis Museum. Our original plan had been to do the Acropolis with her, but she had other ideas. She suggested that – with just a half day tour – we do the Acropolis Museum with her first to get all of the background information we needed, and then do the Acropolis ourselves afterward . That way we could take our time and explore at our own pace, and wander back to the hotel through the ancient Agora and the Plaka. The “half day” stretched on to about 2:30 pm, as she showed us the Museum and then joined us for coffee at the Museum café. After she left we walked up to the Acropolis on our own, listening to the wind blowing through the pines and enjoying our one-on-one time with the Parthenon. I must say that this is one of those places that the postcards are better than any picture you can get yourself (with the cranes, the scaffolding and the restoration work going on), but it was terrific all the same.

Vicky did scold us (mildly) for not visiting the Benaki Museum on our own on Monday (it is closed on Tuesday) – a visit she had suggested we do when we were emailing back and forth. From a guide’s perspective, she said that the two museums she recommends to anyone – even on a short visit – is the new Acropolis Museum and the Benaki, because between the two you get a very good picture of the history of Athens. I took the blame for it, saying that we were tired from the flight and just wanted to have the chance to wander the streets of Athens, the Plaka, etc. Maybe next time, or maybe we should change our flight to Mykonos tomorrow from the morning to the afternoon flight, to get a few more hours to explore Athens? It is worth considering, and we decided to try. Unfortunately, the afternoon flight is completely full, so we have to stay on the original schedule, and the Benaki will have to wait for another visit.

Meanwhile, in the middle of our whirlwind tour (at about Lykavittas Hill, I believe) DH’s camera decided to stop working. It is jammed in the open position and isn’t budging (fortunately, my iPhone is still taking pictures, so we’re covered). Looks like it is time to get a new camera, and at least it broke while in Athens, and not on the islands – more stores! At our guide’s suggestion we went to Public on Syntagma Square – kind of a Greek combination of Tower Records and Best Buy. We ended up with a new little Sony Sureshot, so now we have a camera that doesn’t need an adapter in Europe. The hassle, though, came at check out, when DH’s credit card wouldn’t work. Yup. Citibank strikes again. Even though we called them in advance, and even though the actual dollar figure was only a little over €100, I guess they freaked out about the fact that it was an electronic store and it flagged something in the fraud department. Several phone calls and about an hour of precious cocktail time later, they finally got it straightened out and we walked out with a new camera. Slip in the old SD card, charge it up in the room (no adapter needed!), and it will be ready to go in a few hours. A couple of days later DH was able to find a web thread about jammed Canon PowerShot cameras and read the consensus solution – just bang it repeatedly on a counter until the lens gets unjammed. It worked!

So now time for dinner. We wandered back to the Plaka to the Restaurant Steps. It looks so romantic, and we had already run the gauntlet there last night, looking at places. At first we tried to go to the one at the top of the steps (Xenios Zeus?) but got a bad vibe. The owner was just trying too hard to sell us on the place, and was telling us too many times that Rick Steves recommends them. We ended up at the next “step” down – starts with an S – with a great rooftop with a view of the city and sunset in one direction, and the Acropolis in the other. There was a big dinner party going on – looked like maybe a college group finishing up a trip, or maybe finishing a semester. Dinner was good (the roast lamb was exceptional), but I still prefer the first night. But the view was great. We walked home very indirectly and found ourselves at the flea market area at about 11 pm, and the place was rocking. Every restaurant is absolutely packed (it looked like mainly gyro and souvlaki places), and the streets are full of people. This is the place to be, with or without the roving bands of fake purse vendors. Maybe next time.

Eventually back to the hotel (midnight or so), and the Square is playing host to another night of demonstrations. The green laser pointers that the vendors are selling (very helpful for annoying the police and the people watching from hotel rooftops) look kinda fun, but I’m afraid that TSA would probably confiscate it, so I pass.

Time for bed. If we had the chance to spend another day in Athens, we would happily do so, but for now we have an early morning flight to Mykonos tomorrow. Let the adventure continue.
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Old Jun 25th, 2011, 03:10 PM
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Great trip report, wonderful energy and description! Saving it (rather, savoring it!) for my upcoming trip in September.

Over the last month or more, I also had several experiences with Citibank questioning charges. I can only imagine how annoying it was to be in Greece and have this happen. However, there was a major breach in May (came to light in June), and several hundred thousand cards were hacked, so there was some justification for the headache you went through. Not to justify an annoyance, but it helps to put it in perspective.
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Old Jun 25th, 2011, 06:42 PM
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progol - I've had several problems with Citibank in the past, so I wasn't as surprised as I was annoyed. When I was in France a few years ago travelling with my niece, I had warned Citi in advance that I was going to Paris, that I was the only adult travelling on the trip, and that they should NOT stop any transactions on the card unless I called them to let them know that my card was missing. Sure enough, I was in an art gallery buying a watercolor that I had fallen in love with, and they denied my card. And it took a full 24 hours before they could get it resolved because apparently their fraud department isn't open during normal European business hours. Seriously - if someone stole my card, do you really think that they first place they would go would be an art gallery? (Kinda why I was annoyed but not surprised at them freaking out about purchases at an electronics store, I suppose.)
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Old Jun 25th, 2011, 08:11 PM
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Day 3 – Mykonos

Very early morning alarm and a quick dash to the rooftop breakfast before we need to catch a taxi to the airport. We told the breakfast staff that we had about 12 minutes before we needed to catch a taxi for the airport, and they were fabulous – even gave us go-cups of coffee for the taxi ride. Breakfast behind us, and a quick taxi to the airport and we are off to Mykonos. Okay, not so quick as we got delayed by road closures (for a marathon!) but we made the plane in plenty of time. Easy flight, and by 9:45 am we are at our hotel in Mykonos.

Hotel Semeli is fabulous. Just below the Hotel Belvedere (and yes, the two hotels are really owned by two sisters), Semeli is beautiful – just the perfect picture of what a boutique hotel on Mykonos should be (if anyone has a picture of what a boutique hotel on Mykonos should be). We drop the bags and by some miracle our room will be ready in about 15 minutes. We decide to take a quick walk into town, and we are gone for about 90 minutes. Mykonos Chora is a beautiful town! All I could think is that I had been warned (by people on this board) that Mykonos would probably be my least favorite island. If this is my least favorite, this is going to be a spectacular 10 days of island hopping! Beautiful, tiny, whitewashed streets that are deliciously fun to get lost in. Back at the hotel we unpack (really unpack, since we will be there for 3 days), and head for the pool. Again, "refreshing." We find a little shade and nap by the pool for a good two hours. This is heaven, and we have just arrived! By 2 we are ready to head down to the harbor and find lunch. Wandering down to the area by the windmills, we found Alefkandros – that restaurant that is used in a couple of scenes in Shirley Valentine (you know, the scenes where they are sitting at the tables on the water). I know that I know better, but I find myself getting sucked in… I kept looking at the menu and saw calamaretti, my favorite baby squid. Fresh, whole, lightly fried baby squidlets. I asked, and the server assures me that they have calamaretti, so we walked in. As he is seating us he points to the next table and says “calamari – see?” The woman at the next table is eating hat are obviously fried frozen calamari rings. They don’t have the babies. And the menu that they show us at the table says calamari, not calamaretti. Still, nice view over the water, it's late, we're hungry, so we sit down. A half litre of passable wine, salad, and I get the grilled calamari. At least the server had the decency to admit (when I asked) that the fried calamari was frozen, but the grilled calamari is fresh. The calamari is not bad, but the side of what was obviously canned mixed veggies was not acceptable under any circumstances. DH had a terrible, completely unacceptable seafood pasta. All in all not good, but probably average for the location. [Note: while I am not a fan of the place, I must say that their lobster tank looked good – refilled with fresh lobster while we were there – and their lobster prices were a good 10 euro per kilo less than most of the rest of the island, but I just cannot get past the canned Veg-All.] Despite the less than stellar quality of the food, the wine is decent, and the view of the water is gorgeous, and there are many, many worse places we could be in life, so we pour another glass of wine and try to enjoy the moment. With cool ocean breezes and a halfway decent wine, it is hard not to enjoy!

After lunch we started wandering – little Venice to the Old Port, found the boats for Delos for tomorrow, wandered, and shopped. At about 5 pm we walked by Philippi’s Restaurant in the heart of Chora – it looked beautiful. The owner was getting things ready and we asked to see a menu, and found out that all of their vegetables are fresh from their own farm on the island. You had me at fresh veggies. We took a card and hope to be able to find it again later tonight. We asked the owner what time people came for dinner and he laughed. They open at 5 for the Americans and cruise ship people, but the Greeks don’t eat until 11:30, so they have a steady stream all evening. The upper level of the restaurant turns into a club after midnight.

Fast forward a few hours… a nice nap in the room, shower, change, and out about 9:30 to start walking around and exploring Mykonos after dark. The shops all stay open until about 11 or so (some until after midnight), and everyone is walking the streets having a lovely time. We shop our way through a couple of beautiful galleries and look at a couple of restaurant menus, but my heart is set on fresh veggies at Philippi’s, and we wander in about 10:30 pm. Philippi does not disappoint. Incredible sea bass grilled to perfection, fresh farm veggies, and fresh picked salad to die for. It isn’t cheap, but definitely worth it. With a nice wine we were out for €120. It ended up being about the most expensive meal of the trip, but it was fabulous. We didn't find out until much later that Philippi's is listed in most guidebooks as the most romantic restaurant on the island. Lemoncellos on the house, and we wander back to the hotel about 12:30 (just as the clubs are opening) for a good night’s sleep.
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Old Jun 26th, 2011, 08:13 AM
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Tejana ... I love your trip report .. can't wait to read the rest.


What source did you use to score a good deal at the Grand Bretagne ?
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Old Jun 26th, 2011, 11:46 AM
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ddd - believe it or not, I actually found a good deal at American Airlines vacations (first time in years!). It must have been a combination of off-season dates, decent dollar exchange rate and good karma, because I just checked AAVacations and the rates they are currently listing for GB are in the stratosphere. I guess I got really lucky. The airline vacation sites are tricky, but every once in a while you can find an incredible deal. I once got the Lutetia in Paris for less than $100 a night.
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Old Jun 26th, 2011, 02:28 PM
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Day 4 (Thursday) –Delos

We had to set the alarm to make sure we are ready to catch the first boat to Delos this morning (the boats start at 9 am). Up at 7:30, breakfast at 8, and leave for the dock by 8:30. Sunglasses, sunblock (we’ve been using SPF 70 since we hit Athens!), a bottle of water, hat, tevas… ready! A 10 minute walk to the Old Port, and we are there in plenty of time to get tickets and board the boat. A clear, sunny day, and Delos was beautiful. Just as we arrived, a goat herder was tending his herd as they gamboled on the rocks near the entrance. I thought there weren’t any permanent residents here? We are the second boat to arrive (I think the first 9 am boat left about 10 minutes before ours, but it was a private shuttle for a cruise ship tour group), but the island still feels empty. At that time of the morning, if you can stay between the tour groups, it is often just you and the wind and the buzzing of the bees as you wander among the ruins. I think DH took a zillion pictures with his new camera (he’s an architectural engineer, and he got the same look on his face as he did when exploring Pompeii a couple of years ago). We had looked at the schedule, and noted that the return boats run at noon, 1:30 and 3:30. Although we were prepared to stay there from 9:30 until the 1:30 boat, we did everything but climb Mt. Kynthos and still caught the noon boat back (barely). We took a LONG time on the front half of the path (with the lions and the lake house), visited the museum (but not the café), and then found ourselves rushing the second half of the route a little bit in order to make the noon boat. A 12:30 boat would have been perfect, but we didn’t feel like we needed to linger enough to wait for the 1:30. The noon boat is huge, by the way, as it accommodated both of the 9 am departure boats (so lots and lots of cruise shippers who were in Mykonos for the day). All in all a perfect morning, as we can happily cross Delos off the list.

Back in Mykonos we wandered through town and found my favorite shop of the entire trip – the Olive Tree, with beautiful hand carved olive wood items. We decided that the fork & spoon salad sets would make perfect gifts (lightweight, unique, and they won’t break!). We also wandered back behind the taxi square area (going toward the New Port) and found Maria’s, a lovely little tavern with fabulous pizza and cold beer, and an inviting covered patio that was a perfect escape from the afternoon sun.

Back to the hotel for a nap, then cocktails by the pool while doing a little internet surfing and relaxing. Later that evening we wandered back through Mykonos town again and found a lovely restaurant near the water with great grilled octopus and real spaghetti alla vongole – something I haven’t seen on any other menu in town -- and DH had a seafood pasta that was leaps and bounds ahead of the horror plate at lunch yesterday. Can this day get any better?
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Old Jun 26th, 2011, 03:00 PM
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Now THAT is the way to "do" Mykonos.
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Old Jun 26th, 2011, 05:26 PM
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Thanks Jan! Your posts were some of the most helpful in our planning process. I guess we decided to embrace the "rest a little, play a little" philosophy for the island hopping (and after checking Delos off the list, we found the farther along we got on the journey the more the "rest a little" part started taking over!).
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Old Jun 26th, 2011, 06:55 PM
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... and an extra special thank you to everyone on the board that talked me into staying in Mykonos town instead of on a beach. It was a perfect decision and made it sooooo easy to take advantage of Mykonos after dark.
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Old Jun 26th, 2011, 11:26 PM
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Hi tejana,

I'm enjoying each instalment of your trip report.

You wrote: "...and then found ourselves rushing the second half of the route a little bit in order to make the noon boat. I hope you didn't miss the mosaics (House With the Dolphins, etc.) on that second part of the route. That's my favorite part of Delos, so much in fact that I do the route in reverse order to get to the mosaics first.

There are no permanent residents on Delos, but I believe there is accommodation for caretakers away from the main site. The goat herder must have had grazing rights, but wouldn't be living on the island.
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Old Jun 27th, 2011, 03:47 AM
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heimdall - the House of the Dolphin was one of the main reasons for making sure we did the second half (that, and the obligatory picture at the Temple of Isis, where it was fun to stop and picnic a little while each person took a turn getting their picture between the columns). It was fabulous, and DH has a million close up pictures of the mosaics. And we did pass several people doing the reverse order, but - as a person doing the normal clockwise order - I must say that is a very narrow path that does not easily accommodate two way traffic!
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Old Jun 27th, 2011, 07:04 AM
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Mykonos after dark.

Mykonos town was a beautiful place to get lost in the maze of alleys and streets. Families dining, young people in their trendy wear and the cruise crowds long gone so I felt like we were able to see a taste of the real Mykonos.


I, too, am enjoying the trip installments!
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