It's beautiful here : 5 GREEK ISLANDS
Santorini | Greece
Kalimera friends,
As promised and entirely credited to my wonderful Greek friend Konstantinos, - here’s five Greek Islands you may or may not want to add to your 2021 wish list.
To get yourself in the mood I recommend this book, and this one and one of my all time favourite films about Greece — this beaut.
Also, 14 delightful little Greek words you absolutely need to know.
1. Folegandros
The quintessential Greek destination for those looking to bask under the sun, eat when they’re peckish, nap when their eyes feel heavy and let the days roll by effortlessly.
It’s small, it’s quaint and it’s complete with beaches for all (families, nude beaches, sandy and/or with pebbles). It boasts a serene lifestyle both during the day and night! Popular with Italians and French you’re bound to feast your eyes on gorgeous people with wide smiles.
Sample the portokalopita (as a bucket list item) at the kafeneio on the main square and try to get a table at Eva’s Garden for a squid dish that will blow your straw hat away.
2. Santorini
If not Santorini, then where?
I find myself asking that question frequently when summer kicks off but also when the plum red tomatoes are hanging ripe and heavy at the end of their stems. This is the place to see and be seen - as we used to say - this is not Mykonos, it’s better!
Cosmopolitan, lively and very romantic, this is the place to take endless strolls, eat pasta and kritharoto and absolve sins and capricious behavior in the darker waters of this volcanic island.
Famous for its breathtaking sunsets, the sought after white and blue abundance, and staring globally on infinite lists of hospitality standards, Santorini is the place to love and be loved.
That’s if you’re a Romantic! Alternatively, you’ll just enjoy life at its best...
3. Kithira
The place for all slow dwellers, explorers of food complexities and those who just prefer to be under the sun; pure and uninhibited.
Known for greener landscapes than many other Greek islands, this isn’t a typical nor expected destination in the Aegean. Caves, castles, small villages and beautiful villas - this is after all known as the island of Aphrodite, outside of Cyprus, this is a gem that’s unadulterated by forced modernity.
Positioned between the Peloponnese and Crete this island will serve the connoisseurs but also the hippies...
4. Andros
Golden beaches and beautiful Chora, delicious watermelon preserves and endless nights under the stars with a lady from the local bouzoukia (night club) are the sort of memories you’ll take away with you.
You can stretch yourself from lazy mornings at the beach, to slow lunches under the shadow of trees, all the way to museum visits and drinking till the early hours of the morning. Known as one of the most sophisticated islands, Andros is the birth place for some of the wealthiest ship owning families of Greece.
Don’t leave before you’ve tried a froutalia, a rich omelette with sausages and potatoes. One of the best farewell lunches I’ve ever had...
5. Sifnos+Serifos
Close to Milos and Folegandros, these two islands each deserve a visit. Fortunately, the two islands are basically next to each other. They are quite similar in terms of landscape, but each of them is genuinely unique. Italian designer, Paola Navone, has her summer home on Serifos.
There is no airport on either island which means you don’t have to deal with the tourists like you do on Mykonos or the other larger islands. The islands can be reached via ferry from Athens. Their greek salads are made with the local cheese Myzithra, instead of feta, which is incredibly delicious.
Greek wine is not exported that widely, but that may be for the better, as it tastes best where it grows. If you are so inclined, I recommend a trip to vineyard OINOPOIEIO CHRYSOLORA on Serifos. The view is spectacular, you learn how wine is produced, and of course you get to sample it there and then.