Welcome to Mykonos – the quintessential (and very popular)
Greek isle with postcard-perfect whitewashed village, old-fashioned windmills,
and pulsating nightlife (Rick Steves says it best). Yes, we had finally arrived to our first island!!!
Our hotel was absolutely beautiful – sea-view rooms
overlooking the old harbor, a fantastic terrace with a picture-perfect view of
the sunset, and home-cooked breakfast each morning. We were in heaven!
Living in London for the past four months has taught us all
to never again take for granted the SUN; so, we immediately set off to
discover beach #1! On our way to
find the bus stop, we passed by an ATV rental place, and the boys could not
contain their excitement. They had
been talking and talking about renting an ATV to get around the island, so sure
enough, that’s what we did!
With our giant helmets on, we safely (and slowly) made it to
Paranga beach for the afternoon. Wow, was it beautiful! The
far right side of the beach looked pretty uninhabited, so we thought we would
set up shop there for a while…well, as we’re approaching, I think we all four, in unison, silently turned around and immediately started walking in the other direction. Yep, we had forgotten that
pretty much any beach in Europe is swim-suit optional…and yes, they usually all
sit together on the far right-hand side of the beaches (note to self). So after the shock (by the end of our
trip, it no longer even phased us!), we found the perfect spot to relax. A few minutes later though, we had some
great entertainment arrive right next to us...three men in thongs made out of olive leaves! It was hilarious…they were obsessed with
themselves! The group of girls
next to us started taking pictures with them, the boys started dancing, singing, posing…they
provided us with some excellent entertainment for the afternoon :)
Posing next to our sweet ride!
Grant and I cruisin' along
That evening, we made our way into town, over to an area called Little Venice (where the
well-known windmills are located, and apparently the prime spot to be for the
sunset). After the sunset, we
settled down at Katerina’s Bar
& Restaurant, where Stellios took excellent care of us. This is where we discovered grilled
feta, which we continued to eat all throughout the trip…delicious! After dinner, we decided to see what
this whole "Mykonos nightlife" was all about. We found a great bar called Jackie O's...beautiful decor, excellent soundtrack, and the place that will always be remembered as the spot where we had our first (of many) ouzo shots of the trip. We only lasted a couple of hours, but apparently bars like Jackie O’s usually stay open until 8 am
the next morning…INSANE!
How cute is Jackie O's?!
Ouzo!
Baklava-flavored gelato for the walk home :)
The next day, we decided to do a little beach hopping around
the island. First stop was
Panormos beach…definitely the most beautiful beach of the trip!
Next up was Elia beach, and then a quick stop at Ornos beach (a little too family-friendly for us), but still very beautiful, of course!
Elia beach
After a long day in the sun, we opted for a relaxing pizza
dinner in town, and then enjoyed some wine and baklava back on our hotel’s terrace
during sunset.
The next morning, we were off to Paros! This time, only a short, 45-minute
ferry ride…of course, for our short ferry ride, we were inside sitting in
comfortable seats :)
*Many photos courtesy of Mike & Kelly Faillo
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