Island hopping Greek style

As I start to write this, it's been raining all day in London and it's a foggy evening. Not exactly the sunny, hot, glorious weather I was enjoying last week! Although my hair seems to be in the same bundle of curls and frizz regardless of what is going on in the atmosphere.

Elizabeth and I set off last Saturday for 10 days of what turns out to be the most relaxing holiday I've been on. It turns out that sitting on a beach doing absolutely nothing (ok, maybe turning the page of a book, or lifting a glass) is just what I needed.

We spent one night in Athens and took a walk around the outside of the Acropolis - one of the world's most ancient ruins - that was closed by the time we got there but impressive all the same. So we headed straight for our first of many greek salads. The novelty of sun-ripened tomatoes did not wear off quickly!

Acropolis


The first island of our trip was Paros, a couple of hours on the ferry from Athens. We spent two nights in Parikia on this charming little island. It has the perfect mix of beach, meandering laneways to stroll through, and nightlife. The fishing harbour comes alive at night with buzzing restaurants and bars. We had the best meal of the entire trip at one of these restaurants - grilled courgette and local cheese to start, a whole red snapper to share with greek salad, and a not-so-greek chocolate mousse for dessert. The squid I had the previous night was deliciously fresh as well but the snapper was cooked to perfection. We quickly unwound from our hectic London lives to lazy days relaxing on the beach.

Elizabeth shell shopping


This quaint fishing harbour is packed with people by night




Every street looks like this!


The view from our terrace


Me relaxing at breakfast


Kolymbythres Beach, a 10 minute boat ride from Parikia




Mykonos was up next and is only a short ferry ride away. We stayed at a pretty glitzy hotel outside town between Paranga and Paradise beaches. This is the party island. And Paranga is the beach to be seen on with your beautiful brown body (it's all about the coconut oil, not the factor 50). Only slightly intimidating for my very pale self! Nonetheless, we spent a few hours that afternoon on the sun lounges people watching. We enjoyed the nightlife in Mykonos that evening a little too much trying out a couple of bars in town and subsequently made the most of the very lovely pool setting the next day. Just for a change on Day 6, we woke up and headed to Paradise beach for another few hours of sunning ourselves. It was slightly more chilled at Paradise in the morning than it had been on Paranga beach but I have a feeling it was going to ramp up as we left. I'm pleased to say that I finished my first book in ages on this beach! I thought the turquoise water here was the best swimming of the trip. The town had a similar feel to Paros but a lot more shopping, and more touristy (but wasn't off-putting at all).

Paranga, jam packed with the best bods


The view from our hotel


In town




Paradise Beach, note the blue water but the very dry and rocky landscape of the islands


Bliss


In the afternoon we took our next ferry to the very dramatic, volcanic island of Santorini. The stunning 360 degree views of the caldera from Oia which is built into the top of the cliffs have to be seen to be believed. The sunsets here are extraordinarily beautiful as you watch the sun drop into the ocean. We spent hours taking in the view as we ate and wandered - and snapped a trillion photos of the coloured buildings and bougainvillea. On Friday we took the local buses down to the southern beach of Perrisa (black sand thanks to the volcanoes, and very windy). While we were here I had another two fantastic dinners of fresh fish - sea bass and sea bream. We negotiated 300 steps down from the town to Amoudia Bay sidestepping donkey manure to get to Katina Tavern at the foot of the cliffs.



Greek yoghurt with fresh fruit and the most spectacular view








Perissa Beach











Our last day was an absolute highlight of the trip. We joined a small tour taking a 74ft catamaran out into the Aegean Sea sailing through the islands, jumping off and swimming in the ocean, having a bbq onboard, and then watching the sunset from the water. Swimming in the clear, blue water and bouncing over the waves was incredible fun!
NB. my travel sickness tablets worked brilliantly.











After a last breakfast of yoghurt and fresh fruit, we headed back to London well-rested with tans and sand in our bags.