When asked about plans to quit she says: "And do what? Nothing? What would I do? I'm not compar...
When asked about plans to quit she says: "And do what? Nothing? What would I do? I'm not comparing myself but (it's like) if someone said, 'Oh Picasso, you've painted so many pictures, get some frames and go home.'
Member since:22.11.2002
Reviews:26
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After experiencing another UK Summer, I was inspired to head for Mykonos! I was somewhat intimidated since Mykonos has a reputation for being a young person's place.
I flew EasyJet from Luton UK airport (my favourite airport) to Athens. It is a no-frills airline but even parking is simple (you can book it at the same time as you do your flight) and the airport is easy to get into and back out of! Then I transfered to Olympic for the flight to Mykonos. You can also take a ferry, instead, but it is about 5 or 6 hours on the ferry, versus less than an hour to fly there. And I wanted to hit the beach!
A friend's daughter was working at a nearby resort, so she found me a place to stay and it was unique! It was a traditional Greek cube style cottage, which had been carved into a hillside, so the interior had not only a stone floor, but the platform bed was carved into a cave! This meant the room stayed cool, with the windows open and the lovely Mykonos breeze, too.
It was very hot - the mornings started at 32C or 82F - according to the temperature reading
on my newest mobile/cellphone! However, this inspired me to get up fairly early and head for the beach cafe, where there was lovely greek yoghurt with organic strawberries, pain au chocolat, orange juice etc, included in the price of the room. And the view was of the sea and sand, before all the sunbathers arrived.
Each morning the staff would meticulously sweep everything up from the night before, and it was very clean and tidy and fresh each day.
I stayed at Paradise Camping but didnt camp! I felt quite privileged to be able to return to my comfy bed with cool clean sheets every night, instead. My standalone cottage was number 38; it had it's own porch with two chairs and a view of the ocean. The inside of the cottage included my bed-in-a-cave, an armoire, desk/chair, fridge (wonderful for keeping large quantities of water, and greek yoghurt left over from breakfast). It had its own tiled bathroom, combined with built-in shower (you had to leave the towels outside of the bathroom, else they got soaked).
The web/guides made it sound like it was a total nudist beach, but it was optional. So if you wanted to sunbathe topless, you could, but there was no pressure to do so.
You can stay at your resort and swim or take advantage of water sports offered nearby, or catch the water taxi to nearby beaches and islands, such as Delos (famous for its archealogical interest). Take your own water, if you go, as there are no restaurants on Delos.
Paradise Camping is one of several places to stay in the area, however what makes it special, is that the owner LOVES to garden, so all the fruit and vegetables come from his garden - 100% organic. The watermelon tastes terrific, and is just the thing to cool you down. You can eat all your meals at your resort, or wander down the beach and try the others. There is a choice of buffet, or hot meals, as well as the famous greek salad. Except you ALMOST get too much cheese (almost!)!
Instead of staying in the resort, go to town and eat! The bus to Mykonos town cost less than 1 euro and the town was beautiful, Windmills, narrow streets, with the pavements outlined in white paint, flowers, Pelicans (dont attempt to pat the male, he doesnt like it). Celebrity watching too - at least it LOOKED like Michael Palin! We had a wide choice of open-air restaurants, with generous portions of lobster at a very reasonable price. We also walked up the hill past Paradise to another restaurant where the squid (sorry, calamari) was superb and the atmosphere was lively - very LOUD local music but fun! I would tell you the name, but I couldnt pronounce it, let alone spell it! However, you just walk along the road from Paradise and you cannot miss it.
On my last night, I walked along the beach to the next resort and shared my jumbo prawns surreptiously with a cat who was my date for the night.
What else is there to do in Mykonos? I enjoyed the lazy routine of wonderful breakfasts on the beach, swimming and sunning and just relaxing. Lots of siestas, when it got too warm, enjoying the windy weather, which gave some respite to heat, and trips to Mykonos town to shop (postcards, peasant blouses, hats). It seemed every shop we went into, the owner had SOME relative who lived in Canada, so it was fun to chat about this, so far away from home! I even visited an internet cafe (there are several) where I could email a postcard of the beautiful windmills, like you see on the thumbnail picture on this opinion (kept expecting Don Quixote to come around the corner!)
I was fortunate to have about 6 hours in Athens on the way home and despite the heat, climbed way up to the top to visit the Acropolis - what an amazing view! I got a bit lost, after a greek salad in the Plaka for lunch, but this meant I got to walk up narrow streets with a chance to see small neighborhoods on the way. I had heard that Athens was smoggy and smelly, but not when I was there! And the new Metro was like being in an art museum - and it only cost three euros to get back to the airport. The airport was very easy to get around in (versus what it used to be like, so they say). However, be sure to confirm your return flight from Mykonos to Athens, if you are switching airlines, or if you do like I did, and catch an earlier flight on the way in! They were full and I almost missed my flight because I did not phone 24-48 hours in advance to reconfirm with Olympic Airways. This is when my assertiveness training came in handy, as in, I need to get on that flight, please!
I didn't actualy do my own instant replay of the movie, "Shirley Valentine" (but you might want to watch the film again, as it was filmed in Mykonos) but I came home feeling really relaxed, and tan and planning to visit again in May, when it is a bit cooler! I plan to venture out from Athens to a couple of the surrounding Islands. This will definitely be my first of many trips to Greece.
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Nov 22nd, 2002
(Nov 30th, 2003)
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