I am a total Italy lover traveling there every year for the last 17yrs but this last year we broke out of our rut and ended up in Greece twice and we are in love!
The first trip we were with our extended family of 14 celebrating our 40th anniversary. Yes, I am that dumb...we really did drag 14 people around! Ug..that can be a whole other trip report! I survived with lots of wine! BTW_ white wine in Greece is amazing! Dry and crisp.
We spent the first part of our tip at a villa in Paros, Greece. We flew into Athens and took Olympia air to Paros. You can also take the Ferry but for the same money you can fly and be there in 45min! The villa was out of this world and I reviewed it under lodging. Truly spectacular.
We loved this Island. Lots of great towns to visit. We were located (about a 10 min drive) near the charming town of Parikia. We spent our first day shopping and exploring this amazing town. At lunch we just lucked out of the tavern with tables overlooking the water. The owner loved us and kind of brought out the house for us! The food was incredible! We ate for several hours because he kept bringing us goodies to try!
http://www.mira.gr
The other two towns we especially enjoyed visiting were Naousa and lefkes.
In Naoussa we stumbled on a restaurant that was closed but when the owner/chef found out there was 14 of us she let us in. You walk through this enchanted gate, down some steps to this beautiful garden. We ate outside in the garden. The owner was an Italian lady who vacationed to Paros 20 years earlier, fell in love with the island and moved! I later read all the glowing reviews of this restaurant and didn't realize we stumbled on one the best in town! What a treat! I couldn't find the website but here is email info. Trust me- this is a must! It's magical.
Ydroussa Restaurant
Naoussa, Paros
valeriapantarei@libero.it
When we left the peace and quiet of Paros we went to the craziness of Santorini. Oh my...It's beautiful but seriously way too crowded and crazy. If it's on your bucket list then here are some good links.
Zoe original cave houses- These are very reasonable and very popular. He has 6 units several with amazing terraces. We rented 4 units.Each place we rented slept 4. We loved them all except the one where the toilet is literally in the shower. I'm not kidding! It's located in the heart of Oia. Perfect for familes. Zak, the owner, loves kids!
www.zoe-aegeas.gr
Fantastic restaurant with perfect sunset view. Book up in advance!
Kastro Oia
kastro-oia.gr
On to Athens. I barely survived the walk up to the Acropolis but well worth it. We had a wonderful guide through "Kids Love Greece".( Maria Giannouli) kidslovegreece.com
Lodging: innathens.com . A lovely small boutique in the heart of the historic Plaka area. Highly recommend!! walking distance to everything. Beautiful rooms and a big full breakfast is included.
Best thing we did in Athens was a day sailing cruise on a catamaran. I wrote a review on in in resources so all I will say here is if you do nothing else in Athens do this!
sailingathens.com
The first trip we were with our extended family of 14 celebrating our 40th anniversary. Yes, I am that dumb...we really did drag 14 people around! Ug..that can be a whole other trip report! I survived with lots of wine! BTW_ white wine in Greece is amazing! Dry and crisp.
We spent the first part of our tip at a villa in Paros, Greece. We flew into Athens and took Olympia air to Paros. You can also take the Ferry but for the same money you can fly and be there in 45min! The villa was out of this world and I reviewed it under lodging. Truly spectacular.
We loved this Island. Lots of great towns to visit. We were located (about a 10 min drive) near the charming town of Parikia. We spent our first day shopping and exploring this amazing town. At lunch we just lucked out of the tavern with tables overlooking the water. The owner loved us and kind of brought out the house for us! The food was incredible! We ate for several hours because he kept bringing us goodies to try!
http://www.mira.gr
The other two towns we especially enjoyed visiting were Naousa and lefkes.
In Naoussa we stumbled on a restaurant that was closed but when the owner/chef found out there was 14 of us she let us in. You walk through this enchanted gate, down some steps to this beautiful garden. We ate outside in the garden. The owner was an Italian lady who vacationed to Paros 20 years earlier, fell in love with the island and moved! I later read all the glowing reviews of this restaurant and didn't realize we stumbled on one the best in town! What a treat! I couldn't find the website but here is email info. Trust me- this is a must! It's magical.
Ydroussa Restaurant
Naoussa, Paros
valeriapantarei@libero.it
When we left the peace and quiet of Paros we went to the craziness of Santorini. Oh my...It's beautiful but seriously way too crowded and crazy. If it's on your bucket list then here are some good links.
Zoe original cave houses- These are very reasonable and very popular. He has 6 units several with amazing terraces. We rented 4 units.Each place we rented slept 4. We loved them all except the one where the toilet is literally in the shower. I'm not kidding! It's located in the heart of Oia. Perfect for familes. Zak, the owner, loves kids!
www.zoe-aegeas.gr
Fantastic restaurant with perfect sunset view. Book up in advance!
Kastro Oia
kastro-oia.gr
On to Athens. I barely survived the walk up to the Acropolis but well worth it. We had a wonderful guide through "Kids Love Greece".( Maria Giannouli) kidslovegreece.com
Lodging: innathens.com . A lovely small boutique in the heart of the historic Plaka area. Highly recommend!! walking distance to everything. Beautiful rooms and a big full breakfast is included.
Best thing we did in Athens was a day sailing cruise on a catamaran. I wrote a review on in in resources so all I will say here is if you do nothing else in Athens do this!
sailingathens.com
