The Cloughs' Greek Island Odyssey

As we are in our last year of living in Europe, we are trying to check off as many bucket-list destinations as possible. I have had the opportunity to visit mainland Greece twice, the second time with Jon during our Athens marathon in 2009. We enjoyed the city of Athens immensely, the mild weather and of course the delicious Greek food.  However, since moving to Europe in 2007, we have been dreaming of a trip to the Greek Cyclades, and finally made that dream a reality during the last week in August. Though we would have loved to spend several weeks touring the many gorgeous islands in the Cyclades region, with limited vacation time, we decided to focus on three islands, spending two days a piece on each. We couldn't wait to visit these renown islands, with their cubist architecture, and white and blue color schemes. Although each of the three islands are a part of the similar Cycladic tradition, we chose three scenically unique islands to spend our time.

We began our journey with an early morning arrival on the island of Mykonos. With its iconic thatched windmills and famous party scene, Mykonos proved to be a great jumping off point for our adventure.

Mykonos Hora

Iconic Mykonos Windmill

After checking into our hotel and strolling around the main port town, Hora, we quickly realized the reputation of this being a big destination for gays still very much exists. We later found out that there was a conference taking place during the exact time we were there, which would make sense why we (a hetero couple) seemed to be in the minority. Our first morning we also had the pleasure of meeting the honorary Mayor of Mykonos. We ended up having the pleasure of seeing this pelican several times during our two-day stay. He was quite the crowd-pleaser and especially liked to roam around the outdoor restaurant tables looking for handouts. 

We had made an agreement that this trip would be purely a vacation/recreational trip, devoid of any history or cultural sites. But, this is Greece after all, and you can't swing a cat without coming across some ruins of some kind. So, we decided to sacrifice our first afternoon to visiting the nearby island of Delos. This small, sacred island is one of the most important archaeological sites in Greece, first inhabited in the 3rd millennium B.C. Despite the intense afternoon heat that day, we were grateful we took the short ferry trip here as it was astounding to see these ruins of once grand terraces, mansions and sacred temples. 

Delos 

Hiking up Mt. Kythos overlooking the ruins of Delos 

Terrace of the Lions, Delos

The next day, we rented a scooter with the plan to seek out as many secluded, off-the-beaten-path beaches as possible. As we were traveling during the busy season of August, we wanted to avoid the crowds at the beaches near the towns. Luckily, the islands are small with beaches-a-plenty, so it wasn't too difficult to find some with few people. The first beach we visited was Fokos beach. The water was a beautiful brilliant turquoise blue, and I couldn't wait to bask in the sun on the soft sand. Jon was able to do that for about 5 minutes before getting bored and taking off on his own adventure. This consisted of climbing the rock wall that surrounds the beach and bay to his destination of the furthest rock out in the water. This endeavor provided great entertainment for me and a group of older Italians.

Fokos Beach

Every beach has a taverna that serves traditional and fresh Greek dishes. We ate a fantastic lunch before embarking to the opposite side of the island to Lia Beach. This was much more of an established beach with chairs, umbrellas and a few different restaurants. On the far right side of the beach, we ended up finding some large flat rocks where we could be a bit more secluded and have a great jumping off point into beautiful and clear deep water. 

Lia Beach

Lia Beach

We adored our hotel in Mykonos - our favorite of the three. The traditional design was beautiful and we loved evening cocktails at the pool bar. 

Poseidon Hotel

Everything happens on a much later schedule in Greece. Dinner isn't normally until 10 or 11 (or later), and the shops stay open until 2 or 3 in the morning. I loved this, because I didn't feel the pressure to do any shopping during the day but could browse the stores between dinner and drinks. Mykonos was absolutely magnificent and I only hoped the other two islands could live up to our experiences we've had thus far. 

Pre-dinner drinks in Hora's "Little Venice"

Hora by night

Perusing the shops of Hora

Our third morning, we hopped a 1.5 hour ferry to Naxos; the largest of the Cyclades island, and also one of the less-touristed. It was halfway between Mykonos and Santorini, and seemed to be a good break between the hustle and bustle of these two very touristed-islands. We immediately discovered that Naxos was a great deal cheaper than the other two and is the most fertile, which was a nice break from the sparseness of most Cycladic islands. It is also the most self-sufficient island with a large local population throughout the year, unlike some of the other islands. We are so grateful we traveled here in order to get a taste of authentic Greek island life. 

The unfinished Temple of Apollo in Chora, Naxos

After dropping our bags at our pension and a delicious (and cheap!) lunch, we explored the streets of the Kastro, or castle district. This had a much more serene, calm atmosphere than the bustling streets of Mykonos.

Chora, Naxos

Chora, Naxos

Chora, Naxos

Our next day in Naxos, we rented another scooter to better explore the island. The scenery inland was breathtaking with large rock formations strewn about and white villages in the distance that looked like snowfall on a mountainside.

Our handsome steed

Scenes from a scooter - the town of Filoti

Scenes from a scooter

We scooter-ed up to the base of Mt. Zeus, where we followed the steep and rocky 3km path to the summit. This 3,300 foot mountain is the highest in the Cyclades and provides breathtaking views of Naxos and other surrounding islands.

Path to the summit of Mt. Zeus

A the top, channeling my inner-Rocky pose

Jon's signature pose

Posing for a pic on our descent

After our strenuous hike (well, strenuous for me), we made our way to our favorite beach yet, Mikri Vigla, and were rewarded with a fantastic lunch at the beach taverna. 

This beach had at all, endless smooth white sand, beautiful turquoise waters, an outcropping of rocks to swim and snorkel around, and the perfect view of the sun slipping into the sea. If we had had an extra day in Naxos, I know we would have been happy to spend the entire day at this beautiful spot. 

Mikri Vigla

Mikri Vigla

Can you spot him?

Mikri Vigla

That evening, we attended a concert of traditional music and dancing at the 13th century Venetian castle in the Chora. The tickets came with complimentary local wines made on the island. At the end of the performance, they moved aside the chairs and showed the audience how to Greek dance. Later that night, we stumbled upon a restaurant playing live music with only a few patrons. We decided to watch for a bit, but after awhile, we were pulled up on stage by some of the locals and got to put into practice what we learned earlier that evening. Dancing around Zorba-style with our new Greek friends was an absolute highlight of the trip.

Folk music and dance performance

Dancing Zorba-style

The scenic finale of our trip was hands down, Santorini. I had heard that every picture taken here is like a postcard, and after visiting there, I must agree (that's why I have so many pics for this section!). Yes, it's the most touristed and overpriced island with very little that seems authentically local, but there's no doubt that the scenery make up for any shortcomings. We took a 2.5 hour ferry from Naxos to Santorini and made our way to the outdoor terrace for the magnificent sheer cliff views coming into the harbor. 

Ferry to Santorini

Views of Santorini

Santorini Fira Harbor

After a late lunch and some pool time at our hotel, we headed out for a night of exploring the main village of Fira. Set atop a sheer cliff, there are many steep winding paths and stairs used to navigate the village. There are also donkeys that you can hitch a ride with from the port to the village center. We enjoyed seeing them numerous times during our stay.

Fira

Donkeys patrolling by our restaurant at dinner

Fira by night

We couldn't wait to explore the island in greater depth the next morning, and once again, rented a scooter to get around this small island. Our first stop was the Red Beach, named for its high red cliffs and hand-sized pebbles submerged under the clear water. Because this is a well-known site to see, it was swarming with tourists, so after a quick dip, we moved on to our next location.

Santorini - it's a long and winding path down to the ferry harbor

Red Beach

Santorini Scooter

Luckily, we had gotten a great recommendation about a secluded beach that takes a little bit more effort to get to. We were pleased to see a long stretch of water and pebbly beach with hardly anyone there and plenty of area to explore. 

Making our way to Eos Beach

Eos Beach

Eos Beach

Santorini is ALL about the sunsets. We joked that each night is the sunset show and you better be sure you have your tickets to the show, because it might get sold out. This was the mentality many people had and especially in Oia, where the sunsets were the best, due to an un-obstructed view of the sun setting into the water. We decided to join the frenzy and scooter to Oia, which is a gorgeous, idyllic Greek village. By the time we got there, the prime real estate for watching the sunset show was taken, and the streets were lined with tourists. We managed to squeeze in a great spot on the edge of the village where we could not only watch the sun melt into the sea, but also see the changing light reflected off the white village buildings. It truly was a sight to behold.

Oia

Oia

The donkeys were in Oia too

Oia

Oia

Oia

View of the villages that dot the cliffs of Santorini

Oia

Oia

Oia

Our final day in Santorini, we spent the morning relaxing by our pool with gorgeous views of the ocean. We wanted to explore more of the beautiful architecture and walked along the cliffside villages of Fira, Firostefani and Imerovigli. The views on this island are captivating and we enjoyed posing in front of the iconic white, blue-domed buildings. We found a lovely place for our final Greek dinner and final Santorini sunset.

Cocktails at our hotel pool

Firostefani

Firostefani

Firostefani

Firostefani

Firostefani

Firostefani

View of Santorini sunset during dinner

It was an incredible week in the Greek Cyclades and I'm so glad we chose to spend time in three uniquely different and wonderful destinations. The fantastic shopping and nightlife in Mykonos, the secluded beaches and local atmoshpere of Naxos and the sublime scenery of Santorini all contributed to the perfect vacation. As they say in Greek, Yiamas, or Cheers!

Napoli: Pizza, Piazzas and Plenty of Sun

Jon managed to finagle a TDY trip to Naples in mid-August for two weeks, and I was able to join him for 10 glorious days in this chaotically beautiful city. I had visited this southern region of Italy only once before as a day trip from Rome over 13 years ago, so I was grateful to rediscover this incredibly gorgeous part of Italy in greater depth. Naples is Italy's third largest city, and Europe's most densely populated. With almost no open spaces or parks and a haven for mafia families, Naples has long had the reputation of being a very dirty, polluted, crime-ridden city. In recent years, however, and due to the influence of an activist mayor, Naples has literally cleaned up its act as piles of trash no longer line the street and the public places are now swimming with police who patrol the city. Our hotel was near the harbor, on the waterfront in a lovely part of the city with an expansive car-free boardwalk and park nearby. It was the perfect location for morning runs along the water and each evening around 9:00 p.m., the area was packed with locals taking their passeggiata (evening stroll) along the restaurant-lined promenade.

View of Castel dell'Ovo from our hotel balcony

View of the harbor front promenade from our hotel balcony

On days that Jon worked, I enjoyed mornings exploring Naples' many pedestrian shopping streets and historical churches. The afternoons were spent on the hotel's rooftop pool soaking up the sun before Jon would return and we'd try to squeeze in a sight-seeing activity before closing time.

Perusing the stores at Galleria Umberto

17th Century Gesu Nuovo Cathedral

As Pompeii is a mere 30 minutes away, we were able to spend a late afternoon here, which was the perfect time when all the big tourist crowds had left. Pompeii was once a thriving commercial port of 20,000 and an important Roman city. It was buried under 30 feet of hot mud and volcanic ash in the A.D. 79 eruption of Mt. Vesuvias. Pompeii was rediscovered in the 1600s and excavations began in 1748. It is amazing to explore an entire city of well-preserved ruins, imagining what life must have been like during that time with chariots lining the streets of elegant homes, shops, and bath-houses.

The Forum - Pompeii's commercial, religious and political center

Cast of a volcano victim

Cast of a volcano victim

Roman baths

View of Pompeii from the hillside

Using the Roman-style crosswalk

Pompeii Theater

Pompeii Forum

Another evening, we visited Naples' Archaeological Museum, which contains Pompeii's best art and artifacts that were excavated from there in the 1800s.

Battle of Alexander Frescoe that decorated the floor of a house in Pompeii

The day I departed Naples, Jon spent that afternoon hiking up Mt. Vesuvias, mainland Europe's only active volcano. The top of the 4,000 foot summit is desolate and lunar-like with hot rocks, and occasionally steam can be viewed from inside the crater.

View of the Vesuvias crater

View of Naples from atop Vesuvias

After evenings of sight-seeings, our nights consisted of searching for the best pizzerias Naples has to offer. And considering Naples is the birthplace of pizza, there are plenty to choose from. Our favorite pizza came from Pizzeria Trianon, where we had mouth-watering delicious pizzas baked with just the right combination of fresh dough, mozzarella, and tomatoes in traditional wood-burning ovens.

And of course, no summer Italian evening would be complete without gelato. Visiting the decadent Gambrinus Cafe was a highlight and its location across from the beautiful and expansive Piazza Plebescito was the perfect setting for our passegiata.

Jon had two free days during my time there, and the first day we spent on the island of Capri. We took an early-morning ferry from the Naples harbor and were in Capri a mere 45 minutes later. As we were visiting in August when tourist crowds are the worst, we were worried about being able to see the famous Blue Grotto. As soon as we landed in Capri, we made our way to the ticket booth where we waited to board a small boat that would ferry us and 15 other tourists around the island to the entrance of the cave.

Making our way around the island of Capri to the Blue Grotto

Once there, we wait in "line" again with several other boats to be ferried to the entrance in a tiny rowboat with two other passengers. We enter through a tiny hole all leaning as back as flat into the rowboat as possible so not to scrape our heads on the rocks.

Rowboats waiting their turn to enter the Blue Grotto entrance

Once inside, we're paddled around the surprisingly small area for a couple minutes, all while our rower is singing "O Sole Mio" to emphasize the incredible sound in the cave, while I'm trying to capture the brilliant blue on the camera. Eventually I give up trying to take pictures, and enjoy our brief stint in this remarkable cave. The whole experience is, as Rick Steves says, a scenic hoot. But, it's another "1,000 places to see before you die" we can now mark off our list.

The brilliant blue water reflected off the limestone bottom

The chaos existed inside the cave as well with as many rowboats crammed in there as possible

After the Blue Grotto, we took a bus to the hilltop town of Anacapri, where we rode a chairlift to the top of Mount Solare. From here, we could experience the lush vegetation of this beautiful, blossoming island. It's no wonder this island was the vacation hideaway of Roman emperors.

From Mount Solare, we hiked back down to Anacapri, before boarding a bus to Capri Town where we perused the narrow winding streets and beautiful scenic overlooks. Back down by the water, we spent about an hour on a rocky, crowded beach before taking our ferry back to Naples.

On Jon's second day off, we drove the incredible Amalfi Coast. I was a bit nervous about doing this drive as the guidebooks recommend taking a bus to avoid the hair-pin curves and oncoming tour buses. But, Jon handled the drive beautifully, though I feel bad he didn't get to enjoy the breathtaking scenery quite like I did.

Due to the chaotic August crowds, we were not able to stop in the towns of Amalfi and Positano as there was no parking available. No parking in the town or even along the road on either side of the town. It was absolutely nuts! I had, however, done some research on some secluded beaches and we managed to find a place to park on the road near some 400+ steps that led steeply down to Laurito Beach. Not only was this a gorgeous, pebbly beach, but it also had an incredibly delicious restaurant, Da Adolfo, where we enjoyed a fantastic lunch.

The beach in the town of Amalfi

The start of our descent down to Laurito Beach and views of Positano in the distance

Laurito Beach

Most people arrive to this beach from a 5-minute ferry boat from Positano, which we could see from the distance. Jon was in heaven swimming around the many rocks and even found an emerald grotto further down the coastline. It was the perfect day, watching the sun glitter off the crystal clear water, on this gorgeous stretch of coastline.

Positano

Though I don't remember a great deal from my day trip to this area 13 years ago, I do remember the beauty of the quaint coastal town, Sorrento. I wanted to visit this beautiful place again, and ventured here on my own one day. I took another quick 30 minute ferry from Naples to Sorrento and enjoyed a day of re-discovering this relaxed town with a spectacular cliffside setting. I enjoyed strolling through the piazzas and old town streets filled with shops selling leather, lemon products, and hand-made sandals. I also visited a beautiful lemon grove where they harvest lemons and even offer free tastes of limoncello.

Sorrento Street

Lemon Grove

But, the highlight of my time in Sorrento was searching for an inlaid wood piece, Sorrento is famous for. I stumbled upon a humble shop with gorgeous hand-crafted music boxes, jewelry boxes, wall hangings and trays. My eyes immediately gravitated on a beautiful green and gold tray with a delicate floral design. The artisan/owner was so very friendly and though he couldn't speak much English, I enjoyed hearing about his work. I am so pleased with my purchase and every time I look at it, I will remember my beautiful day in serene Sorrento. 

Me and my new friend, showing off some of his handi-work

View from my ferry leaving the cliffside town of Sorrento

I can see why this bit of Italy is such a popular destination for travelers. It is Italy as its best. The coast with the most. Gorgeous scenery, historic ruins, and an in-love-with-life attitude by all. It was a glorious 10 days visit in Naples and the surrounding area and the best part was, I got to experience it all with my love. Ciao, Napoli!