~ Mykonos and Paros ~

After enjoying an overnight layover in Madrid (we stayed at a lovely hotel just near the airport for next to nothing!) it was time for our big fat Greek holiday to begin!! Not many places in the world can compete with the crystal clear waters, Heavenly-white walls, and gorgeously paved stone paths of the Greek Islands.
We arrived in Athens in the late afternoon and had a pre-tour meet-and-greet at our hostel AthenStyle rooftop bar, right in the Monastiraki area (super lively at night). With a stunning and unobstructed view of the Acropolis, we met our new bubbly tour guide Kelly as well as two Aussie girls who would be with us the whole trip (also staying an extra two nights in Santorini)! After the formalities were over, we went off to grab some food and an early night sleep before our 5.30am bus the next day! We enjoyed our first (but most probably not last) Greek saganaki and wine – again with a beautiful view and the Acropolis and the sunset – sometimes you have to pinch yourself! 


After dragging ourselves out of bed and joining the rest of our group sleepily standing/sitting/draped on either side of the street, the ferry to Mykonos was not the most social situation. Pretty much everyone was either sleeping with their heads on tables or curled up somewhere on the floor! Certainly not conducive to getting to know each other! 

Now, I don’t know what you’ve heard about Mykonos, but whatever it is, it’s probably true. The island is, in censored terms, batty. One isn’t meant to sleep or have down time in Mykonos because the island pretty much revolves around its nightlife. We stayed at Paradise Beach Resort which had its own beachfront and nightclub, and was a bit like a camp site. Our “room” was a wooden tent like structure just big enough to fit us and all our things. We had two rooms – one for Max and one for Roisin and I – because booking was a complete hassle and most everything was sold out months in advance, this tent was most likely going to be our most expensive accommodation of the whole trip! 

Our first afternoon was spent exploring the resort and enjoying the “beach” and people watching. I use quotation marks simply because they are never quite like the beaches back home. More pebbles and rocks than anything – yet still beautiful. We got a few cocktails and enjoyed listening to Kelly regale us with Greek mythology stories about Zeus, Athena, Posideln and more! We headed off into town to try some local cuisine at a traditional restaurant, it was delicious! We shared two starter plates of Greek food – one hot and one cold. After dinner we had a walking tour to see some of what the island has to offer – famous windmills, white washed cobbled streets, fab shopping and super friendly locals. Unfortunately we enjoyed dinner so much that we missed seeing the sun set behind the windmills.. Our luck with sunsets has been fairly consistent throughout the trip so far! We finished the night at some fun bars and clubs on the island with some stunning views and serious tunes. Although I would say they are much more lax than back home, one bar let in a 12yo and two 7yo looking girls…when in Greece! 
Our second day in Mykonos was stunning. We decided to embrace all this island paradise had to offer. We slept in, lazed around on the beach, frolicked in the water, explored the winding streets of the town and window shopped – pure bliss. 

The evening kicked off with pizzas and moved on to Guapa Loca, the on-site night club for a paint party! Everyone’s faces were paint d with glow in the dark paint and the party (which was every bit as “loca” as it sounds) went until sunrise — us, not so much. We were having a great time dancing around with our tour group (and some guy who just loved the dance poles a tad too much) until Roisin and I felt like heading to bed. We let Max know and made our way towards the door when Max started spinning towards us saying she would come as well. Next thing I knew she had spun into a wall and was holding her head asking if she was bleeding and demanding that we help her keep the blood off her shorts. The hostel staff were actually amazing, they saw us clearly fluffing around unsure exactly where to start with blood running down Max’s face and they came to the rescue! They did a patch up job and gave us more water than we could want. They encouraged us to go to the hospital suggesting Max may need stitches. Although she was 100% sure we did NOT need to go, I though we should and the front desk called a taxi. Max was insistent that Kelly came down to suss out the injury because she wasn’t going to go anywhere unless Kelly said so! With Kelly’s blessing, we were on our way (in a taxi by the way) to the hospital. First off the taxi driver was not at all impressed to be taking us. At first maybe this was fair, I think he thought we were all totally blind and the hospital trip was required because we were sick. However he kept going on about how we should have an ambulance not a taxi.. I mean none of this was our idea, the hostel was the one that rang the taxi! At this point I think he calmed down a little, maybe we did too. The hospital itself was another matter. It was like an abandoned hospital. There was no triage or system to speak of. There was a little waiting room with two groups of people before us and a lady with “BAE – Bacon and Eggs” on her shirt would come out and call next. Max emerged a little while later with some stitches and we all trudged home. An interesting experience but one I think we all could have done without.

~~~~~

Onto Paros, perhaps one of the lesser known islands. Those who do know Paros describe it as more of a “chill” island.
Paros went on to become my favorite island because it was exactly the pace I liked. The beach views were insane and there was little guilt in spending 6+ hours lounging at beach, eating amazing food, and watching multiple sunsets. Our ferry trip to Paros was again less than pleasant. The boat we running late, we thought Max might die (probably just a concussion but she didn’t look well) and everyone was a touch hungover. But from the moment we arrived in Paros things started looking up. 
We stayed at Elisabeth Pension, and Lily (the crazy Irish lady) was as entertaining as Kelly warned us. She swears and rants and just bangs on into your room, no warning! But whatever she says, she seemed to mean it with love, so we were just prepared to be offended entertained. She was very worried over Max and her fresh stitches! 
While Max got some rest, myself, Roisin and the rest of the Busabout crew went to Nick’s Hamburgers. Not only was this place recommend by Kelly, but also New York Times, Lets Go Greece, Greece on 25 $ a day, Le Guide Du Routard, Trotters etc. I can tell you this is because they are actually delicious and for really great prices! It was apparently the first fast food restaurant in Paros. After our feast we went back and had an amazing nap! 
For dinner tonight we went off to Krios Lounge, situated on a beachfront with beautiful sunset views, for a 4-course dinner. While we waited for our food we took in the beautiful beach in front of us with kids in their floaties, families playing, people swimming and sunbathing as the sun began to set. 

Our meal consisted of a variety of homemade dips and a feta-filled fried pastry, pasta, meat and veggies and home made ice cream. All delicious! The night was topped off with a dancing session where the staff taught us how to do some Greek dancing and then some plate-smashing! “OPA!”. 

As we left, Kelly told us two stories about how plate-smashing came to be. One was about a family who were quite well off. They saw a poor family and felt sorry for them, so they invited them over for dinner once a week and they became friends. The poorer family felt they were still only inviting them because they felt sorry for them and started to get angry! The other family tried to insist that that may have been the reason the dinners started but they had become friends now! In order to convince them, they invited them to break the plates in an effort to prove that friendship is everything! The second story was that wearily families started simply throwing plates instead of washing them and now it’s a tradition for celebrations – weddings, turning 50, babies beings born!

Without a doubt, one of the most memorable things we have done is the AntiParos Island Boat Cruise which is a day-long excursion that takes you sailing around the insanely blue waters of the Aegean Sea, to a private beachfront where you grill up some souvlaki (Greek specialty), play beach volleyball, and just relax, before getting back on the boat to sail to more dive-worthy gems, and then finally back to Paros. It was an incredible, luxurious day. 

When we got back to Paros in the evening we spent a little bit of time exploring it’s streets and enjoyed another Nick’s Burger (nomnomnom) while we watched the sunset. Then it was time for some dancing! We had the MOST amazing night dancing away to the greatest selection of 80s/90s music and topped it all off with a little bit of karaoke – my kind of night!