Mykonos

Last night we had dinner outside and there was a definite chill in the air. As we finished it started to rain. Oh dear, its seems as if the sun is setting on summer. A few weeks ago, in anticipation of the inevitable end of summer, we went to one of our favorite Greek Isles - Mykonos. It's super easy to get to - a short, direct flight from London.

Mykonos style is to sleep away the morning and have a light breakfast around noon. Then it's off to the beach to sun yourself all afternoon long, till at least six in the evening. When the heat gets to be too much to bare, cooling yourself off in the clear Mediterranean waters is the best option. 

Lunch is served sometime in the afternoon, whenever you can peel yourself off the beach. It consists of delicious grilled seafood and fresh salads.

The traditional Greek is always welcome - juicy, fragrant tomatoes, sliced peppers and red onion, cucumber, capers and olives, real Greek feta sprinkled with local, dried herbs, and grilled pita...

We can't get enough of grilled squid, served with local grilled vegetables...

Or, grilled octopus, served here with chickpea mash...

Once the belly is full, it's time to head back to the beach to catch the last few hours of sun. Then head west to catch one of Mykonos' many beautiful sunsets...

The best way to travel the island is by scooter. The island is just a few kilometers across and a small scooter ensures that you can get to some beaches not accessible by car. Do not rely on the buses - they rarely come, if at all. These amazing votive chapels with bright red or blue domed roofs pepper the island.

When you've had enough of the beach, it's time to head to Mykonos town. Check out the windmills...

The buildings in Mykonos are stone and whitewashed to keep cool and square with flat roofs to protect them from the gusty winds. Mykonos Town does not go the bed until very, very late. Dinner is eaten well past ten, shops are open all evening long, and I've never made it to closing time for any of the clubs.

When my suntanned skin sloughs off into paler, paler shades this fall I just might have to recreate some grilled seafood and Greek salad to remind me of summer.  

Comments

[5 Star Foodie]

Such a great getaway! The Greek island we visited this summer was Crete, but we must visit Mykonos next time!

[gastroanthropologist]

5 Star Foodie - Did you love Crete!?! Our original plan was to visit Crete for a week (never been) and then to Mykonos for a few days (we've been a few times), but work got us and we had to cancel the Crete portion of our trip. Because of flights etc our rescheduled trip is in Sept, but to Croatia - great, of course, but not Crete!

[mycookinghut]

Looks really nice! Never been to Mykonos yet!

[OysterCulture]

Wow, gastro - looks absolutely stunning - I've learned to love these sorts of beach holidays, you truly come away incredible refreshed as I sense you were. That octopus complete with the chickpea mash just looks divine.

Your pictures are just bursting off the screen with all the wonderful colors.

Can't wait to hear about your trip to Croatia, is that before SF? We have some distant family there (never been, yet) but desperately want to go.

Wow, I feel like I had a mini-vacation checking out your post here in foggy San Francisco - Thank you!!!

[gastroanthropologist]

OysterCulture - Croatia is an amazing place - we had such an amazing trip there last year. The water is gorgeous and you can still find remote places. The trip is just before I come back to SF. Can't wait to catch up when I'm back.

[Katrina]

wow, and I had worried about going to the Greek islands in August - I thought the number of people will spoil the beauty...obviously, not for you guys:)

[Lori]

Such beautiful photos! We have to to get to Greece! My original plan was a trip there for our 5 yr anniversary, but the South America and then SE Asia adventures took over. Now we are on yr #7, maybe I should hope for a 10 yr anniv celebration there! :)

I'm very interested in Croatia as well. I was hoping we could fit it into our 2011 trip to Europe, but I think we are going to stick with the parts of Ireland and Austria we haven't seen yet. The food and surroundings look so amazing!

[my little expat kitchen]

Mykonos is such a beautiful island as all Greek islands are (I'm biased cause I'm Greek) :)
Your photographs are great!
Magda

[Tangled Noodle]

It's almost surreal how absolutely beautiful Mykonos is in your photographs! There can be no better way to refresh the spirit than with such a getaway.

My husband and I will be embarking on what we hope will be a similar rejuvenation in Asia in the next few weeks. We'll have to put Greece down for future travels!

[Anne's Kitchen]

It seems that every time I check out your blog you're somewhere else in the world! So jealous of your travelling lifestyle :) Enjoy the Greek islands, they seem like a lovely place!
x

[gastroanthropologist]

Katrina - The Greek Isles are very busy with tourists in August, Mykonos especially, as its an easy ferry ride from Italy. But, with the mobility of our scooter we avoided to super packed beaches and headed to areas less travelled.

Lori - Ah, you must get to Greece for the 10th. For what its worth the Peloponnese and Greek Isles have been some of our favorite places in Europe to visit, especially during the summer months.

my little expat kitchen - Totally agree. We love the Greek Isles...have visited many. Find us going to Mykonos often as its easy for us to fly there! If I just had my own private yacht I'd be in the Greek Isles all the time!

Tangled Noodle - Have an awesome time in Asia. Where are you and Mr Noodle headed to?

Anne's Kitchen - We've been traveling quite a bit the past three years...we want to explore as much as we can while we are young and mobile! How close all the different European countries are is pretty novel to us Americans, so we must take advantage while in London.

[Jamie]

Oh these pictures remind me of our honeymoon on Cyprus! Beautiful! And now I want to go back (though not when it is raining!) and lie in the sun and eat.

[Valentina]

Adrienne, I love Greece. I have a little fav which is not as busy as Mykonos but has all the lovely Greek qualities. Love your post - such lovely, languid style which transported me.