Mykonos town was awesome. I can see why people come here to have a good time and to spend some money. While it is on the expensive side, we weren’t staying in the actual town and limited out evening drinks to boat cocktails and wine so we kept it on the reasonable side.
This is a panoramic view of Mykonos. The whitewashed building and fishing boats made it beautiful and so photogenic.
This is just a pretty picture. Most of the shutters and doors were that Greek blue on whitewash walls, but these were green.
I didn’t eat here, but it’s just one of the many colorful scenes that awaits around the corner in the city. It’s pretty impressive.
When we did eat in town we ate at a place that was off one of the streets that leads up into town where we saw a group of fisherman eating the night before. Judy said it was like a Greek Waffle House because you can see them prepare your food right there and it’s a small greasy spoon type of place. I got the chicken gyro and it was SO good. We went back the next day after our trip into Delos and Dad and Chuck got the “meal of the day” which was a hearty portion of pork in some sort of sauce and a pile of roasted potatoes. You can’t go wrong there.
We were docked at the new port which was where all of the ferries and cruise ships dock and took a € taxi into town. The first order of business was to visit the Port Police and check in. They weren’t too thrilled that Dad had folded his transit log and gave him crap for that. These guys really need to choose some better battles. Dad then put all of the documents in my backpack and we were going to explore the town. Well I saw one of the pelicans that are essentially the mascot for the island and said I was going to take a photo. Apparently nobody heard me and when they turned around I was gone. When I turned around they were gone and I assumed Dad was letting me walk around on my own, which we knew I was going to do eventually anyway. Well Dad began to worry that someone had seen him put all of our passports and boat papers into my backpack and thought someone had abducted me. I was a lost “child”. They combed the streets for me and then when they decided to go for lunch I was sitting there munching on my gyro and that was when I was informed that I was lost. Oh well. The lunch was really great and then I really did venture off on my own, with everyone being well aware of it!
Mykonos is a very popular tourist destination. Most of the cruise ships stop here, boaters stop here, and if you do a tour of the Greek Islands – stop here. There is a ton of shopping with stores like Sephora, Juicy, and other high end boutiques which all had a small table and two chairs set up outside so after you shop you can sit and enjoy a coffee.
A store front on the “5th Avenue” of Mykonos. These are handmade boots with a sequence Minnie Mouse attached on the side. Disney characters and cartoons are really fashionable here. It’s a little odd seeing a 40 year old woman walking around in killer boots, cute pants, and a Minnie Mouse t-shirt.
There are of course iconic things that every tourist should see while on the island. I will share in photos!
This was the original pelican I went to see and this was when I became a lost child. These are the town’s mascot. Petros the pelican is about 3ft tall and has a pinkish hue which is pretty cool. The stories state that Petros was part of a group of pelicans migrating in the 1950s and he was exhausted and stayed behind in Mykonos where the fisherman nursed him back to help. Locals say that the pelican hanging out in the harbor is the original Petros, however I saw two of them that day separately and then two together the next morning waiting for the Delos ferry…
As you can imagine, tourists are dumb. This pelican was hanging out near one of the touristy shops and got swarmed with people wanting to pet it and get photos taken with it. The pelican wasn’t having it and wandered out into an open area where it proceeded to throw up a half eaten fish and then attempted to fly up the hill. I am not sure if its wings were clipped or because of its size it couldn't actually get airborne, but it sure did hop with purpose!
This is Little Venice. During the day it’s restaurants with a view of the windmills and the neighboring islands. At night this is where all of the high end bars and clubs are located. The area was dubbed Little Venice because of the houses which were once owned by ship owners and aristocrats rise and hang over the water much like the Italian town.
This is my attempt at getting a photo of myself in front of Little Venice. This was also when I was “lost” so it was me taking a photo of myself “MySpace style” with the SLR. I did alright.
The windmills are seen from Little Venice and by approaching ships as they come into view of Mykonos. They were originally used to grind grain using, of course, wind power.
This is another attempt at me taking a photo of me in front of the windmills. I could’ve asked someone at this point, but I was being stubborn and anti-social so again I am pleased with how I did.
Mykonians claim they have exactly 365 churches and chapels, one for each day of the year. I took photos of a couple I saw.
This one had just been whitewashed. It’s apparently some sort of law that all buildings in Mykonos be whitewashed on a regular basis. That would be the business to go into. I am not sure if it’s up to the building owner, or if there is just a group of people who go around and leave notice that tomorrow at 1pm their buildings will be whitewashed, but either way it would be a lucrative business I am sure.
This one was right on the water in the main drag of town. Each of the churches I entered had the beautiful gold and bright colors of the Byzantine style. They were all super small, but were chock full of paintings and gold bling.
The most famous of all the churches is the Church of Paraportiani. It is actually a conglomeration of four chapels that mix Byzantine and vernacular idioms. The church is solid to protect it from the elements and whatever the sea has to dish out.
This is just another view of the Church of Paraportiani. It shows the sober architecture and the complete whitewash.
I had seen all I wanted to see and even made a stop at the Post Office and then I was ready to go. We considered going back to the island for the crazy night life that is supposed to be happening after dark, but the weather didn’t hold up and after talking to a British guy my age who had been into town the night before, the night life is pretty much dead after the month of September. For all who travel Europe, this isn’t “The Season”. Basically June – August everything is happening, at least in the port towns, and then it trickles off through September and is nonexistent in some places by the end of October. I personally live vicariously through the ugly Americans that were docked next to us and who came back to their boat so trashed that one of them fell in the water… while hilarious and a great way to sober up, it’s super dangerous and stupid to fall between the dock and back of a boat in 20 knot winds… just saying. More on that in my experience at the New Port!
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