I can see it should be fun, I mean I know it should be fun, sweetie. It's like a secret that no one's let me in on.
- Edina Monsoon, in France
My sisters decided to celebrate their 50th birthdays (separately) in Greece, so Sushil and I planned a holiday around it: Mykonos, Athens and Sifnos. I went to Mykonos in 2006 for Lisa's wedding and had a fantastic time. I was keen to see it again, but also a little bit leery; I'd heard that the island had become a lot more touristy and expensive since I was last there. It turned out to be true, but once we accepted we would be dining on midrange tourist shlop and focussed instead on the cocktails, we had a great time. We found a gay piano bar overlooking the Aegean and planted ourselves there nightly. The town and island, though seemingly absent of Greeks, were as beautiful as ever, and we enjoyed substantially contributing to the Greek economy there.
Sushil on a Mykonos street.
Square in Mykonos town.
Leaving Mykonos.
Rooftop dinner for Lisa's celebration.
We had only a quick night in Athens, literally there just long enough for Lisa's birthday dinner, and then to catch a morning ferry to Sifnos, a new island for both of us. Sifnos is a different beast to Mykonos. There are enough tourists to have some interesting bars and restaurants, but you don't feel overwhelmed. It's also an island where people live year-round, so you get glimpses of Greek island life in-between the G&Ts, and the island actually has a functioning, reliable and cheap (€1.80-€3.60/trip) bus service which will take you to all the major settlements, and many small ones en route. As the island has a full-time population of under 3,000, I was really impressed by this.
Sifnos sunset.
The night at the divine Maiolica begins.
Rocking my sunbrella in Kástro.
And Pops and me rocking our sun shirts on the birthday boat around the island.
Cheronissos, the fishing village at the top of Sifnos.
Lara's beach birthday dinner.
The full birthday party.
There's not a whole lot to do on Sifnos if you're not a beach person. There are the aforementioned bars and restaurants, but they are limited in number, and certainly in scope once you've had your fill of Greek cuisine. When we hit the first of our horiatiki walls, we parted from the birthday herd and had a fantastic dinner at Maiolica: stunning food, perfectly-selected wine, a table right on the sands of the beach - the unexpected highlight of the week. The rest of the time I read and avoided the sun as best I could, while Sushil and the others sunned and swam. It really is lovely on paper, and I would go again with a group, but I am no beach person. If I'm out of the city, put me up in a mountain or some quirky no man's land. If a beach it must be, then city-adjacent, Ã la Cape Town and Barcelona. Or better yet, Brighton. In Winter.
Happy at home on my cool, cloudy rock,
Shaun
http://shaunism.blogspot.co.uk/
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