Day 24 - Thursday July 22, 2010 - Mykonos, Greece

Day 24 in Mykonos, Greece

Left: Sunset over Mykonos from our patio.

Middle: Mykonos City from our patio.

We slept until 8:30, got up and went for the large buffet breakfast that is included with the room. We also got on their wireless system from the large breakfast patio.

Today we are going to use our car to see the island instead of going to the Super Paradise Beach - we'll do that tomorrow.

Tim wanted me to check about changing hotels since the room was warm. But the cancellation of this one at this point is 30% of the remaining nights. I don't think so. We'll enjoy where we are. Plus is only takes about 30 minutes for the room to cool down. Mr. Patience will just have to "be patient"!

We showered and set out in our little red car to explore the island. The streets are very, very narrow and it is a bit harrowing when you meet a big bus or truck - but they just keep going. We went north to Lake Marathi then by Panormos to to the northernmost city of Agrilia. I was surprised how small Mykonos Island is. We got there in no time. We then headed southeast through Ano Mera which is right in the middle of the island. We were trying to get to Lia but ended up in Kalafatis. We then headed to Elia, a beautiful beach. We decided to rent chairs and an umbrella for a few hours and relaxed, read, and listened to music on the beach. We'll come back here.

About 2 pm we gathered our things and headed back to Mykonos to return the little red rental car. We stopped at a store and bought some water and wine and dropped those at the hotel. We then drove back to the port and returned the car. They sure don't do that like they would in the US. They merely took the keys and drove off with it.

We were just at the edge of the Mykonos City waterfront so we walked along the waters edge to see if we could find La Maison de Katrin restaurant - Tim's favorite. We passed the Hotel Neko where I had stayed years ago - beautiful grounds here and so convenient to the city. That would have been better than the "forced march up the hill" to Elysium Hotel where we are staying.

We started roaming around and a jeweler asked us if he could help us. Small world - Dimitri has a jewelry store in Mykonos and Boca. And lives in Boca during the winter. He gave us directions to Katrin and off we went. En route I was able to get a post card and stamp to send the girls a card from Mykonos.

We found Katrin - finally. It sure is tucked away but that's the way the narrow alleys are in Mykonos. No car traffic or scooters here - just lots of people.

We went to the waterfront and had lunch by the water. Pork sovlaki and a bottle of wine. Good.

We then roamed around determined to "find our way" so we can get back to the hotel in the future. Last night's march in the dark for over 30 minutes trying to find the hotel wasn't fun, but I guess that's part of the fun in Mykonos - getting lost and finding your way. So we figured that out and have good landmarks now. But the walk up "the hill" to the hotel is grueling. There are 71 steep steps and that only gets you 1/3 of the way. Then you have to walk up a steep, sometimes slippery incline while traffic is coming from both ways on a street that accommodates only one car width. A challenge.

By this time it was 5 pm so we went to the pool at the hotel and napped. Our bartenders, Emile, Dimitry, and Alex took good care of us. We also met Josh from NYC and chatted. They have "a show" here every night right after sunset and then a short one at 9:30. We got dressed for dinner and saw the first show but skipped the second so we could get to Katrin's and try to get a table without a reservation. That is a challenge.

We walked into the city and got to Katrin's and it was almost full even at 9:30. I asked the wife for a table and she told me we needed a reservation. The tables were all reserved. But she had her husband (the owner) come and I explained this was our FAVORITE restaurant in Mykonos and he led us to a table and removed the reserved plaque. The table was ours for the night!

We started with a glass of champagne. He made recommendations which we took. We started with the fish soup - delicious - and then he fixed me a special sole fish. Tim had lamb fricassee which was also delicious. The wife fileted the sole for me tableside. Delicious. Then we had coffee and dessert - cheesecake with fruit topping and ice cream with cherries soaked in liquor. These were good. Oh, we also had a bottle of French white wine - a Sancerre. The Mr. was very pleased that we selected this to accompany our dinner.

Of course dinner cost an arm and a leg but we enjoyed revisiting Katrin. I asked Mrs. to make a reservation for us for Saturday (Tim will pay the next time!). I gave her my name - Lorenzo - and we want a table outside at 10 pm. "Oh Mr. Lorenzo, I cannot guarantee that as . . .". We'll get there early and hopefully get our favorite table outside where we can people watch.

We walked around to walk off the big dinner. Ended up about midnight at Piano Bar that is owned by Niko who we met at a party in Ft Lauderdale. I talked to him, we had some after dinner drinks and enjoyed the piano and singer. She reminded me a bit of Deborah Hampton in FLL. We met some guys there from Switzerland.

By this time it was about 1:3o (or so) and we headed back to the hotel - well fed, well soused and very tired. A fun first day in Mykonos. Tomorrow Super Paradise.