Five Star Greece was thrilled to be able to escort the historian, television presenter and author, the divine Bettany Hughes, to one of Greece’s secret sites. We are even more thrilled that she offered to write a blog about it! Read on for Bettany’s own words… Standing on a Greek island, a balmy, Mediterranean … Read More
Pylos, in South West Greece, was the home of King Nestor, one of the Mycenaean chieftains who, according to the Iliad, sailed with his fleet of 90 black ships to Troy to bring back the runaway Helen, and was one of the few to return safely. He is described by Homer as wise peacemaker, on the long-winded side, and … Read More
Parikia is often thought of as a place you arrive on the ferry and drive out of pretty sharpish to head to pretty Naoussa or your villa on the south coast, but apart from its function as the capital of Paros, it has it own great charms and considerable interest, and it would be a … Read More
Wind-stranded in Sami, the pretty port of western Kefalonia – Babis the water taxi captain who looks like a pirate out of Tintin, has said we have to wait for the sun to set and waves to subside, so 4 hours to kill before meeting guests and going to the airport for Ryanair flight … Read More
I asked our sweet, clever and beautiful owner of fabulous Villa Santorini 1V for a list of her personal favorite things to do that she could suggest to guests staying at her house, and this is what she sent: Dear Ileana, there are so many things to do on Santorini and some of them (our … Read More
It must be Greek season on UK television – and we do need some good press, so we are very grateful; the BBC just aired its documentary about the Pavlopetri excavations currently taking place in the shallow water off the southern-most tip of Greece -For those who missed it, here is the link: Pavlopetri The oldest … Read More
What a relief – the Greek government yesterday confirmed that they would NOT be selling off islands like Rhodes or Corfu, or monuments like the Acropolis to pay off the national debt. They asked if people would now please kindly stop saying that they were. Time for a super-injunction? Oops, as the English papers have … Read More
My father, Panos Gratsos, was a respected bibliophile whose collection of antiquarian books on Greece, the Ottoman Empire and the Ionian was sold at Sotheby’s in 1991 with much fanfare, and the books from which were snapped up by other collectors. As children we found his passion for each new book, and excitement when he … Read More
Finally, over a hundred years since Schliemann, convinced he had found the location of Odysseus and Penelope’s home, first excavated the site of Aetos on Ithaca, a team of architects from the University of Yannina have uncovered a three storey Mycenean building that corresponds to Homer’s famous description. Odysseus clearly valued panoramic views – either for strategic or … Read More
