Don Juan Lord Byron’s greatest, last poem, is a rich seam of humour, wisdom, satire and lyricism – also travel writing; “The isles of Greece! The isles of Greece Where burning Sappho loved and sung, Where grew the arts of war and peace, Where Delos rose and Phoebus sprung! Eternal summer gilds them yet, But … Read More
“The real star of the film of course was Cephalonia itself,” said Susie Pugh Tasios, the producer of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin which I watched again last night. Susie died last year of cancer, and is dreadfully missed by her friends and family. I remember the gusto with which she spilled the beans about the crises … Read More
Five Star Greece was proud to join the sponsors who brought Martha Graham to Ithaca, as part of the Return to Ithaca open air festival. After a party the night before hosted at the grandest villa in Ithaca, the great day dawned wild and stormy. By nine o’clock in the evening, massive thunderhead clouds were … Read More
” The mainland of Greece has been overrun by barbarian tribes; the Ionian Islands have been thoroughly Italianised; Greeks in Asia Minor and the islands adjacent to the coast have been swamped by Islamism; yet the Cyclades have remained ore or less as they were, thanks to their insignificance.” Thus J. Theodore Bent, Philhellene and … Read More
I am in Athens at the moment, great, good-humoured uproar as Central Athens was closed off and cleared, Beijing style, for Angela Merkels’s visit – funny news coverage too – flag-waving lefty ranting hysterically “Suppose I say today I feel like a nice walk through Plaka with my friends to see the Acropolis, which is … Read More
Dante, in his “Inferno”, wrote that there is no greater pain than remembering times of joy in times of sorrow – the opposite is also true, there is no greater joy than thinking of Northern Europe’s autumn gales and dead leaves while strolling through the leafy streets of Kolonaki in Athens, in a balmy 30 … Read More
I am glad I studied Philosophy – it has so many practical applications. For example, I am frequently asked by clients who have booked a villa what the address of their villa is, as they do not believe/like/trust our rather boring villa names – “Spetses1E” for example. “But what is the villa really called” they … Read More
I was asked today by the highly intellectual and charming Serge Dive who runs the Pure Life Travel fair what tour or package or part of our activity was the one that offered our clients the purest essence of Greece. I thought for a minute and then said “We don’t offer any at all. Greece can’t … 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
You may know the ancient logic puzzle – A Cretan said “All Cretans are liars”, so as a Cretan he was lying, so all Cretans AREN’T liars, so then he was telling the truth, so all Cretans ARE liars, so therefore he was lying, so all Cretans AREN’T liars and so on till you get tired of … Read More
I came across this and thought it might be a welcome perspective for visitors to Greece worried about civil unrest! Excerpt from Paul Theroux’s Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Chapter 2. The author was passing through Paris during the Black Tuesday riots of March 2006 “A national crisis is an opportunity, a gift to … Read More
