What’s new on Mykonos

by Ileana von Hirsch

Sometimes, the prospect of inspecting villas on Mykonos is less alluring that you might think – another white house with driftwood mirrors, no bedside lights, a pool and pergola with built-in barbecue, a dark basement room masquerading as a “guest suite” and an owner telling you proudly that she or he doesn’t need a/c as it has thick walls and is always cool, and that while the neighbour’s house is very windy, hers or his isn’t.

Well, this trip will teach me never to get blasé and always remember that I probably have one of the world’s nicest jobs even if holidays are a thing of the past for me….

The Times, they are a’ changing….

by Ileana von Hirsch

The Times –

A Greek lesson for Britain’s chancellor

Philip Aldrick writes for the UK Times – article on April 11th

“After six years of painful austerity, better times are finally coming for the bailout nation

Take two countries. One will have the fifth worst budget deficit of the International Monetary Fund’s 32 “advanced economies” next year and will be growing no faster than its long-term average.

The other will have a budget surplus, once you exclude debt interest costs, and will be expanding at an even faster click. One is Britain, the other Greece. Guess which is which.”

The answer or course is that the budget surplus country is Greece. Greece is being held up as a model of hard work and prudence and has worked hard for it.

Karpenissi – A world apart

by Ileana von Hirsch

Karpenissi is one of Greece’s last undiscovered corners; tranquilly enfolded in the arms of its pine-clad mountain slopes and snowy peaks, it hangs in the azure air in a world that hovers, all on its own, above the hubbub of the coasts. To the the East lies the sparkling Aegean and its glamorous, light -filled hotspots. Facing West, the limpid limpid Ionian gently laps the sandy shores of its green and Italianate islands. To the North, crouching like a bear, are the Balkans, the the South spreads out the balanced beauty of the heartland of Ancient Greece.

Ikaria, the island where people forget to die – by Guest Blogger Dana Facaros

by Ileana von Hirsch

No-one has written a better guide to the Greek islands than Dana Facaros – “The Cadogan Greek islands Guide.” Erudite, funny and soulful. We have cribbed from it so often, that to make amends, we have offered Dana a platform here whenever she wants, and are honoured whenever she accepts! She writes this time about Ikaria, the island of her father, made briefly famous by the New York Times and other magazines as “The island where people forget to die”. Funnily enough her blog is in the same spirit as the Best Taverna blog of last week… we are clearly Soul Sisters.

The best taverna in Greece

by Ileana von Hirsch

Dedicated to Billie Cohen of Condé Nast Traveler.

The real joy of travelling is not in seeing things – the world is so overrun with images already – but in experiencing things, the magic moments are when we become someone different from our usual selves.

I was in slow, gracious Charleston, South Carolina for the Conde Nast Traveler annual summit where the great and good of the travel world, (and me,) are gathered together to discuss trends and best practices. Walking down King St which is the Park Avenue or Bond St of Charleston, I saw a lady with a small dog on a lead crossing Hasell, a major side road. Plumb in the middle of Hasell, the small dog stopped to pee.

Hubris – Ancient Greek term for overbearing pride, usually just before a fall…

by Ileana von Hirsch

The Fall of Icarus into the Cretan sea – the Original Hubris.

It’s a lovely Greek concept – borne higher and higher by the thermals of good luck and perhaps hard work, up flies the giddy mortal, till some minor sun-god lays aside his cup of nectar for a second to swat away the irritating trespasser, who then plunges earthward, spiralling back down to where he came from, in a flurry of singed feathers, burnt nose and rucked up chitons.

One of the joys of Greece is the constant re-enactment of old myths and legends, even if in somewhat unexpected ways;

Less of an Odyssey – Real Estate on the remoter Greek Islands brought closer to you…

by Ileana von Hirsch

The best guide book to the Greek Islands ever written is the Cadogan Guide, by Dana Facaros, insight, wit and wisdom. Her portraits of Tinos and Mykonos are unforgettable.

She has turned her eagle eye now on the Greek Real Estate scene, looked at through the prism of the much anticipated launch of Hellenic Seaplanes, that will make many of Greece’s most beautiful and remote islands more easily accessible. If you don’t have it, go and buy the the UK Sunday Times and go to the International property page today. If you can’t do that – for example our very valued dedicated blog follower from the Yemen, or my two in Afghanistan, (thank you google Analytics), here is the on-line link.

Paxos in October

by Ileana von Hirsch

The car rental man will never understand how we managed to clock up 250 kilometres on an island that measures 8 by 3km. I don’t think we will tell him either… Paxos only really needs one road, so the figure of 8 arrangement that they have put in the middle of the island for some reason, is just put there to confuse a girl. It took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to find our little villa which is 3.5 kilometres from the port. At Taka Taka, one of the best tavernas in Gaios, as we paid the bill to leave after a restorative drink and dinner, we told the taverna owner how long it had taken us to get to our house, “Ah yes” she said smiling sympathetically, “If you walk very slowly it would take you that long.” “No,” we said, “You don’t understand, we had a car.”

Fiscardo – Greece’s prettiest village?

by Ileana von Hirsch

Fiscardo on the northern tip of Kefalonia or Cephalonia is a real contender – critics complain that it shuts down in winter, but really, when something is this lovely the rest of the time, does it matter? The corniche drive from the airport up to here is breathtaking – the road snakes vertiginously along the cliffs, and far below shine the white beaches and blue water . At this time of year, wisps of sea fog out on the horizon somewhere towards Sicily catch the early morning sun. Breakfast in the little port of Assos on the way is a must as well – Greece’s second prettiest village?

Five Star Turkey

by Ileana von Hirsch

Part 1 – The Scent of Money –

I am on the road again – “Oh dear God” , I hear you say, “How much more can we take of picturesque islands, cute little villages, white-washed churches turning pink in the sunset, lavender skies, Kiria Maria’s folk wisdom, children playing in cobbled lanes, flowers and pigeons, the blue of the sea, bla bla bla..?”

Don’t worry, this blog is different. I am not going to write about our new house on Paros with a zen garden and a mediation chapel, or about Santorini in October – this blog is about THE SCENT OF MONEY.