Five Star Greece

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 … Read More

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, … Read More

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 … Read More

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 … Read More

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  … Read More

A the risk of appearing to spend all my time in Athens going out for dinner, I do have to share this latest one with you – not new, but so well hidden you might not know it.  Psariston, on Kalavriton 16, Neo Iraklio   www.psariston.gr The name is a pun on Psari – which means … Read More

Today’s guest blog is courtesy of David Abrahams, founder of Mytravelmoney.co.uk.  His tips might be useful for you: I’m very grateful to the Five Star Greece team for inviting me to post on a topic that has become somewhat of an obsession. Around four years ago, I was holidaying around Europe & got totally ripped … Read More

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

Clearing out a drawer, I found an antiquarian book with some wonderful photos taken  in 1957  of Greek islands – here are my favourites – another world then.

“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