Five Star Greece on the road I finally made the ferry to Ithaca – how one’s spirits lift on a boat trip – the white spray flies up from the bows, foam spreading like cream across the waves. The weather is an almost balmy 18 degrees, and all the annoyances of travel disappear, such as … Read More
Five Star Greece – February 18th I am stuck in Athens waiting for the wind to drop enough for the harbour master to allow the ferry that I need to catch to leave for Kephalonia. This is your gain as having nothing positive to say at the moment, other than Athens is on sale so … Read More
Five Star Greece Yesssss! Our photographer just sent in the photos she took from the new house on Naxos – and she managed to get there on a sunny day as well even though it was December. It looks stunning and Evi & I can’t wait to go and visit it in the spring. Naxos is … 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
Five Star Greece I am not sure that I can make this relevant to Greek villa rentals, but it is all pretty quiet there for now – It is raining, and Ireland and North Korea are rather selfishly hogging the limelight. So, a London blog – The Victoria and Albert museum is hosting a strange … Read More
October 31st was the 28th anniversary of the Marathon to Athens race – As you all know of course, the original Marathon was the run by Pheidippides (530 BC–490 BC) of 240 km in two days to get reinforcements for the Greek troops. He then ran the 40 km (25 miles) from the battlefield near Marathon back to Athens to … Read More
I spend a lot of time reassuring people that Greece is not infested with Somalian pirates, French barricades, pyromaniacs, typhoons, sinking ferries, murderous rioters, military dictators, drug cartels, white slave traders, exploding volcanoes and cancelled flights (I fib a little actually – one of those things on the list is not unknown to happen…) Imagine … Read More
Corfu Sunday: After the wild, bright barrenness of the Cyclades, Corfu is radiant with flowers and lush foliage, drooping boughs heavy with dark olives, thickets of tiny scented purple cyclamen, pink grapes bursting with juice, and pomegranates splitting open to show their ruby red glistening seeds. A pale blue mirror- like sea reflects the Albanian … Read More
Mykonos “Eureka!” as Archimedes would have said had he been a villa agent – At last, we have been given a drop-dead glamorous house with private access to the sea – mind you, you have to be a strong swimmer to cope with the waves, but on a calm day, total bliss, and the house … Read More
October 6th One of the closest Cycladic islands to Athens and just a hop away from Mykonos, Andros is ripe for discovery. Real estate prices are bucking the downward trend, fuelled by demand from the Greek island connoisseurs who prize the wonderful fresh and local produce, the rich and subtle cuisine, the tidy and picturesque … Read More
I have been clinging to my status as a bridge beginner for the last 20 years, to avoid being bullied by my bridge-mad husband into serious games where you are not allowed to ask what 2 clubs means and someone tells you off when you forget how many trumps there are in a pack. The … Read More
Koufonisia and Schinoussa – the Lesser Cyclades.
Athens in the springtime, Chanel & the Amanzoe
Poros Yacht Show – the best yachts in Greece.
September in the Greek Islands – Kephalonia to Ithaca
25th March – “Freedom or Death!”
Corfu finale – My Animals & other Family
The problem with the new Amanzoe hotel
Paxos in October