No, it is not a chewing gum advertisement, nor one for toothpaste, air-freshener, deodorant or Coca cola – though it could easily sell any of those – It is a genuine, spontaneous, home-movie from dear clients staying in Mitzella, just below the Pelion peninsular. We feel it has star quality, and are very grateful to … Read More
The new Greek Tourist Office campaign features pictures of hooded thugs torching buildings, charging riot police, and piles of bodies, with the legend, “Visit Greece and escape from the troubles of violent, hot-blooded, unstable Northern Europe. Not really, but it easily could…
May 30th If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn that two grouse strolled along my terrace this morning and had a drink from the pool. Still unseasonably cold, but I saw a couple of houses that we are going to take on – one in Lia, a lovely little gem tucked away above … Read More
May 28th Morning visit to a wonderfully professionally run house, great staff, dedicated concierge, terrific cook, 6 bedrooms, and lovely views. Lunch at O’Bata – excellent octopus braised in wine – with a local partner, during which we chatted about which owners were stealing clients, which owners were undercutting the agents, which agents were undercutting … Read More
My favorite part of the job that almost makes up for having had to learn how to tweet or twitter or whatever it is called… On Sunday I leave for Greece and have a wonderful trip to see villas on Paros, Antiparos, Amorgos, Koufonisia, Sifnos and Mykonos, before ending up for a week at home on … Read More
What is going on in the Ionian? Corfu, Zakynthos and Kephalonia have all been pretty well discovered/exploited/developed, but below the radar, quietly quietly, keeping low profiles, large concerns and private buyers from the north are buying up big chunks of land on the smaller and less well known islands. Lefkada, an island of stupendous beaches and … Read More
Five Star Greece on the road… Poor Evi has been on the road inspecting houses. I say “Poor Evi” without a hint of irony even though that is normally the part of the job that I look forward to the most, and I had not been pleased when she said to me, “You stay and man the office and pay the … Read More
Five Star Greece on Spetses We have just had a cancellation for August for one of our favorite houses on Spetses – the Queen of the Saronic Gulf, where the real insiders head for. Lazy, laid-back, elegant easy. Trying out baby steps in my newly acquired social media skills, I have done a tweet and a … 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
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
