Showing posts with label Little Venice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Little Venice. Show all posts

Friday, August 5, 2011

Mykonos Town Walking Tour

Mykonos Town (Chora) Walking TourMykonos Town (Chora)
Walking Tour

Mykonos Town (Chora) is a prime example of Cycladic architecture. It consists of narrow whitewashed alleyways, small churches, white houses with wooden doors and windows and brightly colored balconies.

Leaving our motorcoach behind, we walked along the harbour until we entered the enchanting town itself.  Splashes of color on balconies, doors, and staircases contrasted with the white buildings almost bringing them to life.   It was as if they were calling us to explore more closely.


In the colorful harbour we saw small fishing boats and yachts coexisting with the larger cruise ships, including our own Star Princess.  Taverns, Greek restaurants (ouzeris), cafes and shops lined the main coastal street as we followed our guide, listening to the historical information and learning more about the main attractions along our path.

Panagia ParaportianiWe saw an elderly gentleman riding a donkey and the town's mascot pelican, Petros, who were both posing for pictures. You can read more about them in another post.

The crown jewel of our walk to Little Venice was the Panagia Paraportiani (Our Lady of the Postern Gate), the most famous of the many churches of Mykonos.  It actually consists of  five churches, four comprise its base and the fifth is built as the dome on the top. Widely photographed, you won't want to miss the opportunity to capture it with your own lens.

Panagia Paraportiani is located on Ayion Anargyron, near the folk museum in Little Venice, Mykonos Town. After getting our photographs, we continued to explore Mykonos Windmills and Little Venice before starting our return to the ship.

This quaint Greek town had come to life for us this day, basking in sunlight with its buildings framed by the sea and the clear blue sky.  We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to enjoy our stroll.

The images here are just a sampling of those memories which we captured for all eternity on digital "film".  Visit our Facebook Fan Page to see our photo albums:  Mykonos Walking Tour and Returning to Port of Mykonos.

There is much more yet to come from our 12-Night Mediterranean & Greek Isles Cruise Adventure.




Med & Greek Isles Cruise Diary

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.





@ChrisPappinMCC


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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Mykonos Windmills and Little Venice

Mykonos Town (Chora)
Mykonos Town (Chora)
Main Attractions

Chora of Mykonos is the capital of the most cosmopolitan island of Cyclades. In our last post, we boarded our motorcoach for the ride from Panagia Tourliani Monastery to the charming main town of Mykonos. Our journey continues in Mykonos town (Chora).

Our partially guided walking tour began in the parking lot just a few minutes away from the pier where our ship, Star Princess, was docked, awaiting our return after the conclusion of our Mykonos visit.

Two of the Main Attractions

The guided walk took us along the main coastal street of Mykonos past a lot of shops with jewels, clothes, popular art and many other items.   There are several cafes and tavernas along the waterfront street similar to the one in the picture above.  From every location along our walk, we had amazing views of the harbour where our ship was anchored along with a Pullmantur and Wind Star ship amongst the many private boats and yachts.
Little Venice
See more images in our album: Mykonos Walking Tour

Little Venice


Walking to the farthest point of the Chora, we passed a charming district known as Little Venice. Continuing beyond the buildings, we looked back at the picturesque two and three story houses, with colorful balconies, windows and doors. From this vantage point, the buildings appeared to be emerging from the sea begging to be captured on the canvas of our digital film. We would be remiss if we didn't oblige.

Windmills of Mykonos
Windmills of Mykonos

The Windmills of Mykonos, iconic features of this main Greek Island, can be seen from every point of the village of Mykonos.  When entering the harbour, the windmills will be the first thing you see since they stand atop a hill overlooking the sea.

We have now made our journey to the top of that hill, a walk that was well worth it. If the windmills had eyes, this is the view they would see. The whole village of Chora and the harbour are visible from this point. In the distance, you can see our ship anchored at the Port of Mykonos.

Dating back to the 16th Century, these windmills had primarily been used to mill wheat.   Now, they remain quiet, no longer functioning as mills, but instead attracting visitors who want to get a closeup look at the structures that had once been an important source of income to the inhabitants.

In another post we will tell you more about our visit to Mykonos Town. Be sure to visit our Facebook Fan Page and sign up so that you can view more of our photo albums and useful information about our Mediterranean cruise. These two attractions were among our most enjoyable during our Mykonos visit.



Med & Greek Isles Cruise Diary

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.





@ChrisPappinMCC


Connect With Us On


Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers



Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat