13 pictures I took in Lefkes and Parikia, Paros (April 2023)

One of our days in Paros was spent in large part participating in a cooking class where I didn't take any particularly post-worth pictures. Then I also had to work a few hours. So my photoroll from Paros is not as rich as what I have from other islands. But somewhere during our visit we had a driver take us into Lefkes and Parikia to freestyle explore a bit.

Lefkes is an inland village, set up a bit higher on the island. Again, we were there late April, so very early in the season. Only a few restaurants were open. Minimal shops. But it's easy to picture the charm of visiting when things are a bit more lively. Lot of winding little alleys/streets and stone staircases to blindly follow. A nice counterpoint to Naoussa, which is a new development that can feel a bit curated for visitors with every detail perfectly in place.

Parikia is the older port town and was my favorite part of Paros. It definitely has its tourist-friendly charms and plenty of restaurants and shops to enjoy and explore. But it also felt lived-in. At least in comparison to Naoussa, which has almost pure vacation vibes (nothing wrong with that, just different).

Scenes from a visit to Paros, Greece (April 2023): Ferry over and initial arrival

After our stay in Naxos it was time to move on to Paros, which is just a short ride by ferry. My photo instincts were starting to wake up a little bit and I captured a few shots leaving the port of Naxos.

That's the Portara off in the distance.

Ferry seats were pretty comfy. Also nice that this particular boat was not exactly packed.

Solid concession options. Not super necessary given it is a 30-45 minute ride. Don't think I even bothered with a coffee. But for those on for the longer ride continuing to subsequent islands, very nice to have it at your disposal.

When it's time to disembark you receive a cheery salute. Thanks for the ride, cap'n.

Car picked us up at the port in Parikia and brought us to our hotel for the next couple of nights. We stayed at the Kalypso. I did not grab any pictures of the entrance, but you can get an idea of it via the street view below.


I did grab some shots of the entry area / 'lobby' for lack of a better word. Rustic casual, but nice.

Room I got was pretty austere, but fine. Odd choice of lavender as the accent color. Like a deliberate departure of everywhere else in the islands that feature some combination of white, blue, and earth tones. Not sure the lavender really works. But the view was nice.

Kalypso was maybe 8-10 minutes walking from the center of Naoussa, so I went for a little walkabout to get my bearings. Snapped a few pics. Nice holiday apartments, curated alleyways oozing the boutique and taverna vibes. Positive first impression.

An Assortment of Experiences in Santorini, Greece (May 2023)

After Naxos, Paros, Mykonos, and Milos, our next stop was Santorini. We had some relatively bad luck with the weather. The guides told us Santorini gets a handful of rainy days per year and we seemed to be there for all of them. Apparently mid April was beautiful - sunny, 70s - but early May decided to bring the clouds. Fortunately it didn't rain all day. Mostly at night at I recall. The last night in particular was a rainout. But we made the most of the hours when we could roam around the island.

Our base was Caldera Premium Villas in Oia. This was a nice spot in a good location offering pretty good value for Oia. Cliffside, rooms with views, the typical steps cascading down to your room. Which is nicer on the way down than the way up. 85 steps to the street. First time I forgot my phone in the room was the last time I forgot my phone in the room.

Room itself was solid and basic. I wasn't on my honeymoon. Didn't need a private infinity pool. Cave-style room with some nice views out the window.

And some nice views as you make your way up some of the stairs to breakfast and the pools.

We did a highlights tour around some of the villages, starting conveniently in Oia. As you expect, something picture-worthy every which way you turn.

I did give in to the urge to buy one of the Yellow Donkey beer shirts. Nice soft blue one in my closet right now.

Of course the pottery caught my eye. Attractive, but nothing I was going to carry around with me for the next week through Crete and Barcelona.

At first glance this might look like a picture of people enjoying a nice coffe with a view. But it's really about that dog lounging on top of the ledge oblivous to the view. What's his deal?

And while there were a fair amount of fellow tourists around, it wasn't bad. There are advantages to visiting in early May. Just might want to give yourself an extra night or two in to minimize the likelihood of rain spoiling too much of your time.

Our excursion also included some time walking through Pyrgos, which I enjoyed. If I were to go back to Santorini I'd look to spend a bit more time around Pyrgos and Megalochori. Just a free day walking / wandering / eating. Seemed pretty relaxed.

If you do pass through Pyrgos, stop by E-sterna Handmade Creations. Very nice little shop with a variety of things that looked / felt both unique and of higher quality than a lot of other shops I saw walking around the island. Pics below from its google maps listing, as I didn't take any.

The next day was spent visiting a range of hotel partners getting a sense of the locations, property characteristics, etc. Snapped a few shots of the views as we went around.

Also snagged a couple at Mythical Blue. Nice place for a shorter visit. Could work for longers stays as well if you're very specific about what room you get.

Across from Mythical Blue is Volkan on the Rocks, which is a great spot for a casual meal / drink with some views.

At this stage of our market tour my younger colleagues were still perplexed by my insistence to receive payment for using my likeness in their photos. This was a creative response posted to the group chat, indicating how a 'normal' person would have participated in the selfie.