Mykonos

After 7 days island hopping from the comfort of a cruise, we marooned ourselves on the island of whitewashed Mykonos for an overnight, as the rest of the cruise passengers sailed back to Athens.

It's no wonder this island is so popular - it's gorgeous. Mykonos felt young, hip and edgy, brimming with posh people living for the next party. It was great for people-watching, and I loved strolling down the not-so-quiet lanes.

 I adored this little chapel on the harbor, and tucked inside to trade the crowds for a few moments of tranquility.

 "Little Venice" - in the background you can see the famous windmills.

 I took a long stroll while the kids and Mark waited for their dinner, looking out upon the water.

 In case you wondered what was on the menu...

 The kids played in the sand as the sun set on the harbor.

 A few more streets I ambled down.

 Postcard pretty!

More beach time.

We said goodbye to the Celestyal Crystal, our cruise ship. Gryffy still talks about how he misses Celestyal. It wasn't a luxury liner, but it did the trick getting us around from place to place. And we got upgraded by three floors! 

 I intentionally booked the nearest hotel to the harbor, and it was such a hike uphill that I started to slide back down. Gryffy carried my shoes for me (no traction on those) and I eventually made it to the top.

 And it was gorgeous.
I wish I'd taken a photo with the lady at the front desk, who was so kind to us and told me all about the "evil eye" tradition in Greece and her beliefs about the power of intention, synchronicity, etc. - such a great conversation!
This was the view from our ginormous balcony of the pool, where we enjoyed swimming the next morning.

See how close it is to the cruise harbor?

The room itself was adorable (this is the kids' side - each had their own bed) and the kids were thrilled because they finally had wifi - first time in a whole week. That's a record, I think. How great it was to disconnect for awhile and simply soak in time together!

Our private balcony.

Next morning, we hitched a ferry to our island home base, the gorgeous Oia caldera of Santorini...