Paxos, Act 2: The Harbour Town of Gaios

I like Paxos. It is that kind of small, relatively tourist-free Greek island that makes you feel really comfortable and relaxed. I became smitten with this little island as soon as I set my eyes on the delightful pastel-coloured houses that lined its picturesque little harbour: it feels as though I had just stepped on shore onto one of those serene, rustic and paradise-on-earth kind of little Greek haven, the kind of Greece so often portrayed in novels and films. Sure, I had heard something about the beauty of Paxos before I arrived, but I had not envisaged it to be quite as nice, given that I was always a bit weary about islands which were reputed to be 'out of this world' by some of those run-of-the-mill travel guidebooks.

The unique thing about arriving by boat at Paxos's harbour town, Gaios, is that instead of arriving at a conventional open harbour, the ferry instead has to manevour its way through a very narrow inlet, before arriving at the inner harbour close to the centre of the town. This is because the entrance to the inner harbour of Gaios is separated from the much wider outer harbour by a small natural island by the name of Pontikonisi, which also acts as a natural breakwater to shelter the town of Gaios from heavy storms and waves in winter. It took quite a while before the captain of the ferryboat successfully docked the ferry at the landing pier of the inner harbour.

 

A Beautiful Cafe in Mytilini, Lesvos: Old-World Charm with no Latin Name

This is one of the most beautiful and unforgettable cafes I have ever seen throughout the whole Mediterranean region, but I still do not know its name. Of course this wonderful cafe has a name, but it is written in Greek alphabets only, without Latin transliteration. I stumbled upon this place one evening as I was strolling in the narrow streets of the old quarters of Mytilini, trying to refresh my memories of this amazing port town, which I first visited in the summer of 2007 and immediately fell in love with, and to relive the moments as much as I could. Its elegant columns, large, airy windows, and French doors attracted my attention. As I stood next to the windows admiring the enlarged black-and-white images of old Mytilini, taken during the late 19th and early parts of the 20th century,  a friendly waiter saw me. With a smile, he opened the door and invited me inside to take a better look at the old pictures.

And that was the beginning of my love affair with this cafe.  

Hotel Cavalieri, Corfu Town: Mojito, Venetian Fortress, and the Best Panoramic View of the Old Town

On the way back from Parga and Paxos, the captain who had been to Kaohsiung recommended the rooftop restaurant and bar of Hotel Cavalieri as the place to have a cocktail in the afternoon. At first I was not that interested, until I heard that their terrace bar offers some of the best panoramic views of the Old Town, the Venetian Fortress and the Esplande, I immediately noted down the address.

The next day, I turned up at the hotel and was immediately impressed by this hotel's beautiful front portal and the elegant interiors of its ground floor lobby. This hotel is located in one of the most prestigeous parts of Corfu Town, in front of the Maitand Monument and just a shortwalk from the Liston and the Museum of Asian Art. The friendly lady at the reception who speaks very good English told me their rooftop bar is open only in the late afternoon and the evenings, and I was too early for that.