Folegandros Island

Up from Santorini you will find Folegandros, a hidden gem of an Island, just a 45 minute ferry ride from Santorini.  It is a great getaway in combination with Santorini, fly into Santorini spend a few days there and then hop over to Folegandros for a few days.

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The "chora", the name of pretty much every main village on the islands is built on the cliffs of the Island.
This Island has only a little over 650 locals and no bank or tourist office so make sure you have plenty of cash and free time to enjoy a relaxing and quiet Island. 

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Some of the beaches are hard to get too, so if walking wear a really good pair of shoes, rent a buggy or have a boat take you to a few of the harder to get to beautiful beaches.

Milos Island

Milos is the lowest southwestern Island of the Cyclades.  Below Serifos and Sifnos.

Milos is best known for Venus de Milo a statue of Aphrodite in the Lovre Museum in Paris.

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But what it should be known for is it's beaches and surrounding colorful waters.

source, Is that your boat anchored there?  I wish it was mine!

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Don't these waters make you want to just run and play and swim all day, ahh..laa..  Is it summer time yet.  Many of the websites say that April and May are a good time to visit, and being closer to Crete and therefor probably getting warmer weather earlier than the more northern Islands, then maybe this is true.  April is just around the corner, anyone ready to dip there feet in?

KEA, double layout

double layout of Kea

 Kea is a beautiful Island, it's quite and it is slightly different from the other Cyclades Islands in it's Architecture, I would have been happy in any of the homes on the water, such gorgeous stone houses.

This one had it's own bay, and a pretty blue door leading down to it.

detail of buttons and fabric flower

First page of layout, My favorite Things about KEA

My favorite things about Kea, bougainvillea, architecture and the beautiful blue SEA.

chipboard SEA

Second page of Layout

First Page Linking too Scraptastic February Challenge #4
Second Page Linking too Creative Craft World March Challenge

March - Cyclades Islands

Let's explore the Cyclades Islands, Cyc·la·des (skl-dz) also Ki·klá·dhes (k-kläs)

A group of islands just south of Athens in the Aegean Sea. The name was used in ancient times for the islands surrounding Delos. (ow -I was trying to get how it sounded from the dictionary, go here to check it out)  Delos (blogged about here) being a sacred Island from before Christ, is one of the best and most interesting historical and archeological sights of Greece.  One of my all time favorite places to go, to get the feeling of how old and ancient Greece is.

Ancient Lions on Delos

 Kiklas means "around" in Greek and this describes the Islands that are around Delos, now in modern times they surround Syros as a modern and very large port (boats) center.

Picture of an abandoned house with a Bougainvillaea Flower bush outside-Syros

The Cyclades comprise about 220 islands, the major ones being Amorgós, Anáfē, Ándros, Antíparos, Dēlos, Eschátē, Íos, Kéa, Kímōlos, Kýthnos, Mēlos, Mýkonos, Náxos, Páros, Folégandros, Sérifos, Sífnos, Síkinos, Sýros, Tēnos, and Santoríni. Most of the smaller islands are uninhabited. (Stolen from Wikipedia and all of these sights will take you to a Wiki page)

Where would you like to go?

I have blogged about Kea, Mykonos and Santorini (click on each one to bring you to a new window with even more pictures) :)

Tell me where would you like to go next?

Mara

For Anchors Aweigh QAL, we are working on Rows 3 and 4 this month, I posted a few cheater tips on Flickr if you would like to take a look.  Also don't forget that So Chick! The Blog is also doing a QAL for Anchors Aweigh and she is doing the full pattern just the way it is supposed to be made, so go check out her website also.

Ipsos Beach to Sidhari Beach

Looking down on Ipsos Beach as you drive north

After leaving Ipsos Beach there are a lot of hidden coves and small beaches, plenty of places to explore.

 Such as this beach that no one was on and the only way to get down was to park on the main road and walk down a small trail.

Is that your boat anchored out there?

Or Kalami Beach known for the "White House" where the writer Lawrence Durrell lived.  A beautiful pebbly cove with several tavernas right on the water including the famous White house that also has rooms to rent.

Corfu Island is filled with Olive groves, several places sell olive wood art or olive soap, a really nice treat.

Don't rent a car if narrow roads scare you, there are several places that have room for only one car to pass, the towns will have lights to help with navigating the narrow roads, but on some of the more rural areas, you're on your own.  Only with my husbands good driving did we not get smashed by a bus going very fast on a small road.

 On the northern part of Corfu you come to the very popular British resort area of Sidhari, a lot of Brits vacation here, it is perfect for families with small children.  The beach is sand and you can go out really  far and the water will still only be up to the mid calf.  Several water sports are offered and paddle boats with slides!

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Also not to be missed the famous "Canal D'Amour" pictured above, just up from Sidhari beach.

Ipsos Beach, Corfu, Greece

Ipsos Beach, one of my husbands favorite beaches, he went there in the '91 and says it hasn't changed much.
This is a quick trip outside of Corfu Town less than 30 minutes, lots of parking on the main road, that is right behind the beach.  On the road are lots of places to grab lunch and drinks, several mini markets and lots of touristy shops (better shopping can be found elsewhere).  I think it is a good day trip early morning or later afternoon, I don't really like to be out on the beach between 1-4, too hot and the sun just bakes you.

 Ipsos Beach a very long beach lots of room to move around in, and fairly 

easy to find a spot to play and splash where you won't interfere with other swimmers.

 Directly from the ferry ride over from the mainland, this

is a perfect quick stop for the kids to have a dip.

 A place to anchor your boat to the far right of the beach.

 This is a shingle beach (little pebbles) they go into the water 

for a little bit and then it is sand, some large rocks in certain places.

Only shade provided by these palm trees (so bring an umbrella

if you want to stay long).

 You can see Corfu Town from the beach, that's it in the distance.

 Shops and Tavernas on the Left and Beach on the Right.

Some people might not like being so close to the road, 

but it makes it very convenient for a quick dip.

 The water is shallow enough for children to play in, 

the waves are negligible, here I am "swimming" with my 

hands on the sand with my son on my back.

Anchors Aweigh Quilt A Long

Have you seen this awesome quilt pattern?

It's so pretty but masculine too!

From Tula Pink for her new fabric collection Salt Water for Free Spirit Fabrics.

This quilt is done in the mostly Aqua color part of her collection, but she also has seaweed and coral colors, you can check them out here.

The quilt pattern is FREE and you can download it directly from Tula Pinks blog, here.

I thought it would be really fun to have a Quilt A Long and share the process of making this quilt.

I don't need such a big quilt for myself (it's finished size is 90" x 96") so I thought I would make 2 smaller quilts, I have already downsized the pattern to fit my kids beds (or they could make great lap quilts).  I will share with you 2 rows on the first Saturday of the month starting February 2013, we should finish the quilts by the end of June, just in time to Anchor Aweigh and go sailing somewhere.

Since my blog is supposed to be about Traveling Thru Greece, I thought it would be a fun idea to visit each island group during our QAL, here's the schedule:
February 2 - THE IONIAN ISLANDS (row 1 and 2)
March 2 - THE CYCLADES (row 3 and 4)
April 6 - CRETE (row 5 and 6)
May 4 - THE DODECANESE (row 7 and 8)
June 1 - THE NORTHEAST AEGEAN ISLANDS (binding and quilting)
Show off your quilts on June 30th, I will be setting up a Flikr group for this QAL.
Grab a the button on the side and join us for a tour of the Greek Islands.

Get Ready to Sail Away on the Anchor Aweigh Quilt A Long.

Santorini and the Sunset

If you go to Santorini then you will be shown a beautiful sunset, every tourist gathers in the evening hours along the sidewalks and at the castle in Oia to see the sun slip below the waves.

Colorful Oia

 I was there in October and even though the hotels and domatia had few people, Oia was packed with camera snapping tourist.  If you have lost your friends during the day then you will be sure to find them in Oia for the sunset.

The old port at the bottom of Oia

 We drove down to the bottom of the pier and enjoyed dinner at on of the Tavernas lining the port.

Notice the Red Lava and the Castle remnants

 Then we walked up the path to the top to shop and view the sun going down.

Oia, Santorini as seen leaving on the Ferry