Social media has definitely changed the way we look at travel. Every day, millions– probably billions– of images are shared by travelers on Instagram, introducing their followers, family and friends to new places. Mykonos is no exception and remains one of the most “hash tagged” locales in Greece and all of Europe. But before hashtags and social media, how did destinations advertise themselves? The travel poster was the most common form of advertisement and the Greek National Tourist Organization was …
Author: mykonosguy
No doubt, one of the most famous animals in the world and without a doubt, definitely the most famous pelican, Petros (and his extended family who all seem to be lumped into one bird called “Petros”) is the symbol of Mykonos. The story of how he became the island’s mascot is interesting, as is the international acclaim Petros has brought the island from the likes of First Lady Jackie Kennedy and other famous visitors. I stumbled across a set of …
A young American student named Carol Wells set out after art school for a backpacking trip to Europe. Carol Wells visited numerous fabled cities and countrysides, making her way across the continent. She stayed for weeks and months at time, painting in Austria, Paris and other European cities. In 1963 she took a boat from Italy to Greece, making her way to Mykonos. Almost six decades later Karolina— yes, she’s now known globally by a single name— can be found …
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With a plain red kerchief tied under her neck and a simple sleeveless sundress, she was whisked to the harbor from the yacht which was parked out in the harbor on a speedboat. She was warmly greeted on the dock by the mayor and dozens of local dignitaries– and a beautiful, large and unusually calm pelican—the icon of the island. The animal immediately captured her curiosity. “Is he wild?” she curiously asked the Mayor of Mykonos upon her arrival. “Is …
Summer of 1984, I was sixteen years old and spending my summer with my family on the island of Crete. But I was young and horny and the Sirens were howling with ecstasy, calling me to a different island. I had heard the curious whispers… friends, relatives even strangers. This was before Google and Facebook. “You know Mykonos is where all of ‘those kinds of people’ go, don’t you?” “God only knows what goes on on that island…” I was …
It was love at first sight when the American First Lady Jackie Kennedy first visited Mykonos in 1961 with her sister Lee Radziwill. Some say it was the famous pelican named petrol that captured her attention, while others remember Mrs. Kennedy talking about the special energy and peacefulness that the island had. One of her favorite places to stay when she visited the island was the Mykonos Theoxenia Hotel, a small hotel built just beyond the windmills which remains largely …
Put away that Vogue magazine and grab a copy of Lone Red Apple before you head to Mykonos this summer. Trust me… You’ll enjoy it. Set in modern times in the timeless land of the gods, A Lone Red Apple is a love story that takes place on Mykonos and the nearby, sacred island of Delos. Just as these islands are opposites, so too are the lives of Matthew, a staid and shy British professor, and Elena, a lovely Greek …
I was honored to share the stage with John Roa, a Chicago-based tech entrepreneur at the Greek America Foundation’s last National Innovation Conference in Philadelphia in May. I talked with Roa, who sold his successful company ÄKTA in 2015 to Salesforce for undisclosed millions, about his recent €10m investment in Mykonos and his newfound love for the island. Roa has already pumped money into various hospitality projects on the island, including luxury villas, a massive beach bar named SantAnna and …
Although maybe not “beach reading,” this book has in it two of the most iconic images of Mykonos ever captured. Costas Manos, a long-regarded photographer and member of the Magnum team since the 1960s shot the images during a stint on the island in 1967. They are part of a bigger collection called “A Greek Portfolio,” which comprise a beautiful, collector’s edition book by the same title. The book is a bit over-sized and may not fit in your beach …
Millions of people visit the island every year, most between July and August and all experience the same colors and sunsets. Most, will never see these colors of this magical island– the colors that only come out in the winter months… when hardly anyone is watching. Andreas Bekas shot this remarkable time-lapse video of a Mykonos that most people will never see. Mykonos in the winter, when the countryside transforms from a barren brown to a lush green and the …