Paraportiani in Mykonos

Paraportiani is the famous Cycladic church you have probably, at one time or another, seen a picture of.  It is all curvy and strange, looking extremely "handmade."  It is as though someone sculpted it out of clay and just left it to harden in the bright Greek sun.  Above is a picture of the church as the sun begins to set and it takes on a golden hue.

The church began its construction in the 15th century, but it took the island Greeks  until the 18th century to complete it.

Our favorite beach in Mykonos - Agios Ioannis

Our first full day in Mykonos, we scooped up an ATV from Fabio's younger brother and headed for a highly recommended beach.  We settled down and just sort of wasted the day away.  I read Civilization by Niall Ferguson.  Kristin read some sort of Jackie Collins book, and that was about it.  We spoke little, except when our stomachs began to growl. 

Finding the beach was easy.  We mounted our GPS on the ATV and dropped a pin where we though we would find the beach across from the island of Delos.  An ATV is the perfect way to explore Mykonos.

Furmonster of the day - Mykonos

He had to be held back when another pup walked by - pretty dirty

Patience is sometimes the key to photography - Mykonos WIndmills

I believe the key to great travel photography is 30% camera, 30% skill, 20% patience, and 10% creativity.  Patience is really critical and it can mean waiting for the right time of day to capture a picture, or even just literally waiting until people move out of the shot.  The latter is something that I am constantly bumping up against, and I am known to wait over an hour for people just to move out of a shot.

Petros the Mykonos pelican

In 1958, an injured pelican was nursed back to health by a fisherman on Mykonos.  The locals named him Petros and he was a town favorite and a symbol of Mykonos.  He was sadly hit by a car in 1985 and died.

Three new pelicans took residence on the island, a male and two females.  They named the male Petros in honor of the original and he is found around the harbor in old town daily, strutting his stuff, menacing tourists, and stealing fish.

Tropicana Paradise Beach - Mykonos

The Travel Channel voted Tropicana at Paradise Beach the best beach bar in the world.  It is set in a perfect bay with clear calm water (above), and every day in the late afternoon the party starts around 5 with Sasa - the King of Mykonos leading the charge. 

The wheels come off a bit, and I imagine that it would have been a great and horrible place to supplant a 19 year old Justin Delaney.  Should we ever meet via some kind of time travel worm hole, I will be sure not to bring this place up.  Kristin and I people-watched for a few hours and then literally drove our ATV off into the sunset. Check out the pictures.

This Guy - King of Mykonos Edition

This guy is some kind of celebrity DJ/MC in Mykonos at Tropicana Paradise Beach - which is considered the best beach bar in the world (maybe a bit of a stretch).  Check out that bathing suit!  There were some guys from Abu Dhabi at the club and he shouted Abu Dhabi every 3.5 minutes into his mic.  Good times.

This Guy - Mykonos All-star Edition

 I don't know who this guy is, or where he came from, but for the better part of an hour, Kristin and I fixed our gaze upon him.  He had the moves of a nimble sex-crazed ogre.

Fleeing Central Europe for Mykonos

The winter came to Vienna, and we fled.  We boarded a plane early on a cold morning with what appeared to be flurries hovering in the sky and flew straight for Greece, where the temp doubled, and we traded clouds for sun.  All around, it felt like the right thing to do.

The horse who loved me - Lipizzaners in Slovenia

We visited an area of Slovenia known for their Lipizzaner horses.  The horses are just incredibly beautiful and the breed began in the Karst region of Slovenia in the 1500's.  The horses are typically used for dressage, which is pretty boring to watch, but once you get into it, it is nearly impossible to think of anything else.  Or so I am told.  The horses are rare and expensive.

Anyways, we were passing this small farm, and for whatever reason, this horse saw me, got incredibly excited, and sprinted over to say Hello.  It was as if he had waited all of his life for me to arrive at his gate. He looked that excited.

Furmonsters of the day - Showdown edition

What you lookin at punk

Exploring the tiny town of Rovinj, Croatia

Rovinj is a small fishing port in northenr Croatia that has been a part of just about everything from the Byzantine Empire to Venice, Austria, and Italy.  As such it is a colorful outpost, surrounded by the sea with an old church tower as the centerpiece and narrow lanes for getting lost.