Photo Roundup: My Best Travel Moments

A myriad of photos taken over the six years of my blog… I thought it would be fun to publish a blog post with some of my favorite photos. This gave me a chance to look through posts and relive my travels!

So this time it’s very little text and mostly photos. If you do want “the full description,” you can now easily find the blog of your interest by using the new page that I’ve added to the Menu (top of the page): an Index of Articles. Just find the title/subject and click on the appropriate link that will take you right to the corresponding blog.

I begin my blog photo roundup with the cosmopolitan island of Rhodes and largest island in the Dodecanese island chain, since this was the first post I published in July 2019, and then a second visit and post in June 2023.

Around the medieval old town:

A ferry ride of several hours east of Rhodes will take you to the beautiful and colorful island of Kastellorizo, close to Turkey. At the main port.

The island of Crete is practically a country unto itself. My blog posts treat mostly western Crete, the Chania prefecture.

Around Chania’s palia poli (old town). While Rhodes shows the influence of the Knights of St. John, Chania’s old town is clearly Venetian in its look.

Generally I haven’t included food in my “best of…” but with mouthwatering Cretan food, I’ve made an exception!

Other Places in Crete

Matala in the Heraklion prefecture on the southern coast is known for its prehistoric caves where a number of “hippies” lived throughout the 1960’s, into the 70’s. One visitor was Joni Mitchell, who in “Carey,” sang “The night is a starry dome / And they’re playin’ that scratchy rock and roll / Beneath the Matala Moon.”

Loutro, south coast, Chania prefecture. You can take a boat there from Chora Sfakion (90 minute drive from Chania).

The Samaria Gorge: the hike of hikes in Crete, 16 km through gorgeous scenery, that cuts through the Lefka Ori (White Mountains) from the Omalos plateau to Agia Roumeli on the south coast.

On Crete’s southwest coast you find Elafonisi, much “discovered.”

And nearby Kedrodasos (Cedar Forest), wilder, more beautiful.

At Vouves, west of Chania, grows one of the oldest olive trees in the world, older than 2000 years and still producing olives.

ARGOSARONIC ISLANDS

Salamina

Hydra is a delight for both the eyes and ears (no cars or motorcycles!)

CYCLADIC ISLANDS

Kea (Tzia)

Kythnos

Syros

Santorini

THE PELOPONNESE

The Mani Peninsula

Nafplio

Arkadia

Temple of Nestor in Pylos and Methoni

CENTRAL GREECE

Delphi, Galaxidi

Thessaly

Meteora

Central Makedonia

Thessaloniki

ATHENS

Plaka

Psyrri

National Gardens

Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology

Summer Cinema

The mountains of Athens

Penteli

Hymettus or Imitos

Parnitha in winter glory

OUTSIDE GREECE

FRANCE — Paris

Chartres

BELGIUM

Bruges

SPAIN

Andalucia

Granada, Cordoba, Seville

Cadiz

Barcelona

Segovia

Madrid

ITALY

Rome

Florence and Siena

SICILY

Cefalu

CYPRUS

MOROCCO

NEW YORK CITY

Washington Square

Central Park

Washington DC

And some images from George Chatzichrisostomos’ beautiful stained glass pieces…

I hope you’ve enjoyed my photo roundup. What photo(s) did you particularly like? I’d love to hear. You can give your comment below —

If you like what you read, hit the like button and subscribe. Please share with your friends and I’d love to hear your comments below.

There’s no need to log in to leave a comment. Just give an email address and your name.

Get new blogs delivered directly to your inbox! It costs nothing to subscribe. Olivesandislands does not share email information.

Sherri Moshman Paganos is a writer and former educator, inspired by her life in Athens, where she and her husband are happily retired and enjoying their travels in Greece and abroad. You can check out her writing — fiction, non-fiction, poetry and articles here.