Thessaloniki is not on the main tourist route for Greece.  Yet there is a lot of interest and value there to see.

Now the city is trying to make is easier and more pleasant for pedestrians to get around the downtown area by excluding cars on Saturdays between Noon and 7 P.M.  I hope it works and gets extended.

ANA-MPA photo / S. Barbaroussis

Karin couldn’t resist swimming in the sea on a warm April afternoon.

She claims she wasn’t cold.

I stayed on the shore and took artsy photos.

April shadows will bring May flowers.

On Paros we are fortunate to have the world’s best gelato—in my world anyway—that is made on site by Denise of Gelato Sulla Luna.

Now Denise is sponsoring a Paros visit by Mimi Santapa, an internationally celebrated Tango instructor from Buenos Aires.  Mimi has been teaching for many years in Argentina, USA and Europe.  She was recently invited by UNESCO to teach in Paris.

On Paros the lessons will be from 21 through 25 April at 15:00 and 21:00.  Each session will be 10 Euro or 3 for 25 or the best deal:  a pack of 9 lessons comes with a full kilo of Denise’s gelato!  Contact Denise at parosgelato at hotmail for bookings and location.

For tango on Paros in the summer read about Ballroom Dancing

                      Do it better on Paros

Now you can buy a monastery on Paros for half the price of an island.  Today I got an email notice of a 14th Century Greek Monastery for sale.  When I went to the company’s web site I couldn’t find the monastery but I did find an island off Voutakis beach near our village of Aliki.

There is a different Paros monastery that I would guess is available as well.  We walked to it a couple years ago with friends.  Here is Karin’s photo journalism account:  Walk to Aghios Ioannis Klidonas 

So here is your chance to counter those wealthy Greeks who are exporting their cash out of the country.  Buy island property while the market is down.

Cheers,

Typically we choose to spend our Easter in a very low key manner.  Yesterday we packed a picnic and scootered the length of the island to Monistiri Beach.  We had read several articles in Paros Life indicating this beach and the peninsula behind it were being converted to a nature and conservation park.

So I was quite surprised to see that the beach club there—long noted for wild music and parties—had been enlarged and that the beach umbrella stands were all set up for this season.  One never knows what is actually happening behind high-sounding press releases, I guess.  Maybe it means the music will be more conservative.

Anyway we had an enjoyable time hiking around and eating our lunch to the sound of water lapping on rocks.  We were offered a beer by some young men who were barbecuing a lamb on the shore.  They had come from Athens on the yacht in the photo.  On the way home we noticed a great many family gatherings which is the traditional way the Greeks spend Easter.

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Anyone who will be near Athens this 16-20 June should check out the 2nd Annual Athens Fringe Festival.  In addition to the more traditional music and stage performances the program includes bar poets, concerts in galleries, dance lessons, juggling, photography and film festivals.  Even the shops are getting into the act with White Night in Athens, whatever that is.  Most of the performances are at the Technopolis theatre in Gazi.

This weekend Karin and I are celebrating our 39th wedding anniversary and a milestone birthday for her—I don’t know if she wants the actual number published through out cyberspace.

Of nearly equal moment is that we were able to collaborate on a project that I have wanted to do for years:  prepare a comprehensive list and description of Paros beaches.  Karin wrote most of the text and I inserted relevant photos that I could find.

Please take a look by clicking the NEW! tab above.

If that doesn’t work try this link:  http://www.parosparadise.com/ParosBeaches.htm

All corrections, opinions and comments are welcome.  Please comment on your favourite Paros beach.