The trip to Paros was…easy. On-time flights, no lost luggage, crankiness at a minimum…until we actually got to Paros. That’s when the adventure begins 🙂

We decided to rent a car – as everyone (including Google) told me to do – and the rental agent was waiting right outside the tiny Paros airport with a large sign “COUTURIER”. I love seeing my name on a sign in a foreign country. Is that weird? Purchased the medium insurance, checked out the baby white Spark and off we went. I rented a manual on purpose – cheaper and John and I are very used to driving one. Yeah – used to driving one in the USA! John called the clutch smooshy. Nothing we could do – we were off.

I got to check out the amazing, late-evening scenery as John navigated the roads in the little Spark that doesn’t seem to have much oomph to it! We arrived in Naousa – purported to be “one of the prettiest villages in the Cyclades” – in under 30 minutes and tried to find out apartment. According to Christos – our Airbnb host – there are no addresses on the island – so he gave us a google pin. Seems easy right? Let’s just say that sometimes google ain’t so great. John is great though! I think I made him turn the Spark around 3 times before we finally found the right street. And I say street – it’s really a 45-degree hill that’s not in the best of shape.

As an elderly Greek woman sneered/laughed(?) at us, John navigated the hill. He left a bit of rubber as we went and squealed those tires but we finally located Francesca who told us where the hell the apartment was. I’m not sure we would have made it without her. And she was very kind – “yes that hill is tough, but it’s all ok”.

She showed us to the lovely little apartment as Christos and his wife are off visiting Athens and couldn’t meet us. She also gifted us with a stream-of-consciousness on where to eat and go in Paros. I caught about every 3rd word…

This place is absolutely adorable! Thank you to Claire and Mike – our neighbors – for hooking us up! It is a tiny studio with a little kitchen area and a balcony that looks out onto the town of Naousa and the Aegean Sea beyond. This place will be perfect for us. And goodness knows we’ll get our workout going up and down that hill!

Who needs a shower? We were HUNGRY! Off we went to explore the town and get some yummy Greek food.

As anyone who knows me knows, I have been doing research on this place for months and have gotten restaurant recommendations from many. Even Francesca recommended To Takimi – that would make 4 recommendations for the restaurant. It became our destination…but not for long.

By this point the sun had set and we headed to the small, walkable main area of Naousa which is considered a fishing village and sits right on a lovely marina.

Well this town was packed! I cannot even imagine it during high season! We couldn’t get a table at To Takimi so we wandered around trying to find a place. Let me just say – make reservations! I’d read that and actually tried but I’ll take it to heart next time. It was fun to walk around and see all of the traditional Greek architecture and the little tavernas filled to the brim with tourists. Small shops seemed to be open all night long and were also doing a very good business. You could get very lost in the sweet little alleyways – and we did.

After exhausting all of the recommendations I’d been given – they were all packed – we ended up at Calypso and had a pretty good meal. Mediterranean salad for John and grilled meatballs with yogurt sauce for me. And of course the local wine! There is a local winery in Paros that I’d been reading about – Moraitis Winery – and I had to give it a try. It was similar to the love of my life – Chardonnay – and was so yummy! And just what I needed after a long day of travel and the “hill adventure”. John tried a traditional Greek wine Biblia Chora. Mine was better!

We wandered the town for a bit longer and promised to come back when there were hopefully less tourists.

The bed was a very welcome sight upon our return to our apartment especially after navigating the hill. There was a local tour guide at the top of the hill who asked how it was. My response – because I was huffing and puffing – was “you can hear how it was”. His response, “you can smell how it was!” Made me giggle! But oh so true.