We were in Greece in September and October. The best months to visit, we’ve discovered. Crowds (and beaches!) thinned, weather tamed, locals mellowed, I don’t miss the frying pan summers there.

We were both too lazy and busy to bother with writing. Will do better next year! In the meantime, here are the highlights:

Itinerary: Athens, Rhodes, Symi, Karpathos, Symi, Athens

• Athens:  Admired the art of the Goulandris Foundation, walked in the park (hordes of turtles), checked out Kolonaki (the Pac Heights of Athens: very posy and Louis Vuittony). Saw an opera performance by the Greek National Opera at Stavros Niarchos Hall: Iphigenie en Aulide & Iphigenie en Tauride. Heads up: the crepes sold outside the venue are not to be missed.
• Rhodes: Saw Count of Monte Cristo, went to the beach (our usual and also tried the free beach. As the comedienne Sommore says, “Free ain’t good”. She’s correct in this instance for sure.). Got my first haircut in Greece: I’d give it a B-/C+.
• Symi: Did our usual lazing around, a ton of cooking, a day of scuba diving, a couple of dinner parties, the requisite puzzling, a lot of reading, marveling at the beauty of the harbor, and movie watching. My dear friend and first college roommate Kerry came and visited us for about a week, and we had a great time gabbing, going to the gym, watching scary movies, eating great food (prepared expertly by Chef T comme d’habitude), had an awesome last day at Toli beach where Kerry had a mini photo shoot
• Karpathos: Virgin trip to this island. While initially aesthetically underwhelming, the food was some of the best, most reasonable and varied we’ve had in Greece. Tried zucchini flowers for the first time: delicious. Drove to Olympos, met a nice Dutch couple and had lunch together, bought some beautiful handwoven throws from a traditional Greek proprietor, We also experienced some crystal-clear water while diving on the island. Visited some incredible beaches (and one with an amazing equally incredible restaurant overlooking it. And of course the mandatory mani/pedi with a dose of post-service drama: T was supposed to pick me up but apparently deleted that mental memo, so i ultimately decided to walk back to our apartment (not a given, based on my questionable navigational skills), only to find the outside door locked. Luckily the manager was able to let me into the lobby, but then I couldn’t get into the room as T had the key, the door was locked from the inside, and no amount of knocking brought him to the door. After some mutual worry, panic, and hand wringing, said manager finally banged ferociously on the door and T woke up from his (clearly) deep slumber to let me in 🙄.