My little place of Heaven

The Greek island of Spetses is not only very important to the history of Greece, but also a gorgeous little island. Very few cars are allowed in the island, most of them are Taxis. You can walk or cycle around and enjoy a mile long promenade by the seaside.

People who come to Spetses once, they want to come again and again. There is a myth, that there is a flower in the island, called Throubi, that when you go there you smell it, and it makes you want to come again...

Celebrities have come to the island and got inspired by its beauty (the book The Magus by John Fowles is set in Spetses). Brigitte Bardot came in the '60s and fell in love with one of our Spetsiot friends! And of course our Mikey is a regular visitor with his family...
The ultimate celeb-spotting for me was in 1983, when I danced with Rudolph Nureyev in one of the island's discos!(not ballet of course, but it was like ballet with him, lol) How fab was that?

The beaches are just incredible. Crystal blue water, sand, clean and gorgeous. I can spend the whole day by the sea and then go to a nearby café and relax. My favourite moment of the day, if not the whole year!

The architecture of the island is breathtaking. The island structure is protected by law and all the houses have to look the same. If you exclude a couple of ugly hotels built in the ,70s, everything else is very traditional. I have the pleasure of staying in two houses: my mother's mainly, which has a fantastic view of the Old Harbour, and my sister's, which is built in a new complex, that has won awards for its traditional architecture, a very beautiful house indeed. We have been going there since 1970 and although we have travelled around Greece, our hearts are always in Spetses.

The nightlife of the island is very lively. Hundreds of bars, clubs and restaurants. My favourite one is Balkoni, which is right at the front of the sea, plays jazz and serves the best Margheritas.

Every September the 8th, the island celebrates the burning of the Turkish Armata. During the Greek Revolution in 1821, a small boat, armed only with a torch and two very brave men, went very close to the Turkish fleet and set fire into its flagship. The rest of the ships just scattered away out of fear and the island was freed from its conquerors.
This brave incident is celebrated with music, free wine and food, dance and a re-enactment of the burning of the ship. The fake Armata is loaded with pyrotechnics and the night ends with millions of the best fireworks! It is the most joyous feeling.

My dream and plan is when I retire to live in London during the winter and in Spetses during the summer.
But at the moment, I can just enjoy my three weeks and I'll see you at the end of August! I will miss you all very much, I'm sure I'll find some time to say hi from an internet café.

Have a lovely rest of the summer!!!!