Here’s a quick look back to my favorite of the Greek islands I visited: Mykonos. I will note, I went at the end of the season, so Paradise Beach was dying down and the island was much calmer and less crowded. The weather was perfect, sunny and warm during the days and slightly cooler at night. If I was to go again, I’d go during that same time.

To fill you in: I went on a six week solo trip to Europe during September and October 2016. I started in Spain, then went to Greece and Ireland. It was amazing. While I wasn’t exactly blogging at the time, I was keeping an online journal and taking pictures for it. Now I just scroll through them all – I took almost 1,000 photos – and daydream about it all. It feels like just yesterday but also like a lifetime ago.

Above is what felt like home during my time in Mykonos, Pension Maria’s. Run by two brothers and their wives, I could not have felt more comfortable and at home. Everyone was so friendly, it felt like I had known them forever. The view from my room was wonderful, I slept great and had a filling breakfast every day! I definitely recommend it.

One of the first things I did was walk into Mykonos town to explore the picturesque streets I’d seen so often online. It’s difficult to explain, but the island isn’t all like this. Once you walk into town, the streets are barely wide enough to fit a cart like this one, and everyone has to walk. It was beautiful to see! The shot above was taken during lunch. The man who drives that cart had gone home to eat, along with what seemed like the rest of the city!

Though not overly whitened and overexposed like the pictures you’ll see on Pinterest and Instagram, this is what a residential alley looks like in Mykonos town. The shop owners clean the walk and walls surrounding their businesses, but residential alleys paint a more realistic picture. Everywhere are clothing lines hung out to dry, plants lining walls and stairwells, and colorful doors and verandas. During lunchtime, the smells were incredible! Almost enough to make a stranger walk right in and sit down.

Maria’s is up the road about a ten minute walk from the old port and Mykonos town. Most cruise ships and large ferries do in to the new port, but this is where the history is. This is Mykonos town!

A famous landmark in Mykonos, these are four of what used to be up to 26 of the island’s windmills, used to mill wheat. To my knowledge, they are preserved but no longer in use.

My favorite day in Mykonos was spent driving around the entire island on a rented quad. I packed something to drink, a snack and got on my way! Mykonos has many beaches, my second favorite being Panormos beach. It gets quite a bit of wind from the north, but it’s a quieter beach with resorts rather than tiny hotels popping up everywhere. A completely different experience but beautiful in it’s own right!

One of the more dangerous things I did on Mykonos was make the drive to Armenistis lighthouse, but it was worth it! It was incredibly windy up there and the opposite side of the lighthouse is a bit more land and then a steep hill down to the water. To the left and right are almost cliff-like walls of the island, it almost reminded me of the island in Inception, minus the creepy scary parts! I almost slid down several roads backwards on the way to Armenistis, went way too low on gas and had to have someone jump the quad and barely made it back to Mykonos town in daylight! Definitely worth it in the end. Plus, some lovely Greek family would’ve helped me out, right?

Ok so my favorite spot in all of Mykonos was this beach. Kapari beach is the smallest beach on the island at only 60 meters long and not very many deep. It’s harder to get to and basically sits at the bottom of a large hill, so it’s not the hip spot for tourists. It was quiet, the water was calm and it’s west-facing, so the sunset was glorious.

I’m generally not one to revisit a place – there’s so much world to see! – but I’d revisit the Mykonos, Ios and Santorini anytime.