The Bailey Planet : Mykonos, Greece

If you ask my kids what their favorite stop on the cruise was, they will emphatically tell you that it was Mykonos!

We promised the kids we would go to the beach but not before checking out the old town of Mykonos. We took the cruise ship's boat from the new port to the old port. It's kind of crowded and touristy right at the port, but make your way into the old town area and get lost in the winding streets and back alleys.

Grant was freaking out that there were pigeons on the beach. In his world, the pigeons and the seagulls are in a war against each other. We are all team pigeon.

Grant getting ready to do a little shopping in Mykonos, with my too-big sunglasses on and his father's too-big hat on.

Eeeek, all my favorite colors wrapped into one!

So just when you thought these super narrow streets were "pedestrian only" - small trucks make their way down these incredibly narrow roads. It's really the only way some of the shops can have deliveries made. When they come through, you have to hop up on people's doorsteps to avoid being hit.

Yeah that's no problem. There's plenty of space. This guy actually hit the stand to his left!

I liked the doorway to the stairway, but especially liked the bright pink flowers growing on the tree.

My Zeta sisters will get a kick out of this one.

I love this blue color so much! Cerulean and/or cobalt are probably my favorite blues and are plentiful in Greece.

More of the pretty Greek island flowers. I promise I didn't filter these pictures - they really are this vibrant!

Cats of Mykonos.

I tried looking everywhere to find out if I was seeing a superlative, but alas, it wasn't the winner for narrowest alleyway. It measures 34 cm (13.38") on one end, and a wider 64 cm (25.2") on the other end. It's only one Natalie wide! There's an alley in Reutlingen, Germany that holds the record at 12.2" wide at it's narrowest point. This is certainly close! To find it, go to the front of the Panachra Church and it's just to the right of the church building.

The other end of the narrow alleyway is approximately 1 Natalie and 1 Grant wide.

This was so pretty, the owners knew they had to put a gate up (to my left) so people wouldn't be taking pictures on their front doorstep!

The island of Mykonos is only 33 square miles. The Chora (or town) of Mykonos is home to most of it's over 10,000 inhabitants.

Hanging clothes outside - it's not just for Italians anymore.

One of the most interesting things to see in Mykonos are it's famous windmills. Construction started in the 16th century and continued into the 20th century on the windmills, which face north to capture the strong northerly winds. They were used to crush wheat during their time, but are no longer operational.

Although there are windmills all around the island, the Kato Mili which is Greek for lower windmills are probably the most well known. Today, there are 7 remaining windmills in Kato Mili, with a total of 16 on the entire island. One has been transformed into a museum and several are privately owned, with some people even using them for as a home! Who knows... maybe our next home will be a windmill on the island of Mykonos!

Hey kids, do you want to live in a windmill!?

The windmills sit on a hill where the town meets the sea.

You know I can't look at this picture and think of anything except, "What happens when the waves come crashing into these homes during the winter cyclones?"

We had a great little meal at Mamalouka where I was able to scratch one of the Greek meals off of my scratch off food map!

Pomegranates grew above us as we had a lunch of Greek delicacies and moussaka.

Originally painted white to reflect the sun, the plaster homes are now rumored to be white and blue due to a government order for uniformity by the prime minister-turned dictator Ionnis Metaxes in the 1930s. Not sure if this is true, but these Greek Cyclade islands certainly do match their flag.

Tree trunks are painted white to kill bugs. Turns out it's not really white paint, but a mix of water, chalk and lime. We know it as whitewash and it's the same product used to paint the homes. It also can act like an SPF 50 in that it can help prevent the tree from cracking in the absurd Greek summer heat.

As you can see, the entire structure isn't required to be blue and white. Each spring, the homes are re-whitewashed to keep them looking bright and clean.

We headed back to the shuttle boat that would take us back to the port so that we could hit up a nearby beach that was within walking distance of the ship. Even in the town, the water was incredibly green and clear.

You're damn right we had to bribe them with something to get them to walk up this hill without complaining! It's actually a quick 10-15 minute walk to Agios Stefanos Beach but most of it is uphill. And there's no sidewalks. So I'm sure that was safe. (Honestly though, there were plenty of people walking up and down this hill.)

View of the front of our ship from near the top of the hill.

View of the back of our ship from near the top of the hill.

Yes and please and thank you. That water color isn't filtered, I promise!

We spent a glorious afternoon at Agios Stefanos beach. It wasn't crowded at all and there are plenty of restaurants to grab a bite to eat or a beer. That water tho… it was cold. Too cold for this Florida mama.

But my three New Englanders enjoyed it!

That's a private house on the point there. Must suck to own that one. (Also come on dude... paint your house white!)

Ok this one was filtered for Instagram. This was the BEST DAY, according to my babies.

Mommy thought it was pretty good too. Gotta try all of the beers in all of the countries!

I mentioned it before, but Mykonos is a VERY windy island. This is how they keep the check at your table without it flying away. Crumbled up and under a shot glass.