This is how we ended up staying at Margarita Studios on the wrong side of the island. Although Paros isn't huge, a majority of accommodation on the island is centred near the port in Parikia. Our place was clear across the island in Ambelas, on the eastern coast facing Naxos, the island we'd just left. It's only 15km away but to get there on public transport, you must take a bus to Naoussa and then another to Ambelas. The latter bus leaves three times a day.
Thus, a car seemed the only viable, albeit expensive, option. Because of the impending Brexit drama, the value of the Pound versus the Euro has drastically dropped. In 2015, £696 got you Euro 1000. Today, £902 gets you 1000 Euro. Thank you, shitty politicians.
All that aside, this was the first time since summer 2016 that I got behind the wheel. No one in my family trusts me with their beasts of vehicles, which I only partially understand. So what if I have to approach every roundabout and have someone remind me of the correct way around it?
For the skeptical, I got it right every single time. But I was nervous driving in a new country. The roads weren't crazy busy but there were a lot of narrow lanes and paths. In looking for lunch one day, we got lost and found ourselves in a system of one ways up the village of Marpissa, a village founded in the 15th century.
I couldn't get enough of the white on white on blue. And all of the colours on the houses just accented the beauty of this small town.
Just down the road from Marpissa, and on the way to lunch, we found this old windmill:
And Paul practised his best 'do I look European' face. Considering that lots of people spoke to us in Greek or Italian first, I think we did an okay job.
Still Marpissa:
We traversed the Eastern half of the island over the course of the three days we were there, finding bakeries, cool towns (more on Naoussa later) and hidden away beaches.
There are worse ways to spend a holiday.
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