September 18, 2017
Monday mornings are not usually welcomed, unless you’re on vacation. September 18, 2017 was one of those good Mondays. My husband and I hopped on the A1 bus from Voula to Piraeus, then on to the Flying Cat 5 for the hour-long glide on the Aegean toward the island of Hydra, a peaceful place, with gentle blue-green waters and a quiet lifestyle.
The island greeted us with plenty of sunshine, stone pathways, horses, and donkeys, the only mode of transportation on the island (except for a couple of work trucks). Our AirBnB host was traveling, so her friend who didn’t speak English led the way. We happily paid the €20 for the donkey to carry our luggage, as we climbed the 400 or so steps up the hill to Georgia’s Getaway.
Georgia’s Getaway was a cute and quaint place perched atop the island, with a most amazing panoramic view. We entered through an arched doorway and were welcomed by the shade of a lemon tree and peaceful garden leading to the house. Inside, the best rewards were waiting for us: a much-needed AC unit, water, and a lovely bottle of wine. The bedroom had two beds and a futon. The shower was tiny but the water pressure was good.
After we rested and cooled off for a while, we headed outside to explore the rooftop. The view didn’t disappoint. We would return many times to admire it, especially in the early morning and late evening, when the sun was gentler.
The house apparently came with a sweet beggar calico who greeted us every day for breakfast and dinner.
In fact, as any good Greek island, there were many kitties roaming the neighborhood and enjoying the sunshine and proximity to merciful tourists.
We headed off to a nearby grocery store and got some essentials. The store we found wasn’t very cheap compared to the prices you could find on the mainland (we quickly spent €50 on things like cheese, olives, bread, orange juice, water, dill, yogurt, a pepper, and a couple of cucumbers, and of course more wine).
With the fridge adequately stocked with snacks, we were ready to find a good place for an early dinner and a relaxing glass of wine.
Veranda lured us in with the tempting smell of comfort food. Kostas and Andrew, the two brothers who own Veranda, were welcoming and the food was delicious. We had the tricolor pasta and the Escalope a la Chef (pork in a tomato sauce), and we enjoyed a nice light Greek white wine, all for €46. We watched the nice partial view of the port at sunset for a while, and completed our first day on Hydra with an evening stroll.
