The Myconian Ambassador Hotel and Tour of Mykonos

---

Thus far our stay at the Myconian Ambassador Hotel has been very pleasant. Virginia, who I believe is the concierge, is a demure and lovely person. She has dark eyes which are very mysterious, like she holds a lot of feeling and information which others may never recognize. Because all of the seven members of my family, my husband, and my sister-in-law all have blue eyes, it is familial to me. It is the brown-eyed people who hold the clandestine for me. Her eyes are like my Greek friend, Eleni’s—they reflect a depth, which is hard to comprehend. She has been wonderful to Deke and me. I told her that Deke wasn’t easy to please, but that she was doing a great job taking care of him. I told her that I was easier than Deke, and she said, “It’s okay. It’s good to have expectations.” Deke was very pleased that someone in the hospitality industry backed him up, because I have lectured Deke about being too finicky. Her genuine hospitality and professionalism is so appreciated.

Konstantinos is another employee at the front desk who has been wonderful to us. He is a good-looking guy of an indeterminate age. Deke and I aren’t sure, but we think he is in management. He was the one who gave us an upgrade—something, as I have mentioned, made Deke very happy.

George is the waiter at breakfast who takes care of us. He is a young man, but acts very maturely when tending to the guests. He will put Deke’s beloved Splenda in his iced coffee, and George makes me a Greek coffee every day. We found out that George commutes from Athens to work here. He works very hard. He stated that he wants to come to America. George, in the remote chance this blog ever finds you, we hope that you can live your dream.

There is a woman I had been admiring for days during breakfast. I figured out that she was French. No surprise. I really wanted to take her picture because she has such a great sense of style. I was afraid to approach because I didn’t want to bother her. Finally I did armed with my camera. I told her the aforementioned. She responded warmly. She showed me a lipstick from L’Oreal that stays on nearly all day. I needed the tip because my lipstick comes off very quickly. “L’Oreal” with a French accent sounds much more chic than when an American says it. I will never look at L’Oreal makeup the same again.

Deke hired a driver to give us a tour of Mykonos. Last year Deke and I rented a car to drive through Tuscany; while the countryside was beautiful, Deke says that it was “more tension than adventure.” Driving in Italy is quite an experience.

Our driver today was Stavroula, and she was excellent. As a native Mykonian, she knew the history of Mykonos and good places to take us. We went to Elia Beach. According to Stavroula, it is one of the relaxing beaches. I have learned in Mykonos that one should book one’s hotel closest to the beach which reflects one’s character or what one wants to do when one is here. I walked over to Paraga Beach today, and it was a much more athletic, fun-in-the-sun sort of beach. It may have been too much for Deke.

We went to a monastery (The Holy Diocese of Syros)—something I have really wanted to do. The church we went into was small with beautiful, ornate art. They claim that there is a work of art there, which was fashioned around the time of Christ--it certainly looked that old and important. A man who was studying to be a Greek Orthodox priest was there and answered my questions patiently. I found out that most people who come into the church to worship must stand the whole time, normally for three hours. The seats are normally reserved for the elderly. I was very impressed by that; I believe that most Americans would never stand that long to worship; we’re just not that holy. In my opinion, most Americans would only stand in line for three hours in front of an ATM machine either before or after a disaster. Deke says Americans would also stand for three hours to get the new I-phone or a Star Wars movie—no wonder we look bad to the world sometimes.

We found out from Stavroula that in the off-tourist season, Mykonos has only 10,000 residents; tourism is everything here. Unless you are young and want lots of excitement, I recommend coming at the beginning or end of season.

Regarding my continued reading of Aristotle, the following statement struck me: “By Human Excellence we mean not that of man’s body, but that of his soul; for we call Happiness a working of the Soul.” I suppose that every person must decide for his or herself “a working of the Soul,” but the Greeks who stand for three hours to worship might have a leg up on us.

---

Comments

[Maounas]

I read your blog and I felt like I was traveling with you! The truth is poe Mykonos is one of the most beautiful islands of Greece and many times to return will be more beauty. We are a rental company located at Mykonos Island in Greece, we rent cars, motorbikes and boats. Our website is myconiantraveler.com. We would be very greatfull if you would add as to your directory.

[Monique in Motion]

Thank you, Maounas. I'm glad to know that you liked it. After I visited Greece, I became a travel writer for International Vacation Home Exchange (it was later bought out). I love the people of Mykonos, and wrote an article for IVHE about a year and a half ago that received a lot of attention. Please see the link the follow: http://www.blog.ivhe.com/2016/02/mykonos-musings-does-your-heart-bleed.html The link may go away soon, as IVHE will be no more. I stayed at the Myconian Ambassador Hotel and there fell in love with Mykonos. How do I add you to my directory? Is there something on the site which will allow me to do so? By the way, Monique Nelson is a pen name; my real name is Sona Schmidt-Harris. Best -- Sona