Fabulous Folegandros
“A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”
– John Keats
Have you ever heard of the Greek island of Folegandros?
I hadn’t. Until that is, one rainy day in Milan, Italy, a couple of years ago when I was coming out of a restaurant bathroom and ran into – literally – a very good looking guy who was waiting to go into the bathroom. We both laughed.
A little later, back at our separate tables, we got chatting. He had a European accent of some sort but I couldn’t quite place where he might be from. So I asked him.
“I’m from Greece!” he says.
“Oh!” I say, my little ears perking up. “Where do you live?”
“On a Greek island,” he says.
My ears perk up even more 🙂
I ask him which one.
“Folegandros,” he says. “It’s in the Cyclades.”
I shake my head. “I’ve never heard of that…”
He smiles. “A lot of people haven’t. But it is very beautiful. It is near Ios.”
“I was JUST in Ios!” I say.
“Really?!”
“Yes! I love it.”
He smiles again. “Then I think you’d like Folegandros. We have a restaurant there.”
Yay! It’s so fun to meet new people traveling…and when someone happens to own a restaurant on a beautiful Greek island, I pay a little extra attention.
I make up my mind then and there to go visit Folegandros one day and have dinner at his restaurant. He gives me his business card. I give him a piece of my pizza. Then we go our separate ways.
So that’s how it came to pass that one year later, Lynne and I found ourselves frolicking on Folegandros last fall (September 2024). And let me tell you, my Milan friend wasn’t kidding when he said Folegandros was beautiful. It is stunning! And delightfully quiet.
Here are a few fab photos of Folegandros:
I loved Folegandros so much, I am going back again in September of this year to stay at a lovely vacation rental home (also owned by my Milan friend) for a writing intensive…I have the perfect project in mind.
If you go to Folegandros:
You can check out Chic Restaurant on Insta
For the vacation home rentals, check out Notos Folegandros on Insta
And you can also check out the lovely Aspalathras White Hotel on Insta
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Maryanne Pope is the author of “A Widow’s Awakening.” She also writes screenplays, playscripts & blogs. Maryanne is the CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and Co-Founder of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. To receive her blog, “Weekly Words of Wisdom,” please subscribe here. And be sure to visit our PinkGazelleCards Etsy shop.