Hello and Welcome to The Bougainvilleas Paros and Under The Olives.

The Bougainvilleas Paros and Under The Olives both with sea views, are my two homes that I hope you will have the oppourtunity to discover and to enjoy one day. Poetry, garden and animal lover, I fell in love with Paros in 2013, took a sabatical in 2015, resigned in 2016 and have been here, more or less, ever since. There is something quite particular about Paros that is difficult to put into words but I will try.

You find all the usual beautiful things that Greece is famous for.

Wonderful people, good food, great beaches, a safe environment for children, kindness everywhere, monestries, museams, fishing boats, feet in the water restaurants, sunsets, roof bars , a lot of laughter, a great night life, and a relaxing lifestyle. Those words do describ life here, and yet there is more. Something that comes to sit inside you ,and permeates the essence that we are. Something that says, « all is as it should be, and everything will be just fine «  It is quite particular to this island, a sort of ’Paros special’ that sets it apart.. You get a sence of it after a few days here, and it just doesn’t go away. Here on the island and on the mainland I am a member of various associations A writing group, a script reading group, an environmental group, an animal welfare group and a garden group, to name but a few.

I spend many hours looking down over the Aegean blue of Kolimbitres bay, working in the organic fruit or vegetable garden, walking the hills and treking paths of the island, swimming in creeks and from unspoiled beaches, writing or blogging on the terrace, ,learning Greek., and of course , preparing for, and welcoming my guests. There is no set rythm, there is no set time, only Greek time.

I am Irish by birth, French from many years of living there, European by conviction , world citizen of one human race and now, more than a little, Greek in my heart. I wake every day to the sunshine filtering through the jasmine or the bougainvilleas, and my first thoughts are often : «  and forever this small world the Great «  words written by nobel prize laureate Elitis, in his Axion Esti I find it applies in particular to the magic that is Paros. I would be more than happy to sit with you , ‘under the olives’ and share what I know of the island, it’s beaches, hikes, tavernas , history and people.

A word of attention however ! Addiction possible.

Caroline