Inspirational Guest Experiences – Paul & Family in Skopelos -Part 1

Skopelos Country Villas, Guest Experiences, Photography Est Reading Time: 5 minutes
Guest Experiences-Rogers Family in Skopelos Country Villas

A new blog series documenting experiences through the eyes of our guests

It was winter of 2019 when we exchanged some emails with Paul. The anticipation of the holiday ahead. The planning of their arrival in Skopelos. Their stay in Skopelos Country Villa Delfi.

Along with our guests, I also relate to their anticipation for their arrival here. Sometimes it's months ahead when a booking is confirmed. Some others, maybe 1 month or 2. Despite the time between the booking and the arrival here, I get the exact same feeling of when I plan my holidays elsewhere.

I know that Travel Advice can make or break a guest's experience before their arrival and even during their visit here in Skopelos.

I got really excited when I saw Paul's email signature at the end of his first personal email to me. It's not often I would get to meet a Wedding Photojournalist who's no.1 in the UK.

I'm a great fan of photography in general from a young age. I have also lived through just a few similar experiences of shooting at weddings (in one of my past lives).

So I can definitely relate to how challenging a wedding photoshoot can be.

Skopelos is such a picture-perfect island destination. So many weddings take place here every spring and summer. Myriad of photographers accompany couples from the world over to document one of the most precious days of their lives.

I knew that having Paul and his family here (although for their holidays), would still be exciting for them. They could witness first-hand the beauty this island can offer, even to such an experienced photographic eye. So I visited his website to get the first glimpse of his wedding photography work.

A Times Photographer in Skopelos Country Villas?

The first couple of images I saw of Paul's work that day, completely took me aback. His Photojournalism days for the Times had taken him around the world:


…and report on some of the major stories of the day for almost two decades. From Kosovo to North Korea, from Charles and Camilla to Robbie Williams. I learned how to tell stories quickly, beautifully and without fuss.

Paul Rogers

I quickly got lost within his huge portfolio of royalty, world leaders and celebrities. His powerful images from war zones captivated me and I just couldn't stop looking at them. How well he 'froze' the pain in people's eyes and faces in those war areas in a way I had never seen before. It was at that point I realised that he had taken his wedding photography to a whole new level.

Capturing, within split seconds, candid frames of happiness from brides and grooms. The tears trickling down a mother's face, proud of her daughter getting married to her 'Prince Charming'. Father's making speeches on wedding receptions. You can't hear the speech, but you see the powerful emotions hovering in the air. Gliding through everyone in the wedding hall like the morning mist.

The expectations of a family holiday coming true

In this 1st part blog series, we will see the Rogers family perspective. We'll document how this whole experience started materialising for them prior to their arrival in Skopelos.

Paul was very kind in taking the time to document the whole family's experience from start to finish. He emailed me an article which was ready to be published. So it's only fair that I, in turn, dedicate these 2 part series for him. It will be well worth your anticipation and will definitely help future visitors visualise an exciting holiday experience.

His insights into family travelling, airports, taxis and ferry-boats will prove really valuable to everyone arriving in Skopelos Country Villas.

Here is Paul's writing on this first leg of their journey:

A sunny Winter day in Hertfordshire takes me back to our Summer family holiday on Skopelos.

It was last Summer, and while the tans have faded, our memories of a fantastic mountainside view over Skopelos town towards Alonnisos are still strong.

Our family is Paul and Helen with 11-year-old Dominic and 8-year-old Maddy. We have a 2-year-old Cockapoo called Molly, and this was our first holiday without her.
The day before our departure from Luton, we’d taken her to a dog sitter called Rita, where she’d have a 2 week holiday herself, with Rita’s family.

Helen and I have visited Greece and the Islands many times, and we’d taken Dominic and Maddy to Lefkada a couple of years ago.

We love the laid back pace of life, especially in the Islands, and the food, sun and snorkelling all add up to the perfect holiday destination for us.

 

This time, we’d found Andonis’ villa on the internet, and loved the look of a tranquil base in the mountains to explore Skopelos. As there’s no airport on the island, we were excited to have a slightly longer journey involving the famous Greek ferry system to get to Skopelos.
Our journey started at 3:30am with a taxi to Luton. We’d booked flights with Tui, and check-in was quick and smooth. No-frills airlines mean great value flights, but be sure to have breakfast in the terminal before departure, and take some sandwiches on board for lunch. There were hot and cold snacks to buy on board, but they were pretty pricey.
Our flight was to Skiathos, just a short ferry ride to Skopelos. We’d researched the ferry timetables online, and purchased tickets.
Instead of having to visit a local travel agent to print the tickets, you can now download then onto your phone, ready to board.
Our arrival at Skiathos was smooth and quick, and we were soon in a taxi for the short drive down to Skiathos port, where we had a 4-hour wait for the ferry. 
No problem, there’s plenty of cafes, and we settled in for a second lunch of Greek salad and Mythos. 
Watching the world go by while waiting for ferry to Skopelos
There’s a small beach just next to the port, and the kids got into their swimming costumes and cooled off in the water.
The ferry was completely full, and there were allocated seats.

Make sure you know your seat numbers - if you sit in another seat, the booked passengers will likely come and claim their seats anyway.

This is where we'll conclude this part-1 series on Skopelos experiences through the eyes of our guests

In our next blog post, we concentrate on the Rogers family experiences here in Skopelos and our premises.

Is it what they expected? Did the island thrill them enough to explore within their 2 weeks here?

Read the 2nd and final part of the Rogers family holiday and get inspired for your own adventure.

Visit Paul's Website here and get inspired by his diverse photography!

Join us to get Part-2 of the Roger Family Experience directly to your inbox!

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