A good friend of ours has put together her top ten reasons of why she loves living in Greece. We loved them for all the same reasons and wanted to share them with you.

1.   Koukaki has been named one of the 10 trendiest neighborhoods in the world!

 
2.    It is totally normal to book a doctor or manicure appointment at 9:00 pm.

3.    In less than 2 hours and with under 100 euros, I can easily change cultures, languages, currencies, and cuisines.

4.    It’s easy to be emotional in Greece. I’m very uncomfortable crying in public but the few times I’ve done it here, everyone leans in–way in–to see what’s wrong, how can they help, etc. There is no possible way to get away with “I’m fine.” They don’t accept that at all…And it feels so nice.

5.    I am 4,000 miles away from the US President.

6.    Greek merchants are very flexible. In instances when I haven’t had enough cash with me, they’ve let me buy groceries, pet food, get my nails done and have medical appointments with a casual wave of the hand—“you can pay next time!“ Once they even let me rent a car without my driver’s license…impressive. dear greece, you remind me that all things are possible…

7.    Even though I have visited maybe a dozen Greek islands, I still feel like I’ve just scratched the surface. There are so many islands you can stay interested for years and years…

8.    I can go to the laiki (outdoor market) and buy all the fresh fruit and vegetables I need for a week for less than 25 euros. And it’s fun.

9.    I now know enough people that I randomly bump into friends when I’m out on the street. That might not seem like a big deal, but when you start from zero, it’s huge.

10.    The pace of life I have here has allowed me time to write a book. I’m very grateful for that and I’m not sure I would have been able to do it in my more fast-paced San Francisco life.

To read more, please visit: LynnRoulo.com

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Lynn is an American Kundalini yoga and Enneagram instructor teaching a unique combination of the two systems, combining the physical benefits of Kundalini yoga with the psychological growth tools of the Enneagram.

Most of her adult life has been as a Certified Public Accountant (US CPA) working in the Silicon Valley/San Francisco technology start up and venture capital industries. In 2012, she decided to move to Athens, Greece for purely intuitive reasons.  She's not Greek by heritage, she did not have a job here, she didn’t speak any Greek (at the time), and there wasn't a Greek man in the picture either! She simply had a really clear feeling that she should go to Greece. And so she did.
 
“I remember getting on the plane to leave San Francisco. My dog and two cats were in cargo below and I had packed a suitcase full of clothes. Almost everything else I had sold or given away. There wasn’t anyone to meet me in Athens because I didn’t know anyone. But it was one of the calmest moments of my life. I was totally sure I was making the right choice.  And I haven’t regretted it at all. I love Greece.”

To learn more about Lynn and all the great things she does in Athens please visit her webiste: 
http://www.lynnroulo.com/

Twenty selected destinations competed for the prestigious title of Best European Destination 2016 and Athens came in second!

Voting ended on February 10 with more than 288,000 votes for Zadar in Croatia who was elected Best European Destination 2016 and won the prestigious title.

The top 10 european best destinations for 2016 are:

The perfect Valentine’s Day meal may very well be Greek stuffed tomatoes (ντομάτες γεμιστές). Simply delicious, gorgeous red and filled with love.

The crunch of the pine nuts and sweetness of the red currants in this recipe are just amazing and bring so much to the dish so do try and find both, if possible. It’s also a good idea to take an extra minute in the grocery store to choose large, meaty tomatoes all of approximate similar size and shape. This will help to ensure even cooking and will be prettier on your plate!

You can easily make the filling ahead up to 5 days and keep covered, in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake. Just remember to bring filling to room temperature before filling.

•8 medium/large tomatoes

•1 cup chopped onion

•1 cup (uncooked) rice

•1⁄2 cup olive oil

•1⁄4 cup currants

•1⁄4 cup pine nuts

•1⁄4 cup fresh mint

•1⁄4 cup fresh dill

•2 cups water

•1 1⁄2 tsp salt and pepper

•1 cup of tomato insides, mashed

•3⁄4 cup warm water (in addition to 2 cups above)

To read more, and Instructions on how to prepare, please visit: Pappas Post

International tourist arrivals in Greece increased 5.7 pct in 2015 compared to 2014, the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) said on Thursday, announcing its official data collected from the country’s airports.

According to the report, 843,000 more tourists came to Greece in 2015, with the total number of airport arrivals reaching 15.5 million.

In December, Athens maintained its robust numbers with a 15.5 pct rise in arrivals compared to the same period of 2014, while for the entire year the Greek capital achieved an impressive 22.6 pct jump.

For the rest of the country, the Ionian and Cycladic islands secured the lion's share of tourists in 2015 recording a 3.7 pct and 15 pct boost in international arrivals respectively.

To read more, please visit: The TOC

Metsovo is a picturesque town situated in the slopes of Mount Pindos in Epirus.  The small town stands at an altitude of 1156 metres and is surrounded by beautiful nature and lush vegetation.  Metsovo is a very popular destination in Greece as it's a place that has kept its character over the years with traditional stone and wood houses.  It offers visitors a variety of activities all year.  Here, Travel Passionate offers her suggestions in things to see and do in Metsovo.

The museum houses a vast collection from the works of famous Greek painters and sculptors from the 19th and 20th century.

The museum is housed in the restored Tositsa Manor. On your visit you will be able to see how a traditional house of Metsovo was organized. It has an invaluable collection of old objects.

Explore the village on foot, walk in the stone alleyways and admire the traditional architecture of the houses and the views of mount Pindos. Make sure you stop at Metsovorama cafe and bar for a coffee and admire the incredible view of the surrounding mountains. There are a couple of churches worth visiting like the church of Agia Paraskevi at the central square of the village and the church of Agios Nikolaos with rare byzantine icons.

To read more, please visit: Travel Passionate

Milopita (Μηλόπιτα) or apple cake is traditionally enjoyed for breakfast in Greece. So moist, chock full of sweet, juicy apples and spiced with cinnamon and cardamom, milopita is a delicate breakfast or dessert that will become a fast favorite in your house!

This simple to bake recipe is a great way to use up apples that might be a little too bruised or old to eat on their own. And you can choose to mix in chopped walnuts or golden raisins for an apple cake with even more texture and tastes.

The apples for this cake are sliced, baked and chopped to your preferred size. Apple cider adds another layer of yum and helps to make milopita light and airy. I always like to freshly grind the cardamom seeds as they bump up the flavor and are the perfect complement to apples.

To bake your apples, just peel, core, thinly slice and layer in a baking pan.  Cover tightly with foil and bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. This is about 5 minutes less than you would bake them for Oven Baked Apples and leaves your milopita apples with a little bit of crunch and a bit more texture.

You can do this step ahead and keep your baked apples covered, refrigerated for 3-4 days.

To read more, including Ingredients, please visit: Greek Vegan

Greece’s Culture Ministry and the Arcadia Antiquities Ephorate announced that the Tegea Archaeological Museum has been nominated as a candidate for the European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) in 2016.

The museum was included in a list of candidates posted on the website of the European Museum Forum (EMF), which organizes the competition. The winning museum will be announced at a ceremony to be held from April 6-9 at Tolosa and San Sebastian in Spain.

The Tegea Archaeological Museum’s dossier was put together in spring 2015 and submitted to the EMF with the support of the Stasinopoulos-Viohalco Public Benefit Foundation. The museum is situated in the traditional settlement of Alea in Tripoli, Peloponnese, and was one of the first public museums of the independent Greek state, founded in 1907.

To read more, please visit: Greek Reporter

In Love with Greece! Travel Massive's Athens event is taking place on Friday 12 February 2016 at 18:00 at the Hard Rock Cafe Athens, Adrianou 52 Str.

Travel Massive Global https://travelmassive.com | Travel Massive Athens

Two days before the celebration of love, with the support of Content Traveller and Hard Rock Cafe Athens, you are invited to a special Travel Massive Athens Event in order to get together and share our love for the city we live in and the country we love: Greece.

All our travel industry friends are welcome to meet, exchange ideas and positive vibes! 

We are excited to announce our special guests for the evening:

Panagiotis Filippou awarded filmmaker of “Greek Skies”

Gold Award | Los Angeles International Film Festival

TripInView | World’s 1st Visual Travel Website

Hard Rock Cafe Athens is the perfect place to be for this great event that will be full of lovely surprises! "Love All, Serve All" is its motto! Right under the Acropolis at its wonderful 1st floor open space with a welcome drink in hand. You just can't miss it!

Share your love for travel...Rock your world for Greece!

Follow hashtags: #ThisIsHardRock #travelmassiveathens

For more information, please contact Villy Magnolia by email at E.villy.manolia@gmail.com

Greece has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons recently but that hasn’t deterred seasoned adventurer Simon Reeve, who’s made it the focus of his new BBC2 series. When asked whether he’d recommend booking a holiday there – his answer was an emphatic “Oh goodness, yes!”

I’m a huge fan of Greece: the landscape, the beaches, the food, the way of life. It’s a much more interesting country than people realise – we just think of it as having ancient history and being a place for beach holidays.

Yes, I’ve been there on holiday any number of times. My wife speaks Greek and is a bit besotted with it, so she drags me there endlessly and I love it.

Oh goodness, yes! Absolutely, definitely. Whatever your viewpoint on the situation – whether you think: “Oh look, I can get a cheap holiday there”. Yes, you can. Or whether you think: “Oh, I’m worried about whether I’ll be able to get money out of the cashpoint”. Yes, I’m sure you will. The Greeks are incredibly hospitable. This is just a moment of crisis in the history of a land that dates back thousands of years.

That goes to the heart of what we love about Greece and Greeks – and also contributes to the [economic] situation that they’re in. Greeks really do live for the moment. They’re a very proud and passionate people who are keen to enjoy life, to spend time with friends and family. They’re not wage-slaves. I find that incredibly appealing because I’m not great at that. I’m more of a long-term planner – that northern European mentality – and that can be a bit boring.

Greece any day. It’s a way of life that is appealing, intoxicating. It’s a country that I’ve often thought about living in. I’m a very proud Brit but I could happily live in Greece.

The Vikos mountains up in the forested, mountainous north are absolutely stunning. They look like the Canadian Rockies in the sunshine. One of the great natural sights of Europe is up there: the Vikos Gorge, which is the deepest gorge in the world. It is a truly spectacular sight – incredibly rewarding for anybody who treks to the edge to look out from the limestone cliffs 1,000ft above the river below.

I was blown away by Crete. A lot of people just stick to the resorts on the coast but go up into the mountains as well and learn a bit about Crete’s history – how valiantly they fought against the Germans during the Second World War – and meet some of the larger-than-life characters.

To read this interview in full, please visit: Apokoronas News

 

Each of the 9 Muses represented different aspects of intellect, thought, and creativity. They were also associated with a certain tool. Here is an overview of who they were and what they represented, according to Hesiod.

1. Calliope was the Muse of epic poetry. She is usually depicted holding a writing tablet

2. Clio was the Muse of history. She is always associated with holding a scroll, or a book

3. Eurerpe was the Muse of music. Usually she is depicted playing an aulos (double flute)

4. Thalia was the Muse of comedy. She is usually portrayed holding a comic mask in her hand

5. Melopomene was the Muse of tragedy. She is usually depicted holding a tragic mask

6. Terpsichore was the Muse of dance. Usually she is depicted holding a lyre

7. Erato was the Muse of love poetry. She is usually depicted wearing a wreath and holding a kithara (lyre)

8. Polyhumnia was the muse of sacred poetry. She is usually depicted wearling a long cloak

9. Urania was the Muse of astonomy. Most of the times she is depicted holding a celestial globe

To read more, please visit: Greek Boston