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XpatAthens

Thursday, 05 February 2015 14:13

My Week in Athens… Apr 11

My Week in Athens… Apr 11
Settled into my new place, with everything unpacked and unscathed, I welcomed my first houseguests for a long weekend in the city. Their first time in Greece, they were prepared to see all there is to see…

We did the required site seeing, the necessary museums, and the expected tavernas. We walked everywhere, spurred on by frequent coffee stops. We even made it down to the waterfront – for a great lunch at Rakadikon in Vouliagmeni (well-worth the trip!)

But here’s the strange and incredible part. Over the course of the weekend, my friends made a huge discovery.

Throughout their childhood, they had believed that their ancestry was partly Turkish. Their parents thought so, and apparently their grandparents thought so too. But after some interesting conversations, clarification of some historical facts, some name checking and eating Greek food which tasted ‘exactly like their mother’s’ – my friends concluded that their ancestry is, in fact, Greek! As it turns out, their (Greek) great-grandmother fled Smyrni (Izmir) in 1921, moved half-way across the world and completely closed the book on that part of her life. Her passport was Turkish, hence…

So this weekend went from a city-break in Athens, to a full-fledged discovery of roots, connecting with a newly-discovered past and adding a fantastic new layer to a family’s complex identity. Needless to say, it was a special few days.

And needless to say, they loved Athens. Especially the food ;)

Until next week,

Jack

Rakadikon
Poseidonos 17, Vouliagmeni
210-9671530
www.rakadikon.gr


In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

Published in My Week In Athens
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Monday, 16 February 2015 11:53

Greek Creative Cuisine At Cibus Restaurant

Greek Creative Cuisine At Cibus Restaurant

Cibus is situated in one of the most atmospheric corners of Athens, in the Zappion garden. The modern, minimal decor, the cool style and the excellent cuisine make this elegant restaurant one of the best choices in town. The cuisine offers a gourmet quality experience with homemade pasta, Mediterranean aromas, organic produce, fresh fish.

Bread and desserts are all prepared exclusively by the restaurant and the ice cream is outstanding. An all time classic meeting point for business men and politicians, Cibus is often booked for special events, like weddings and birthdays.

For more information, please visit 10best.com

Cibus Restaurant is located at the Garden of Zappio (Entrance from the Vas. Olgas Avenue)
Τel. 2103369364, 2103369300
Working hours: Daily from: 19:30 - 01:00
Free Parking

 

Do you have a recommendation or recipe to share? Send it to us at ideas@xpatathens.com!

Published in Restaurants In Athens
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Thursday, 19 February 2015 11:29

Subsidy Program To Boost National Growth

Subsidy Program To Boost National Growth

The European Union subsidy program for Greece covering the 2014-20 period begins with almost 5 billion euros flowing in from Brussels in the next couple of years.

On top of the projects planned for the first two years of the program, amounting to 4.2 billion euros, another 750 million euros will go toward the funding of previously announced plans to boost employment among the jobless, of which 600 million euros is from the 2014-20 program with the rest coming from the previous program.

To read more, please visit ekathimerini.com

By Evgenia Tzortzi

Published in Local News
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Friday, 20 February 2015 22:21

Quick Wholemeal Bread With Yoghurt

Quick Wholemeal Bread With Yoghurt

Αn amazing bread with a delicious, crunchy crust. You will prepare and bake it in no time at all because there is no yeast! What more can you ask for? Go for it!

Method

Put all the ingredients in a bowl. Knead until you have a smooth and light dough. Place the dough onto your working surface and knead for another 5 minutes to make it fluffy. Gather it to a ball and then pat it lightly on the top to flatten it. Place it inside an oil-greased baking pan. Use a sharp knife to score a cross on top. Place the pan on the bottom shelf of the preheated oven and bake the bread at 180ºC, for 35 minutes, until golden brown.

Ingredients

2 tea cups of strong flour
1¾ tea cups of wholemeal flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons yoghurt
1½ tea cups of milk


Preparation Time 10 minutes
Baking time 35 minutes

www.argiro.com.gr

Published in Greek Food & Diet
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Tuesday, 26 May 2015 07:00

The Clumsies - A Bar Hidden Away

The Clumsies - A Bar Hidden Away
The Clumsies is a newly opened, prestigious bar housed in an old 1919 neoclassical mansion, located in central Athens near Monastiraki and Panepistimio Metro stations.  It’s actually hidden off a small square on Praxitelous street, at number 30.

"[A] bartender is not only judged by the impeccable execution of a recipe, but also by the way he connects with customers." Nikos Bakoulis, the co-owner of The Clumsies, used to bartend in 2012 with fellow co-owner Vassilis Kyritsis. This was their philosophy – and the Clumsies was born as follows:

" …bring them [Vassilis and Nikos] into contact with three industrious businessmen in the hospitality sector: Lefteris Georgopoulos, Thanos Tsounakas, and Giorgos Kaissaris. Stir gently, then serve."

The Room
The two roomed private area is like stepping into a ‘Gentleman’s Club’ and can host up to ten people for an evening.  Decked out with feature fireplace, bookcase,  billiard table and vinyl LPs, the mood here is somewhat more formal. With your own private bar tender, Nikos can create a concoction of cocktails, tailor made to suit the individual: rum, vodka or gin based with a variety of ingredients.

To read more, please visit: Life Beyond Borders

Clumsies Website: http://www.theclumsies.gr/
Clumsies On Facebook

Photo Credit: The Clumsies


Published in Pubs, Bars & Cafes
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Wednesday, 06 January 2016 07:00

Roman Rotunda In Thessaloniki Reopens After Restoration

Roman Rotunda In Thessaloniki Reopens After Restoration
After a year of restoration works, the grand Rotunda of Thessaloniki, also known as the Church of Agios Georgios, reopened its doors on Friday 18th December 2015, with a concert to mark the much-awaited occasion.

The building, included on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1988, is one of the most important Roman monuments in the city and stands next to the Arch of Galerius.

This cylindrical structure was commissioned by Roman Emperor Galerius in 306 AD, who had planned for the structure to be his grave. Through its turbulent history, it served first as a Roman mausoleum, then as a Christian church and during the Ottoman era, as a mosque.

From 1920 until the end of WWII, the Rotunda housed the city's archeological treasures by serving as a museum.

To read more, please visit: Greek Reporter and ANA MPA
Published in Local News
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Monday, 10 October 2016 07:00

Greek Culture Online - The Politismos Museum Of Greek History & Culture

Greek Culture Online - The Politismos Museum Of Greek History & Culture
Launched in October of 2015, the Politismos Museum of Greek History is an online museum which brings ancient and contemporary Greek history and culture to a worldwide audience, with a goal to soon establish a physical museum presence in the United States. In this interview, Despina Kreatsoulas, co-founder of the Politismos Museum, discusses the idea behind the museum, its exhibits and related offerings, the museum’s future plans, and the importance of Greek culture within the global community today.

Michael Nevradakis: Share with us some words about how the idea for an online museum of Greek history and culture came about, and how the Politismos Museum was founded.

Despina Kreatsoulas: Our hope is to one day have a physical museum in Sacramento, California, and as we were looking at how we do this—I was actually doing some research for another project, at the U.S. Holocaust Museum. It’s a phenomenal museum, and what was most impressive was not the thousands of people who walk through their doors on a daily presence, but the millions of people who they reach with their online exhibits. We thought that this could potentially be a really great way to get the information out there, to build an audience, to start sharing stories, and to start building a profile for ourselves. We thought this would be the ideal way to get started, to build a presence, and to move forward.

Besides the obvious difference of not having a physical presence, at the moment at least, how does an online museum differ from a conventional museum?

I think, actually, that we have a few more opportunities available to us in being creative, in that if we were a physical museum, the challenge is always having a wide variety of artifacts. By being online, we can have images that reflect the stories, the history, and that type of thing. For instance, exhibits that have to do with antiquities, it would be a little difficult getting some antiquities into the United States, of course, so we’re able to use images [online]. It also allows us to get a little creative and to explore some greater things: literature, contemporary art, so we’re able to expand what we’re doing.

What are some of the future plans of the Politismos Museum in terms of exhibits that will be featured?

We’re working with a historian here in Greece and we’re producing an exhibit on the original Olympic Games, Dr. Elizabeth Whalen-Barber, who is an expert on textiles. We’re doing another one on the ancient dancers of Crete, and we also have a very special exhibit that’s going to be opening, on the Greeks who came to the United States in the early 1900s and who returned to Greece to fight for Greece during the Balkan Wars. And we have a few more that are coming, but we’ll have you visit our site to surprise you with those.

Are there any plans or any future thoughts to also locate a physical museum site in Greece?

That would be great, but there are so many phenomenal museums in Greece already, that we’d like to just be able to collaborate with all of them. I think the most important thing is that we do want to collaborate and we want to expose people to the amazing things that are already happening here in Greece and the places they should be going to.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek TV
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Wednesday, 01 March 2017 07:00

Messinia Pro-Am Golfers Were The Protagonists - 1st Tournament Complete

Messinia Pro-Am Golfers Were The Protagonists - 1st Tournament Complete
The 1st international golf tournament, Messinia Pro-Am took place at The Dunes Course and The Bay Course from February 21-24 2017. The golf tournament attracted 27 Teams consisting of 27 top professionals and 81 amateur golfers from 14 countries, including the Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, the UK and the United States.

The 1st Messinia Pro-Am was played over 54 holes (three rounds) with each team consisted of one professional and three amateurs. The high level of the golfers, offered a strong and competitive tournament where the daily results balanced until the end of each round.

The Messinia Pro-Am closed with the Gala dinner and Prize Award Ceremony, which was presented by Nadia Boule and Christos Chatziioannou. Mr. Achilles V. Constantakopoulos, Chairman & CEO, of TEMES S.A., developers of Costa Navarino opened the Gala dinner with his speech. He highlighted the long-standing dream of his father and founder of Costa Navarino, Captain Vassilis Constantakopoulos to make Greece a premier golf destination.

The first award of the night was a special ‘Hole in One’ award given to German journalist from Golf Spielen, Petra Himmel. She is one of only 6 golfers to have managed this rare feat in competition at The Bay Course. Petra Himmel also received the awards for the “Longest Drive” and “Closest To The Pin” for women. David Arendt received the “Longest Drive” men’s category. Haris Papadopoulos received the Men’s “Closest To The Pin” award.

The 1st place Team was the professional Stuart Boyle and amateurs Haris Papadopoulos, Georgios Kyvernitis and Daniele Bovio.

2nd place went to the professional Steve Dooley and amateurs Gerhard Komarek, Andreas Hainz and Gerhard Marischka. Professional Panos Karantzias and his team of amateurs Igor Graskin, Christian Werner and Bettina Schroeder won 3rd place.

The evening concluded with the awards for the winning Professionals!

Federico Elli (PGA Italy) was the 1st Messinia Pro-Am champion. “Costa Navarino is always a top place to be…a wonderful hotel, wonderful golf course and all the staff are brilliant. I think this is one of the best spots for a golfing holiday…we will come back for sure next year.” said Mr. Elli. His interview can be watched here.

Ralph Miller (PGA Holland) was 2nd and Lorenzo Gagli (PGA Italy) 3rd. Hugo Santos and Emanuele Canonica were 4th and 5th respectively. Finally, Paul Nilbrink the winner of the 4th Aegean Airlines Pro Am (2009) came 6th. In addition to these top professionals, celebrities also participated in the tournament, such as top American basketball player Joe Arlauckas and German TV presenter, Annica Hansen.

The surprises did not stop there! In a special contest sponsored by Intersys SA, three lucky people won 3 unique TomTom Sports Runner 2 watches.

The 1st Messinia Pro-Am was a success because of the great support of many sponsors such as our official airline partner of the tournament, AEGEAN, member of the global airline STAR ALLIANCE, the official sponsor Loux, the largest soft drink and juice company in Greece, and the official sponsors Vodafone, Athens International Airport (AIA), Poseidonia, MyTransfer and CU BOX.

The company J.VOURAKIS SONS EE, an official supporter of the tournament designed the awards for the Prize Giving Ceremony. Other official supporters of the tournament were METAXA, the well-known companies Kyvernitis Travel, Heineken, Ford Motor Hellas and ΤοmTom Sports.

Messinia Pro-Am was also supported by a number of helpers: Kalamata Papadimitriou, the liquor and beverage brands of Stolichnaya and Fever-Tree, Predaris company with Cu Wrap, Dimiourgies company and the natural mineral water company Hyas.

The 1st Messinia Pro-Am was organized under the auspices of the PGAs of Europe, the PGA of Greece, the Hellenic Golf Federation and the Hellenic Olympic Academy.

Watch the best moments from the 2017 Messinia Pro-Am tournament!



For more information, please visit: Messinia Pro-Am
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Saturday, 16 June 2018 15:28

EMST - National Museum Of Contemporary Art

EMST - National Museum Of Contemporary Art
The National Museum of Contemporary Art, also known as EMST, began its operation in 2000 and has since embarked on a great journey to preserve and present a rich collection of modern art pieces.

The museum is formed around nucleus works from Greek and foreign artists aiming to promote contemporary art in the country even more.

Apart from the exhibits, visitors also have access to a variety of conferences, events and screenings, as well as educational programs for children and adults. EMST also has a cafe and a restaurant.
Published in Museums & City Venues
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Friday, 15 February 2019 00:19

Cyclades Trail Cup 2019

Cyclades Trail Cup 2019
Cyclades Trail Cup presents a new set of events in alternative destinations with original routes and exciting cultural experiences!

Giving priority to some of the “near” Cycladic islands, the 2019 Championship will include 5 events in 5 destinations during 2019:


Every event has different types of races and in some cases combined routes. The “challenge” type of races, presents a two day route. All participants must choose either the Mini or Mega challenge and run the first day's route and choose another for the second day .

Click here to Register!

In the new registration form, all* the Cyclades Trail Cup events are listed and participants can choose where and when to run.

Now you can choose special benefits like booking a seat in the shuttle bus leaving Athens for each of the ports and back.

The new T-shirt collection of Cyclades Trail Cup 2019 has 4 new designs. Each island has a mascot and you can order the T-shirts either you run or not!
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