Melanie Hawco had traveled to Greece before she met her husband and fell in love with the country. After they met, they traveled to Greece every year for four years, and finally decided to make the move permanently in 2016. Here’s their story!

I had lived in Toronto for seven years. I have my business degree and had worked in social work in Cape Breton. In Toronto, the job market just kind of geared me towards working with the adult population to teach financial literacy. But it was extremely stressful. Adrian worked at the same restaurant as my brother. That’s how we met. We both share a love of travel, so immediately we started talking about travelling the world.

We’ve been married for three years. Now we live in a little village just outside the city of Heraklion. The village has only 150 people. We’re in the mountains. The view from our balcony is unbelievable. It’s all farmland.

My daughter is turning 13 soon, so the change for her is a little more difficult. But she’s getting along great, too. In September she’s enrolled in an English-speaking school. The baby is almost two.

We own property on a mountain close to us. We have 30 acres of farmland that has lemons and walnuts and other produce on it. We just started a cooking school and in September we are going to be farmers.

We had one run of the cooking school that is out of our village. It’s really amazing. In Toronto, I hardly ever saw my husband. We worked separate hours. But here, we’re working together. Adrian is an amazing chef.

Personally, my stress level is completely lower. We’re starting up a new business and a new life so of course there is going to be stress. But when I look around I see the beauty of the place I want to be. Last night I was walking the baby and there was a wedding party in a little square in our village. I could hear the music and I was looking up at the stars.

Our daily routine involves a lot of work setting up the business. We get up, my son eats his four bowls of cereal and right now there’s a lot of shopping and preparing – getting the tables and chairs and cutlery for the cooking school. The beauty of it is, we always have our bathing suits in the car so after shopping we go to the beach and jump in the sea. We always make sure we have at least half an hour to jump in the water.

We’re paying way less rent for our house here than we paid in Toronto. We have a balcony in the back and a wood-fired oven that we’re learning to use.

I’m really excited about September. I’m not nervous at all, which I think comes when you really feel like you’re in your place and living your dream.

Article Source: The Global And Mail

More than 50,000 athletes will participate in the 34th Athens Marathon, which will be held on November 13th, 2016 following the historic route of Pheidippides, the dispatch-runner who brought Athens news of the Greek victory against the Persians at Marathon and then collapsed.

The president of the Marathon’s organising committee and SEGAS chief Kostas Panagopoulos said, “We’re happy this year to have more than 50,000 runners, but I want to tell you with great sincerity that I think we are just after halfway in relation to the goals we have set for the Athens Marathon. The goal is high. We want the Athens Marathon to be the most important cultural and sports festival in the world.”

He added, “We estimate this leaves the city an amount of around 15 million euros from which benefits not just the tourism industry, but also Athens’ daily life.”

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Reporter

The Acropolis of Athens is one of the most famous and influential landmarks in history. The naturally fortified site houses the greatest architectural influence of modern civilisation and symbolises the birthplace of democracy. While there is evidence that the Acropolis was inhabited as far back as 3,500 BC, it was Pericles, the democratic leader of Athens in the 4th century BC, who oversaw an ambitious construction program of the buildings and monuments that exist on the Acropolis today. And now, Why Athens shares the secrets of the Acropolis you may not have known until now!

The Temple of Athena Nike overlooks the entrance to the Acropolis and was constructed during Pericles’ building program in 426BC. The temple was a replacement for a 6th century BC dedication to Athena Nike which was constructed of wood but destroyed by the Persians. It survived virtually intact for 2,000 years, until 1686 when the Ottomans demolished the temple to use the marble as a fortification wall on the Propylaea. The wall was removed and the temple reconstructed to its former glory in 1834 after the Greeks regained their independence.

When the ancients first saw the rocky land mass which we know as the Acropolis, they must have been amazed by the perfection of its oval top. Measuring 350 metres long and 150 metres wide (52,500 square metres), it must be visited and walked to understand the true scale and uniqueness of the ancient site. Each year over 2 million people climb the Acropolis.

To read this article in full, please visit: Why Athens

We get a second serving of summer in this issue. See the moon rise over Cape Sounion, discover where old meets new in Athens, and learn about Greece's disappearing whistle language!

 

 

Please click HERE to view this issue of our newsletter!

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Much of Greece has been hit by a heatwave and as temperatures are expected to reach over 40 degrees on Monday July 23, the Acropolis will close early again.

The Acropolis and Dionyssos Theater closed early on Sunday, July 22 and will close on Monday July 23 at 14:00 in order to protect staff and visitors from the dangers on heatstroke.

Visitors who have already purchased tickets online can visit any of the ticket issuing posts and exchange for a different date.

Source: Greek City Times

This season’s UK MasterChef was filled with the aromas of Cretan cooking. 
In fact, the 61-year-old winner, Irini Tzortzoglou, took inspiration from her Greek childhood on the island of Crete.

 

Irini competed in the show's first all-female final and said she wished she could share her trophy with her fellow finalists. Her winning 3 course menu consisted of red mullet and squid risotto, rosemary lamb chops and a fig & hazelnut baklava.

 

 

Instead, she stated that she hopes to be able to spend some more time in Greece, explore her home country, and maybe make a television program.

 

 

To read this article in full, please visit: bbc.com

 

Photo: MasterChef UK

With summer having already made its way towards us, you won't want to miss our tips for a healthy detox before hitting the beach in the morning and our selection of the top roof gardens in Athens!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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When living in Greece, it feels nice if you can communicate in Greek, even to a minimum level. For example, you could say a nice “Greek wish” to a Greek-speaking friend or acquaintance.  Being able to say a Greek everyday wish, makes you feel part of Greek society.

 

In Greece, every circumstance seems to be an occasion for a wish, a good word. It is a way to express love, joy, sympathy, and much more. In this article, you find a small selection of popular wishes. If you want more, you are welcome to download the free eBook with the link at the end of this article. So let's start!

Καλό μήνα! [Kalo mina] – (Have a) Good month! = 1st of every month.

Καλή εβδομάδα! [Kali evdomada] – (Have a) Good Week! = Every Monday

Καλό σαββατοκύριακο! [Kalo savatokirako] - Enjoy your weekend

Καλή χρονιά! [Kali chronia] – Happy New Year! = 1st of January and for several days before and after …

When Eating Or Drinking

Καλή όρεξη! [kali orexi] - Enjoy your meal!

Γεια μας! [yia mas] - Cheers! (literally: to our health)

Γεια στα χέρια σου! [gia sta xeria sou] - "Bless your hands" (a wish to the person who cooked the nice meal)

New Acquisitions

Even if someone is buying something, people in Greece also use wishes:

 

Με γεια! [Me gia] – With health! = enjoy your new acquisition …. Usually for clothes and shoes. (Also used when you had a haircut!)

Καλορίζικο! [Kaloriziko] – Good luck! = Used when people buy bigger property (houses, shops), or move to another house. From the words ‘good’ and ‘root’ = have good roots!

Sickness

When somebody is not well or sick, it is nice to wish them:

Περαστικά! [Perastika] – Get Well! = May your illness pass quickly!

Σιδερένιος! [Siderenios] – “Iron!” = May you be strong as iron again!

Traveling

For someone traveling or ready to leave, you can wish him the following:

Καλό δρόμο!/ Στο καλό! [Kalo dromo!/Sto kalo!] – Drive (home) safely!

Καλό ταξίδι! [Kalo taksidi] – “Have a nice trip!” = Travel by any means of transport.

Καλή αντάμωση! [Kali antamosi] – “Until we meet again!” = may we meet again.

Καλές διακοπές! [Kales diakopes] – Enjoy your holidays!

Congratulating

A very pleasant and positive wish, you can use many times!

Συγχαρητήρια! [sicharitiria] - Congratulations

Μπράβο![bravo] - Bravo!

Και σε ανώτερα! [ke se anotera] - "To an even more successful/better future"

Interested in more? Then download our free eBook and audio pronounciation guide, by clicking on this link.