At XpatAthens we're all about living well and experiencing everything that the great city of Athens has to offer. In our effort to connect locals and visitors with experiences in the city, we are especially excited to announce our cooperation with E-table.gr!

E-table.gr is Greece's top service provider for free online restaurant reservations in English! E-table.gr has connected 150,000 diners with more than 1,700 restaurants in 24 cities around Greece and users have written more than 20,000 confirmed restaurant reviews.

 

Now you too can find the best restaurants in Greece quickly and easily, 24/7, as well as get exclusive privileges and discounts. Check out E-table.gr’s dining suggestions and experience all your culinary desires across the city of Athens and beyond!

If you have any questions or would like to get in touch with us, drop us a line at info@xpatathens.com.

Enjoy!!

The popular travel website AFAR released a travel guide listing the hidden gems of Europe. Only 29 gems made the list and not surprisingly, Athens took two top spots!

At number 18, the Central Market in Athens is described as ‘noisy, smelly, and chaotic, but it’s an experience no foodie or photographer should miss.’

An AFAR Local Expert writes, ‘the colours, shapes, and patterns are a compositional dream, but the market is not for the squeamish. You can find every conceivable creature from the sea on sale here. The floor is wet and the air smells salty. In the next building, animal parts you didn't even know were edible are hanging from hooks or stacked in baskets - Sheep's head anyone? Around the exterior of the market you can find spices, fresh fruit and vegetables.’

 

Coming in at number 20 is the Hellenic Parliament Building. The AFAR expert describes the Grand Change of the guards experience, ‘well worth watching and fascinating to watch and photograph.’

Every Sunday morning at 11:00 am, visitors can watch the elite unit of the Greek Military, known as the Athens’ Evzones, perform the Grand Change. They are guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier while they march from the barracks to the Parliament and perform maneuvers marching along with a band.

 

To read this article in full, please visit: AFAR

A project that was started in 2011 called 'Study In Greece' was launched by a group of faculty members from the Department of Informatics and Telematics, of Harokopio University, with the help of students (international and Greek) who worked on a volunteer basis, in order to bring the project to life. Their aim is to provide information, support and advice to incoming international students who wish to study in Greece for a higher education degree, as well as to existing international students. The project addresses the most important issues faced by international students while applying, registering, and settling in Greece.

The main focus of the 'Study In Greece' group was to gather all necessary information that would allow prospective students to not only navigate their way through existing academic programmes on offer, but to also understand the conditions for foreign students living in a friendly and safe destination such as Greece. Students who are interested in pursuing post-graduate studies in Greece can search the catalogue of specialized study programmes taught in English or directly contact the international relations offices of the Higher Education Institutes listed in the relevant section.

'Study In Greece' offers a comprehensive list of the main characteristics of the country, interesting destinations, archaeological sites, monuments and museums to visit, as well as data about Greek gastronomy, the cost of living, facts concerning international students living in Greece , health and safety issues, contacts for embassies and visa details. The platform also offers a section called ‘Education Institutes’ where visitors on the site can type a word related to their area of study and a full list in English of programmes, universities, departments, and cities corresponding to the search word will appear.

The 'Study In Greece' initiative contributes to the international spread of Greek culture, promotes Greece as a destination for higher studies among international students, and it includes support for refugees and people seeking international protection. It also offers suggestions regarding ongoing educational programmes, updates on plans by the Greek State to provide support to the educational needs of refugees, including special courses, e-learning platforms, and summer schools.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek News Agenda

For more information about 'Study In Greece,' please click HERE to visit their website.

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

It’s a strange paradox: while many Athenians are leaving the city to emigrate, more and more foreigners are choosing Athens as their new home. They are cultured, educated and often come from the arts scene. Athens has become a magnet for creative souls – artists have a tendency to be attracted to disaster, abandonment and dissolution. Truth be told, the capital has acquired a certain character because of the crisis.

And, as we know, when artists open their studios in an area, it instantly becomes fashionable. While Athens may not be set to become the next Berlin, foreigners seem to be impressed by the energy of the city, its chaotic architecture, the low prices and the feeling of freedom (or lawlessness, you could say) that prevails in Greek society.

The 24 year-old British graduate of the Edinburgh College of Arts moved to Greece last summer, following an invitation to participate in a group exhibition. She lives in an apartment in Kypseli, with an American musician for a roommate, who also decided to live in Athens.

She showed me her new series of drawings on the parietaria, a common plant belonging to the nettle family. As is often the case, outsiders end up observing and shedding new light on things that locals take for granted. “Athens inspires me. Walking around the city, I feel like I’m working.”

During her final year at Edinburgh College of Art, she was approached by a fellow student, Augustus Veinoglou from Greece, who told her that he was thinking of organizing a residency program in Athens and asked if she was interested in taking part. She agreed, and in 2012 she found herself in the Greek capital as the first guest of the Snehta Residency program.

“When I finished the two-month stay, I returned to Edinburgh, but I was unable to adapt to my old life again,” recalls the 30-year-old Scottish artist, “so, after two weeks I booked a one-way flight to Athens. Something keeps me here.”

“I found a place that makes me feel alive. There is a strange energy here. The Athenian art scene is small, but it is active. At first I did not understand the works of the Greeks, but after learning more about Athens and studying Greek history, I could better interpret the meaning of the exhibitions.”

Lee Wells grew up on a horse farm in Ohio. After studying psychology and fine arts in Chicago, in 2000 he moved to New York where he worked as a curator, gallerist and art dealer. A few months ago he opened a showroom in the central Athens district of Neos Kosmos, and continues to be in charge of an art gallery in Manhattan.

“Athens reminds me a bit of New York in the 1970s and 80s. Crude and at the same time refined. It is very difficult for an artist to live in large urban centers such as New York, Paris or London. You have no free time to produce art, because you have to work to survive. Or, if you manage, usually what you do is connected with how you can make money.”

“The world of art is too commercialized, and it shows in the products sold in galleries. I think that Athens is a very welcoming city for artists and has become a place of transit for important personalities from the international art scene. Now it is imperative for Greek artists to develop speed. I want to build a bridge between the American and Greek art scenes.”

Cathryn Drake lives in an old house near Varnava Square, in the central Athens district of Pangrati. Her beautiful apartment is decorated with the works of young Greek artists. We took her dog for a walk in the neighborhood and after a while we stopped for coffee at the Chelsea Hotel.

The art critic lived for many years in Italy before deciding to moving to Greece in 2013. How did she end up here? “It is the result of a series of opportunities and coincidences. But I often visited Greece to cover artistic events.” What does she like here? “Athens is the only Western capital which is still human and provides quality of life. Despite the lack of resources, Athenian cultural life continues, mainly through the desire of some people who appreciate the importance of culture.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greece Is

For those families who live in the Diaspora, trips back to Greece are often a favourite family tradition. Many families will have a particular time of the year (for example Greek summer or Greek Easter) when they like to go back to Greece to visit their ancestral village or town, usually staying with relatives. Sometimes the extended family will go elsewhere in Greece together, such as one of the beautiful Greek islands, so that everyone can have some relaxing time away from work and routine. The common ingredient, regardless of family, destination or time of year, is quality time spent as a family, enjoying one another’s company and building precious lifelong memories.

 

Many parents like to turn the family holiday into an exciting opportunity for their children to explore their cultural heritage. Living in the Diaspora, our kids will most certainly already have a “taste” of their heritage and language, often by participating in events within the Greek community, and socialising with other Greek families. However, when visiting Greece on holiday, kids will discover many differences, and even more similarities, between their own life, and that of their peers who live in Greece. Visiting the country of birth of their parents or grandparents offers them an appreciation and connection to their own heritage. They will begin to form a deeper understanding of many of your family traditions and celebrations they witness in the Diaspora, and these will take on a whole new meaning when they return home. It is certainly a new feeling to enjoy Greek Easter with the entire town and country, than it is with only a small group of others back home – when most of their classmates eat their chocolate eggs on a different weekend altogether!

There are lots of fun and age-appropriate ways to help your child make the most of his/her holiday back to Greece. Firstly, prepare in advance by showing children pictures and discussing your destination. Talk about the sites you will visit back home and why they are special, such as the house you were raised in, or a cultural landmark in your town. Show them photos of their relatives that you will visit, as well as any family friends, and explain the family connection. If Greek isn’t already spoken at home, your child will get a real buzz out of learning, and then trying out, a few key Greek phrases when they arrive. Start with the basic greetings, and depending on your child’s interest and ability, introduce him/her to more words and phrases as the holiday draws closer. You can also purchase colourful activity books aimed at kids to assist the process, such as ‘Trip to Greece’, which features an interesting narrative in English, and Greek keywords to practise and learn. Each page offers multiple fun opportunities for your child to hear, speak, read and write Greek.

When planning your travel itinerary, it’s always a good idea to include plenty of child-friendly activities, as most kids will find long days of visiting monuments and museums, as well as relentless visits to aging relatives, quite tiring. They will get more enjoyment out of the trip (and learn more too) if you spread out your cultural visits over the duration of the holiday. And of course, they will always have more fun during visits to relatives and family friends who happen to have kids around the same age. It is certainly important that kids do visit and spend time with their older relatives too – but, depending on your child’s age, consider bringing along some games or activities for when their attention span during the visit starts to wear out.

Make sure to include some unscheduled time too. An agenda that is too full unfortunately eliminates opportunities for those unplanned adventures that so often are the highlights of the entire holiday. Leave plenty of time to explore at leisure, or simply enjoying relaxing in your relatives’ home. Remember that children are fascinated by the small things – they will spend hours absorbed in exploring the kitsch souvenirs at Monastiraki or watching the Evzones guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier, chasing pigeons, tasting gioconda chocolates while visiting, or eating vanilla fondant by the spoonful!

As many of us have experienced, when travelling overseas, not everything always goes to plan. Museums or attractions you had planned to visit may be closed, or bad weather may force you to cancel some excursions you were hoping to make. Travelling with kids just adds to the unpredictability of the holiday. However, don’t see this as a deterrent. Leave some room in your holiday schedule for some spontaneity, and (depending on their age) let your kids decide on some of the activities you do together. Often, the things that you didn’t plan turn out to be the most memorable.

Enjoy your family holiday – these memories are the most precious and the building blocks of your family. Hopefully your trip back to Greece will awaken your child’s curiosity and interest in his/her cultural heritage, and the desire to learn Greek more fluently for the next visit!

For more information about the author and her children's books, please visit: Melina Mallos
 

Kostarelos Chessemakers and their exceptinal products can be found in seven stores in Attika. The one that makes the difference, because it introduces a different kind of delicatessen in Athens, is the one in Kolonaki with a unique concept. It is a Greek deli where you can find their dairy products and taste unique recipes exclusively made by the well-known chef Chrysanthos Karamolegos.

Kostarelos Cheesemakers first entered the world of cheesemaking in 1937, by the keen hands of Kyriakos Kostarelos. Now, it has been passed on to the third generation, the equally capable brothers Kyriakos and Nikos, who continue their family's legacy.

Keeping the values that were passed on to them, no other than the loyalty to the traditional cheesemaking along with the most modern techniques, they produce a large variety of products that have drawn the attention of those who are serious about cheese.

Some of their creations are the famous feta cheese, the goat cheese, graviera, the desired creamy tsalafouti, ladotiri, and of course their yogurts.

The served dishes include a great variety of sandwiches, salads and a unique plateau of cheese and sausages of strictly Greek origins. There are also excellent sweet proposals based mainly on the dairy products of the creamery.

In the store of course one can find the complete range of their dairy products, like Kostarelos award-winning feta cheese, the famous yoghurts and creams – all made with Greek fresh milk.

To read this article in full, please visit: Living Postcards

In a recent poll for the Condé Nast Readers' Travel Awards, Greece was voted the best country in the world! With excellent food, stunning beaches, and amazing hospitality, it’s no wonder that Greece came in at #1!

The Readers' Travel Awards celebrates the best of the best in travel, as voted for by people who love to travel: the readers of Condé Nast Traveller.

To see more of the ‘best of the best’ in travel, please visit: CN Traveller

Everything is ready for the top sports tourism event ‘Navarino Challenge’ that returns for the 4th consecutive year in Messinia and Costa Navarino on September 9-11, 2016.

‘Navarino Challenge’ will attract the interest of the sports fans from all over the world who will have the opportunity to do sports and entertain themselves without competition through more than 15 activities (for the whole family), in Pylos and Costa Navarino.

For the third consecutive year, athletes and organizers will move with the safety and efficient engines of the cars of Ford Motor Hellas, the official supporter of ‘Navarino Challenge.’ One of the activities that are expected with great interest this year is golf, which will be held for the first time as an official exclusive activity of ‘Navarino Challenge!’

The activity of golf will have the support of Navarino Golf Academy and participants will have the opportunity to play and test their skills on Friday, September 9th at 17:30 and Sunday, September 11th at 18:30 at ‘The Dunes Course,’ the first signature golf field with 18 holes in Greece.

The twice Silver Olympic Medalist, Alexandros Nikolaidis, will introduce us, this year again, to the secrets of the most popular Korean martial art TaeKwonDo. The schedule of ‘Navarino Challenge’ includes TaeKwonDo lessons for children and adults on Friday, September 9th and Saturday, September 10th at 17:00 at the indoor basketball field within the facilities of Costa Navarino. Children from Kalamata, Kyparissia and the region of Messinia are expected to zealously join the courses. The detailed schedule and timetable of all activities is included in the following link: http://navarinochallenge.com/event_schedule_2016.html

Another innovation follows these great activities!

‘Navarino Challenge’ innovates once again with ‘Navarino Challenge’ Chatbot!

The new service provided for the first time at a sports tourism event, is launched in cooperation with the MPASS to serve, directly and reliably via Facebook Messenger, all the participants of the event who need to have all the necessary information… on a plate!

Chatbot allows you to find, through your personal Messenger, the news and information that interest you, via a brief automated conversation. By typing the specific keywords or by selecting the appropriate category from the menu, the application will directly send information and a brief preview of each theme.

Through ‘Navarino Challenge’ Chatbot, participants, when writing their bib number will be able to receive a message with their time, at the time of their finishing, be informed on offers that will be active during the event, and on individual activities which will take place in Costa Navarino. Similarly, they will be able to evaluate the event!

‘Navarino Challenge’ has also secured, for those participants who will be staying at The Westin Resort Costa Navarino, some very exclusive extra benefits offered by the brands supporting the event.

More specifically, on Friday, September 9th, 2016 at 17:00 a bike ride in Voidokilia will be organized in collaboration with Navarino Outdoors. Participants will enjoy the magical pictures of Voidokilia, which has been declared one of the best beaches in the world, and the beautiful scenery around the premises of Costa Navarino. Navarino Outdoors continues to support the event by offering a 30% discount on your tour packages (with bike) during your stay in ‘Navarino Challenge.’ To get information and book your preferential tour packages, send your email before your arrival at: outdoors@costanarino.com

Offers do not end here!

Nargile restaurant supports the event, by offering a 20% discount to the participants and guests of “Navarino Challenge” at its a la carte menu.

Do not forget Inbi restaurant that proudly showcases a new standard of Japanese dining, offering the finest quality cuisine and impeccable service. Experience traditional sushi artistry in a contemporary setting endowed with a spectacular view of the Ionian Sea.

You may find more information about the offers which are valid during your stay at ‘Navarino Challenge’ at the following link: http://navarinochallenge.com/event_offers_2016.html

Privileged prices at The Westin Resort Costa Navarino are available for a few more days for those wishing to enjoy the full schedule of ‘Navarino Challenge.’ For further information please contact the event’s official travel agent Vita N Travel. Telephone: +30 210 3249070 or visit: http://navarinochallenge.com/event_accommodation_in_2016_en.html

The event will be held under the Auspices of the Greek National Tourism Organization and the Department of Nutrition and-Dietetics of Harokopio University of Athens with the support of Costa Navarino and The Westin Resort Costa Navarino, as well as the Municipalities of Pylos-Nestor and Trifilia.

For more information about the event, you may contact us through the following special form: http://www.navarinochallenge.com/contact.html

Official Sponsors: Allianz Greece, “Vikos” Natural Mineral Water
Official Airline Partner: Qatar Airways
Official Supporters: Ford Motor Hellas, BIC®, BIC® Sport, Navarino Icons, Village Cinemas, Poseidonia Restaurant, Inbi, New Hotel, Surf Salad
Assisted by: Health Runners Club of Messinia, Pylos Association of Enterprises for Tourism Development, Maritime Athletic Pylos Association “Nestor”, Explore Messinia, Navarino Outdoors, Swim Academy, Aqua Divers Club, Scuba Hellas, Navarino Golf Academy, ThaMa Restaurant, Alpha (Athlima SA), Department of Sports Organization & Management from University of Peloponnese, Anazoe Spa Costa Navarino, 1morekm, Hellenic Athletics Federation (SEGAS), IAAF Kids Athletics, Apia, Diana “exoplizein”, Nargile
Official Travel Agent: Vita N Travel
Official Broadcaster: OTE TV

TV Communication Partner: National Geographic Channel

Under the Auspices of the Greek National Tourism Organization

Under the Auspices of the Department of Nutrition and-Dietetics of Harokopio University of Athens

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Photo Credit: Vladimir Rys