XpatAthens

XpatAthens

Road trips are all about long stretches of highway, constantly changing scenery and warm, delicious small-town meals! If you're in need of positively distrupting your routine and escaping the buzzing city of Athens, we highly recommend taking a road trip through the fascinating region of the Southern Peloponnese. This incredibly beautiful region of Greece is perfect all year round and offers locales with breathtaking landscapes, countless picturesque towns, and some of Greece’s most important ancient sites along the way!

Keep in mind, to fully discover the splendid diversity of natural and historical wonders, many of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, this road trip is best experienced over 2-3 days or ideally 4 days.

Need a car to make this road trip possible?
Get in touch with Athens Car Rental.
Let them know that the recommendation came from XpatAthens!

 From Athens to Ancient Olympia Via Mani!

Just after setting out from Athens on this inspiring road trip, grab a quick coffee at the Corinith Canal. This man-made miracle completed in the late 1800s, offers breathtaking views and connects the mainland with the Peloponnese. Before it was built, ships wanting to cross the Adriatic, or go to Corinth, had to circle the Peloponnese, which added approximately 300 kms to their journey.

Our first destination, the well preserved fortified Byzantine town of Mystras, is located just under 2 hours south from the Corinth Canal. Also known as the ‘wonder of the Morea’, Mystras winds up the hill like an open-air museum and is one of the most unique sites in the southern Peloponnese, not to mention is also being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mystras was built amphitheatrically in 1249 and is home to many Byzantine churches, and over its long history was conquered by Byzantines, Venetians, and Turks. The most important sites in Mystras are the hilltop fortress and the Byzantine monasteries.

Our next stop, 1 hour and 30 mins away from Mystras, is an ideal year round getaway destination. Monemvasia lies on a big rock in the sea connected to the mainland by a small causeway. To actually enter the town, you have to leave your car behind. This medieval castle town of unique architecture on the south-eastern coast of the Peloponnese, is one of the most romantic destinations in Greece due to its fairy-tale atmosphere and unique history. You're up for a lovely surprise as you enter the fortress’ gates, as the whole town of castles, mansions, cobbled streets, squares and churches unfolds before your eyes.

Heading West and around 2 hours from Monemvasia, the next destination will most certainly impress you! The Cave of Diros is one of the most impressive cave complexes in the world as it’s full of lakes and extraordinary stalagmite and stalactite formations. Part of the cave tour is by boat while the rest can be done on foot, making it a truly remarkable experience for visitors of all ages!

From here, drive 20 minutes north to Limeni, a picturesque fishing village ideal for a delicious seaside lunch in one of the excellent traditional fish tavernas. The area is also home to the beautiful tower house of the Mavromichalis family, a family who played a significant role in the Greek War for Independence. While in the region, don't forget to pay a visit to Gerolimenas, a port of historical significance during ancient times. Today Gerolimenas is a traditional fishing village with lovely tavernas and a small pebbled beach.

Further along the central southern prong of the Peloponnese, about a one hour drive from Limeni, you will be met by the pretty coastal villages of Stoupa and Kardamyli. Mani is a popular destination among visitors seeking an authentic Greek holiday experience. The beautiful seaside town of Kardamyli is nestled between turquoise waters and lush green mountains and is ideal for a relaxing getaway away from the crowds all year round.

Next, just under 2 hours from Kardamyli, Pylos is an amphitheatrically built town, reminiscent of an island hamlet. The tranquillity that the town enjoys today contrasts its turbulent past as it is the location where the Battle of Navarino took place in 1827. Visit the Archaeological Museum of Pylos, take a stroll along the town’s seaside promenade and enjoy a coffee at one of the traditional ‘kafenio’ or sit down for a bite at one of the many restaurants in the area.

Need a car to make this road trip possible?
Get in touch with Athens Car Rental.
Let them know that the recommendation came from XpatAthens!

This ultimate road trip through southern Peloponnese ends in Ancient Olympia, just over 2 hours away from Pylos. Olympia is the birthplace of the Olympic Games and the site where the Olympic flame is lit before it embarks on its journey around the world. A designated UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1989, Ancient Olympia will certainly take you back in time to when the Ancient Olympic Games were in full swing! Be sure to visit the Archaeological Museum of Olympia – one of the best in Greece – which is home to findings from the archaeological site and from other excavations in the area. Don’t miss admiring the museum’s most famous exhibit, the statue of Hermes of Praxiteles that dates back to the 4th century BC.
 
Tuesday, 23 October 2018 13:22

October 23 - A Time To Celebrate

October 28th is a day of great importance to Greeks, as it marks the National Holiday or Oxi Day. Learn everything about this historic day and see how you can admire Athens from above, following the best hikes we can recommend!

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Remember to stay connected with us through our weekly newsletterFacebook, and Twitter!
Tuesday, 16 October 2018 13:16

October 16 - Autumn Rhythm In Athens

Whether a local or a visitor, Athens is an extremely vibrant city. Discover some of the absolute best restaurants and cocktail bars in this popular and bustling Mediterranean capital, as it was described by the NY Times!

Please click HERE to view this issue of our newsletter!
Remember to stay connected with us through our weekly newsletterFacebook, and Twitter!
Tuesday, 09 October 2018 13:10

October 9th - Exploring Greece In Autumn

Greece is beautiful in the Summer, but who said you can't go on some great Autumn holidays? In this week's newsletter, explore places around the country and some astonishing facts about the Ancient Greeks!


Please click HERE to view this issue of our newsletter!
Remember to stay connected with us through our weekly newsletterFacebook, and Twitter!
Thursday, 25 October 2018 12:17

The Most Traveled Person In The World Is Greek

Babis Bizas is a Greek explorer, travel writer, author, and tour operator who travels for more than 300 days per year, each year. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Babis Bizas is the most traveled person in the world and one of the very few individuals to have visited both the North and the South Pole. By 2004 he had managed to travel to every single sovereign State in the world.
 
Bizas works as a manager for a travel agency where he plans trips to under-the-radar destinations such as Transnistria and Kurdistan. When asked about his favorite destinations, Bizas says that he is passionate about the tribal areas of Africa and Asia, where  old cultures and deep routed traditions have managed to survive, resisting modernization.
 
To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Reporter
During an inspiring and emotional celebration by the Peace and Sport Organization on the island of Rhodes, ACS Athens was honored and recognized for organizing the “Color of Peace” event that took place on April 20, 2018. All JK-Grade 12 students participated in an event dedicated to promoting peace through sport and to highlighting the importance of education for ALL children while empathizing and actively supporting those young individuals who have lost their home because of war.

“Peace and Sport” is an independent and international organization that promotes Peace through the power of Sport and it is based in Monaco, functioning under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert of Monaco.

Each year, the “Regional Peace through Sport” initiative rewards a company, a foundation, an institution or an event that has demonstrated its commitment to benefit society through sport and uses its assets and experience to promote sustainable peace and social awareness. ACS Athens was among a select group of organizations/institutions from all five continents that were considered for this prestigious award and was honored to receive it. The award was accepted by Dr. Stefanos Gialamas, ACS Athens President, Ms. Annie Constantinides, Director of Athletics and Ms. Manya Louvari, Member of the ACS Athens Board of Trustees.

ACS Athens participated in “Peace and Sport” initiative by creating and promoting the “White Card” campaign to promote the positive and constructive values of sport around the globe. During the “White Card” celebration on April 20, 2018, the entire ACS Athens community of more than 1000 students and faculty participated in a school-wide event sending a strong message in support of empathy and peace and against discrimination. The celebration included a soccer match with students and unattended refugee minors who live at the shelters of "The Home Project" Organization, an ACS Athens partner for the “Youth-to-Youth” Program. The ACS Athens student body consists of over 65 nationalities, and it is an example of respecting and celebrating different cultures, while it fosters an environment that respects and promotes universal values and principles for humanity. Leading to the "White Card" celebration, the school organized several activities in support of the Youth-to-Youth Program, as well as educational activities throughout the different grade levels, where all students addressed the significance of peace in a troubled world and the power of sport in uniting cultures across the globe.
 
The Youth-to-Youth Program of ACS Athens - founded in 2016 - is an educational and social integration program for unaccompanied minors aiming to address four areas of need: academic learning, skills development, wellness (through Sport and Art) and social integration. Since the inception of the program, approximately 100 unattended refugee minors have received various types of formal education with the collaboration and volunteer involvement of ACS Athens faculty members and fellow students! In addition, 18 unaccompanied refugee minors are currently attending ACS Athens on full-time scholarships. The “Color of Peace” event, promoting sport, peace, and social inclusion, was one more manifestation of the values of both ACS Athens and the “Peace and Sport” Organization, in a collective effort to make a positive impact among individuals that are in need of a better and peaceful life.

For more information, please visit: ACS Athens
Thursday, 25 October 2018 01:50

KLM Holds Environmental Awareness Campaign

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will be holding a 4-day environmental awareness campaign at the Athens International Airport (AIA). Part of the KLM Takes Care corporate social responsibility (CSR) program, this campaign is focused on informing travelers about the importance of air travel sustainability.

Between October 24 and October 28, passengers traveling from Athens will be able to visit KLM's specially designed booth and get information about the airline's effort to reduce its carbon footprint. KLM works with organizations such as WWF to design solutions for the reduction of CO2 emissions and has introduced a fuel efficiency program for staff. For its efforts KLM has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for 14 consecutive years.

Apart from gaining valuable enivironmental insight, travelers will also be able to participate in prize draws to win tickets to Amsterdam and Aruba.

The Ministry of Culture has announced that on Monday October 28, museums and archaeological sites will waive entrance fees in celebration of the Greek National Holiday known as 'Oxi Day'. This Greek National Holiday is an excellent opportunity to explore the city, experience the festivities, and then head to one of your favorite museums or landmarks.

One of our favorites and one of the best in the world – The Acropolis Museum – brings to life the statue of Athena Parthenos, made of gold and ivory, designed by Phidias for the Parthenon. The Museum invites its visitors on a walk of knowledge about its construction materials and techniques, its myths and allegories, its radiance and its adventures. Presentations about the lost statue of Athena Parthenos will be held by ​Museum Archaeologists-Hosts​ in Greek (​at 12 noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. & 4 p.m.​) and in English (​at 11 a.m. & 3 p.m.​).  Please note that the presentations are on a first come, first served basis and limited to 30 persons per talk. Therefore, we strongly advise you to register at the museum's information desk on the same day.

Even if you are not able to visit a museum on October 28, keep in mind that entrance to Greek museums, landmarks, and archaeological sites is free on the first Sunday of the month from November to March!


Early bird discount for the international golf tournament until October 31st

Costa Navarino’s 3rd Messinia Pro-Am to be held on February 20-23, 2019 is fast approaching.

Registrations for the 3rd international golf tournament will close on January 18th 2019; however golfers from all over the world can take advantage of the “early bird” discount on their participation packages until October 31st, making their registration through the official website of the event HERE!

The 30 teams taking part in the award-winning signature golf courses The Dunes Course and The Bay Course at Costa Navarino will compete in a landscape full of centuries-old olive trees with stunning views of the Ionian Sea and the historic Bay of Navarino. This year’s professional golfers will be competing in the two 18-hole courses for a total prize fund of 30,000 euros.

You can get a taste of the anticipated action, in the 2019 video teaser of the event!

Messinia Pro-Am had a prominent presence in its first participation at the 2018 Sports Marketing Awards in Greece, winning 3 awards. In particular, the international golf tournament won the Gold Award in the “Sports Media” section, the Silver Award in the “Sports Events / Branded Events” section, and the Bronze Award in the “Sports Brands” section.

The 3rd Messinia Pro-Am is organized in collaboration with the PGAs of Europe and is held under the auspices of PGA of Greece and the Hellenic Golf Federation.

AEGEAN, a member of Star Alliance, is the official airline partner of the event.
Vodafone και Hertz are the official sponsors of the event.
Erasmus is the official travel partner coordinating and ensuring the smooth registration & accommodation process. 

For special accommodation packages at The Westin Resort Costa Navarino and the full program of Messinia Pro-Am, click HERE!

Hashtag: #messiniaproam

Photo credit: The Dunes Course @ Costa Navarino (professional player Adam Kritikos

Tuesday, 30 October 2018 13:16

Onassis AiR ~ Open Call 2019/20

October 22 – November 26, 2018

ONASSIS AiR (Artists-in-Residence) is a year-round program, located in the urban centre of Athens, that grounds its mission in commitment to supporting artistic process, towards a less product-obsessed arts ecosystem.

The (inter)national artistic research and residency program in Athens (Greece) is being born in 2019 and is established by the Onassis Foundation.

What if we took the artistic practice, the craft, the process of creating, the process of research, each individual trajectory that artists, and other curious minds, go through day in and day out, as the starting point towards a less product obsessed arts policy? What if we refused the precarity of curators could take time to reconsider their practice without expectations and constraints of the production frenzy?

Onassis AiR, is a place where all the participants can interact with each other as peers. Regardless of age or how accomplished they are. To work and think and eat together as a community that does not strive for the next project, the next premiere, the next opening. A community that has the ability to pause, to rethink how each one of us functions and creates. A space that offers time. Time to learn, to change, or go deeper, by doing and undoing or non-doing.

Onassis AiR will support: Greek and international artists, curators, and thinkers working in time-based artistic disciplines, who wish to deepen, reconsider, or transform their practice or methodology.

Onassis AiR has been designed and will be run by Ash Bulayev (director of Onassis AiR) and Nefeli Myrodia (creative producer & dramaturg of Onassis AiR).

About the Onassis Foundation:
Committed to its mission of extending access to health, education and culture to as many people as possible, the Onassis Foundation supports education with over 7,000 scholarships covering study at the doctoral and postgraduate level in a wide range of fields both in Greece and internationally, investing in curious minds. At the same time, over 1,000 artists who are already releasing their potential enjoy the support of the Onassis Foundation in the form of scholarships. In addition, with over forty Onassis Stegi productions that tour abroad, it presents Greece at its best to the rest of the world. A restless Foundation that takes support for artists' needs to the next level is introducing a new programme: Onassis AiR (Artists-In-Residence).

Read more about each program strand:
  •  Onassis AiR Critical Practices Program is a full-time, 3-month encounter of 5 practitioners living and working in Greece. The program is designed as a collective artistic research community of time-based professionals (visual artists, choreographers, theatre and film directors, composers, performers, curators, producers, designers, writers, cultural theorists, and other curious minds).
  • Onassis AiR (inter)national Curator & Artist-in-Residence Program is a one-month, individual artistic research residency for international and Greek artists, living in Greece or abroad. This strand is for any artist or curator or other creative and curious practitioner (time-based practice) who has a concrete artistic research question or project they would like to take further. Regardless of experience level, but assuming that each participant has an existing individual practice at the time of the application.
  • Onassis AiR Exchange Residencies are individual artistic research residencies, varying in duration and scope, taking place at one of our collaborating institutions, outside of Greece. Exchange Residencies are intended for artists living and working in Greece within time-based practices: artists, makers, designers, theorists, curators, and other curious minds who would benefit from participating in one of the collaborating programs around the world.
  • Onassis AiR Emergency Fellowships are the most reactive and tailor-made strand of Onassis AiR program. Emergency Fellowships are intended for international and local artists, curators, and other practitioners. Emergency Fellowships are meant to be a stimulus to artists and curators who have a unique, unanticipated, and very time-sensitive need.

Onassis AiR DNA:
  • Time-based
    This program is for artists and curators who work with time-based mediums.
  •  In-flux
    This program is for artists and curators with an existing professional practice, who are going through a shift, who are in-flux, and those who look to redefine how they work or create.
  • Local
    This program is very much rooted in the city of Athens and all the contradictions, beauty, tempo and light that it offers.
  • (Inter)national
    This program is for artists and curators who live in Greece & international artists, regardless of their nationality.
  • DIWO
    This program prefers to avoid the ethos of DIY (do-it-yourself) and instead embraces the logic of DIWO (do-it-with-others). All participants must have an interest of working and thinking and being with others (peers), and are willing to connect and engage socially within the diverse communities of Athens.
  • Self-learning
    This program is not educational, but is based on the principles of self-learning and learning-by-doing.
  • No gurus
    This program will not have teachers or master-classes or students - instead it is based on peers who all have their individual craft and methodologies and questions, and who share such concerns and questions with each other without unnecessary hierarchies inherent in the notion of “master artists”.
  • Welcome back
    This program, and its different strands, is meant to be a place you can return to. If you have been part of one of the strands of ONASSIS AiR, you are always welcome to apply again for another strand, or simply come and talk to us about your needs. And as a past participant, you are always welcome to drop by for lunch, or to borrow equipment and use the spaces (if what you need is available during that moment), or ask for advice, or use the library.

                                                                                           Read more about Onassis AiR HERE!
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