Covering an area of about 24km2, it is surrounded by natural beauty, beaches, restaurants, hotels and many trails within its vast forest. Here you can walk, drive or bike along fir, oak and chestnut trees down shady lanes with openings to views of immense height and the vast plains below. Fishing, sailing, kayaking, river rafting, hiking, horseback riding, mountain climbing, cross country skiing and jeep tours are only a few of the ways you can enjoy the natural beauty of this area.

There are several small villages surrounding the lake, each one preserving the history of this land. The villages of Kryoneri and Kalivia of Pezoula are well developed for tourism. Here you will find hiking tracks, hotels, places to rent various equipment for a variety of sporting activities, organized outdoor areas and the beaches of the lake.

The tourist haven and best-known village, Neochori, is worth visiting, as it was built on a slope and offers the best views of the lake. It also offers a visit to its botanical gardens, which house plants making up the ecosystem of the local area. The communities of the lake offer an Environmental Education Center, an Educational Forest, Ecological Paths, Botanical Gardens, Hydro-biological Station, Observatory, Alpine Shelters, an outdoor activity center and renting of bikes, canoes and water bicycles.

There are also important monuments and places of interest in the wider region such as the Monastery of Korona, the Sacred Monastery of Pelekiti, the Sacred Monastery of Petra, the Gaki cave and the Kaimakia cave.

Visitors to Plastiras Lake can buy local products from the producers of the region along the road. You will find honey, spoon sweets, frumenty, garden products, wine, raki and more. No matter what time of year you choose to visit Lake Plastiras, you will be swept off your feet.

To read more, please visit windmillstravel.com

Serving Suggestions

You can serve this olive bread recipe instead of normal bread at a Greek meal.
Have as a light lunch with cheese and ham.
Toast it and drizzle extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of freshly ground salt and pepper.
Have it fresh or grilled with slices of fresh, juicy tomatoes and crumbled feta.
Cut thin slices and have with dips.
Include in a meze, with a selection of appetizers, ideal with a drink.
Use good quality, rich oily olives for this olive bread recipe, you will appreciate their flavour in the bread.
Try not to use canned ones, they will not taste as good.
For a variety, use olives marinated in herbs.
Ensure all the olives are pitted before using, you do not want any olive stones in the bread!

Ingredients

1 red onion, finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons olive oil, for frying
675g/1 1/2lb / 6 cups white bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
25g/1oz fresh yeast OR 2 teaspoons dried yeast
350ml / 12 fl oz /1v 1/2 cups lukewarm water
5 tbspn olive oil
175g / 6 oz/ 1 1/2 cups pitted black olives, roughly chopped
2 tbspn fresh coriander, marjoram or oregano, finely choppped
extra flour for dusting
Makes 2 small loaves or 1 large loaf

Preparation

1. Fry the onion in the olive oil until soft.
2. Remove from pan and put aside till later.
3. Sift the flour and salt into a large Mixing Bowl, and make a well in the centre.
4. If using dried yeast, add to the flour. OR
5. If using fresh yeast, blend it with half the water in a jug and then add to the flour.
6. Add the rest of the water and the olive oil.
7. Mix it all in until a soft dough, using a round bladed knife.
8. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth.
9. Place in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
10. Grease 2 Baking Sheets.
11. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead a few times.
12. Roll the dough out into a large circle and sprinkle the olives, herbs and fried onion evenly over the dough.
13. Bring the sides up over to cover the filling and gently knead the bread until the filling is mixed through the dough.
14. Cut the dough in half and shape each half to an oval bread shape.
15. If you prefer to do rolls, just cut into many small round or elongated shapes, or alternatively 1 large loaf.
16. Place each loaf on a baking sheet.
17. Cover with lighly oiled cling film and leave in a warm place until doubled in size.
18. Place 2 or 3 diagonal cuts - about 1 inch / 2cm deep along the top of the bread to create a nice rustic appearance once cooked.
19. Dust the loaves lightly with the flour.
20. Preheat the oven to 220 oC / 425 oF / gas 7
21. Once the loaves have risen, place in a preheated oven.
22. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until the loaves are golden color and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
23. Transfer to a wire Cooling Rack and leave to cool.

If you wish to use this olive bread recipe to make rolls, you would reduce the cooking time to about 25 minutes. If you are making 1 large loaf, you would probably need an extra 10 minutes baking time.

Enjoy your olive bread recipe!

To read more, please visit http://www.macheesmo.com/2009/10/olive-bread/ and http://www.macheesmo.com

Tsipras and Merkel spoke for just under an hour in a conversation that the Greek premier described on his Twitter account as being “in a positive climate” and showing “interest in finding a mutually beneficial solution for Greece and the eurozone.” Tsipras also spoke with French President Francois Hollande, sources said.

The exchanges followed hours of tensely-worded statements after the Greek government sent its keenly-awaited proposal to Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem. The request was for a six-month extension of Greece’s loan agreement but under different conditions, government officials said in the morning. Later in the day, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis’s letter to Dijsselbloem was leaked to the media, indicating that the government recognizes the country’s existing bailout program as the legally-binding framework for the next six months though the document did not include the words “memorandum” or “program,” which the leftist-led government rejects. It also remained unclear which of the measures linked to the bailout program the government would commit to enforcing.

To read more, please visit ekathimerini.com

According to Greek Mythology, artists have a Muse who whispers inspiration into their ears. Without the Muse, the artist wouldn’t be able to create. The Muse is said to help writers, musicians, painters, sculptors, and other creative people. Without the Muse, inspiration wouldn’t exist.

Today, “Muse” is simply a synonym for the word “inspiration”. To the Ancient Greeks, however, it was more than that. In Greek mythology, the 9 Muses were the goddesses of the arts, sciences, and literature. 

The Origin Of The Muses

The 9 Muses were the daughters of Zeus, the King of the Gods, and Mnemosyne, the Titan goddess of memory. Zeus tricked Mnemosyne by disguising himself as a shepherd. In one version, they lay together for nine nights. Each night, a different Muse was conceived. In some versions, there were only three Muses.In this instance, Mnemosyne and Zeus were together only three nights. According to the poetry of Sappho, there was a tenth Muse. Historians argue as to why there was such a variation in the number of Muses.