XpatAthens

XpatAthens

Thursday, 19 February 2015 12:15

Greece Of Art And Science

Greece is a place of culture, the arts and sciences. Its tradition of contribution to global cultural and scientific communities, combined with its outstanding natural beauty and excellent infrastructure, has made it an ideal place in which to hold conferences. Over the last few years, Greece has more and more frequently welcomed people of letters, sciences and the arts, who have participated in symposia, conferences and exhibitions. 

Athens International Airport ‘Eleftherios Venizelos’, one of the most modern airports in the world in operation since 2001, greatly boosted the organization of international conferences.

Conference tourism is extremely interdependent: it requires of course a high level of background support from the host country, and at the same time it can actively contribute to improving the overall standard of services in the region. It is logical that a country chosen as a conference location should be involved in the cultural ‘product’, giving the public, both residents and visitors, the chance to experience human achievement and innovative thought.

To read more, please go to visitgreece.gr/en

Monday, 07 September 2015 07:00

Eleftherios Venizelos Museum - Athens

Who was Eleftherios Venizelos? Born in Crete in 1864, he is arguably the grandfather of Modern Greece.  A hugely influental figure, he is responsible for the modernization and expansion of the country.  At the time, he was both loved and loathed.  He followed a pro-allied foreign policy during the First World War, which conflicted with that of the pro-German king who wished the country to remain neutral.

So where is the museum? The Greek authorities have tried their hardest to hide and not draw attention to it in any shape or form!  The museum is cunningly disguised behind a building covered in a profusion of colourful flowers and ivy in a bulding in Eleutherias Park by Megaron Concert Hall, with just a small sign outside to announce its presence.

The museum contains books, photographs and other personal items of this great Greek figure, but no translations into English.

To read more, please visit: Dave's Travel Pages

Planning your summer getaway to the Greek islands? Thanks to a new pass offered by Attica ferries and the affordable train service, the Interrail Greek Islands Pass allows guests to hop on and off ferries and discover 4 from a selection of 27 Greek islands across the Aegean sea. Those who want to add on more destinations have the option of doing so with a 30 percent discount.

The travel pass, which was launched in 2015, aimed to entice visitors to island hop using the Superfast Ferries. Included in the 27 different islands to choose from are Anafi, Amorgos, Astypalaia, Chios, Crete, Donoussa, Ios, Iraklia, Kalymnos, Kastellorizo, Kos, Koufonissi, Leros, Lesvos (Mytilene), Lipsi, Mykonos, Naxos, Nisyros, Patmos, Paros, Rhodes, Santorini, Schinoussa, Symi, Syros, Tilos and Tinos.

Holders of the pass are also offered a choice of 2 international ferry trips between 3 ports in Italy: Ancona, Bari, or Venice and 3 ports in Greece: Corfu, Patras and Igoumenitsa.

The pass costs just 240€ for first class travel, and 172€ for second class for adults over 25 years, with prices slashed for those who are under 25 years of age to 210€ for first class and 156€ for second class, whereas children under 11 years of age travel for free.

This pass is for EU travellers only and there are some restrictions: http://www.interrail.eu/help/ordering-pass/do-i-need-interrail-or-eurail-pass. For more information about travel in Greece visit: http://www.interrail.eu/destinations/greece.
 
Dance lessons and a cooking event to further enrich this year’s schedule!

Days count down for the celebration of the top sports tourism event and the time has come for anyone to decide upon the activities to enroll for during the weekend of Navarino Challenge, on September 9-11, 2016.
 
This year’s event’s schedule is as rich as it gets, with 18 non-competitive activities addressed to all family, highlighting the values of exercise and nutrition and raising awareness on childhood obesity, a serious medical condition affecting a child’s health or well being. The schedule also includes activities such as running, swimming and SUP for everyone, while participants will have the chance to watch a demonstration race with Optimist and Laser boats in Pylos port!

For those staying at The Westin Resort Costa Navarino additional activities like taekwondo, climbing, pilates, bike ride, boccia, basketball, golf, kick boxing, baby swimming, aqua aerobic, kids’ athletics, scuba diving, dance lessons and a cooking event full of surprises, are offered. The detailed schedule and timetable of all activities is included in the following link: http://navarinochallenge.com/event_schedule_2016.html

Food and its process, namely the Mediterranean diet has always been an important element in Greece's culture. Potteries found in the palace of King Nestor, dating from 1300 BC testify that visitors or foreigners seeking for asylum in Pylos were offered meat processed with a specific technique. Both Messinian hospitality and Mediterranean diet will be highlighted through various activities supported by the Peloponnese food blogger Gogo Papadionysiou also known as Mamatsita!

On Saturday September 10, during the swimming day, local women will make traditional lalagia & diples with the care of Mamatsita, in Pylos. Respectively, on Sunday September 11, the famous food blogger will be supporting the participants in running, by offering them traditional sweets and products in Costa Navarino. The two cooking challenges will be supported by the team of Poseidonia Restaurant.

Navarino Icons, a range of products from Messinia inspired by the rich traditions and heritage of the area will be the official supporter of the event for one more year. All products are produced in small quantities by local producers and artists meeting qualitative and creative criteria, while raw materials are drawn from the estates, the olive groves and the botanical gardens of Costa Navarino. Dance, for the first time this year, will be at the foreground!

The artistic and athletic expression referring to the movement of the body following the rhythm of the music will be represented by Nick Marianos, choreographer of stars and Creative Director and Owner of Nick Marianos Dance Factory. Nick Marianos and his team will teach dance lessons which include the following styles: video clip dance, all hip-hop styles, break dance and hip-hop choreographies. Apart from the extra activities offered, 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.

Precisely, Anazoe Spa, which took its name from the Greek word for rejuvenation will offer a 20% discount on treatments based on ancient Greek beauty practices. Those interested can take advantage of the offer during their participation in Navarino Challenge, by booking their appointment via email at anazoe@costanavarino.com.

In addition, Inbi, the Japanese fusion restaurant at Costa Navarino will offer a unique experience to the Navarino Challenge guests with exceptional tastes of unsurpassed quality.

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

Book your room now at The Westin Resort Costa Navarino and take advantage of the privileged prices available 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
Registrations are open and anyone can take part in activities of running, swimming and SUP by filling the special form available at the following link: http://activemedia.com.gr/product/navarino-challenge/ The event will be held for one more year, under the Auspices of 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: BIC®, BIC® Sport, Navarino Icons, Village Cinemas
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, Restaurant Posidonia Restaurant ThaMa, 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, Inbi, Diana “exoplizein”
Official Travel Agent: Vita N Travel
Official Broadcaster: OTE TV TV
Communication Partner: National Geographic Channel

Instagram
Hashtags: #navarinochallenge #costanavarino #eatwell #runwell #livewell

Photo credit: Vladimir Rys
From Thursday, July 6th 2017, Athens will have 4 new Pedestrian Areas in the center of Athens!

The Municipality of Athens, in connection to the restoration of the Athens Commercial Triangle will give the following four roads to pedestrians on Thursday morning: Chrysospiliotissis, Nikiou, Polykleitos & Vlachava. 

These four roads were typically already pedestrian areas on papers even though they are now being handed to the public. Athens's Mayor, George Kaminis stated that the Municipality of Athens, aims to transform the Commercial Triangle into a triangle that will effectively handle parking isses ,traffic, waste management, posters and graffiti.

The Restoration of the Athens' Commercial Triangle is an exclusive donation by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation! 

We remind  you that vehicles going from Syntagma and Stadiou to Athena Street can only go from Mitropoleos, Karagiorgis Serbia and Sophocleous streets. 
Thursday, 10 October 2019 07:00

Ancient Acropolis In 3D

The video below, created by Greece High Definition, features the Parthenon in 3D! Construction for the Parthenon, a temple dedicated to Goddess Athena Parthenos, began in 447 BCE. The architects were Iktinus and Kallikrates, with chief supervisor of the project being Pericles' friend, Pheidias. The Parthenon is a unique Doric building that successfully incorporates the Ionic order and it is known that in the west room (opisthodomos) was where all the wealth was kept of the Delian League. Take a look!





For more information, please visit: Greece High Definition
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated this year on Sunday March 17th and the Hard Rock Cafe Athens is about to be sham-rocked! Famous for its legendary burgers, and in tribute to Ireland's National holiday, the HRC Athens has a special menu running from March 13-17 to celebrate! 

We wanted to make this year's St. Paddy's Day celebration extra special so we've teamed up with Hard Rock Cafe Athens to offer a fun and eventful experience in Athens!
 
Enter to win a Rockin St. Paddy's Day Menu for 2, including:
 
1. Seasonal salad for 2
2. Guiness burger per person
3. Lil brownie per person
4. St. Paddy’s shake for 2


HOW TO ENTER:

1. Visit our contest details visit us on Facebook HERE and/or on Instagram HERE.


The winner will be announced on Thursday March 14th. Good luck!



Learning continues for all 1100 students of ACS Athens, using diverse and innovative educational technology mediums. By utilizing Moodle® learning management system, set up and utilized since 2013, students in grades 5-12 continue their synchronous and asynchronous learning in collaboration with their peers and teachers. Students in grades K-4 continue to have fun learning through Google Apps for education, e-documents, video conferences, and other digital tools.

ACS Athens (American Community Schools) founded in 1945, is an innovative educational institution with 1100 students from 63 different nationalities, that follows the American educational philosophy, offers the American High School Diploma and the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma. The school launched yesterday its Virtual classrooms for the entire school so that learning can continue during the school closure.

All school operations, classroom activity, support services and programs assisting students with learning differences continue to take place. According to the President of ACS Athens, Dr. Peggy Pelonis, “despite some technical difficulties, due to the high traffic on the virtual platforms across the world, ACS Athens faculty deliver lessons and students complete the work necessary. It is important to note that these lessons are not review lessons but rather the continuation of the curriculum and truly meaningful learning.” Dr. Pelonis added: “Such an innovative endeavor required long term planning from administration and faculty and the ACS Athens educators and students have taken on the challenge and proved to be very prepared.”

For the first time since 1990, ACS Athens had to stop its on-campus operations and close the facilities for a full 2 weeks, starting March 9 until March 24. The closure was ordered by the Ministry of Education as a case of COVID-19 (coronavirus) was verified in a Pre-K class of the school.

The on-campus operations had to close... but the school continues to function online through its ACS Athens Virtual platform, for most of its grades. According to Julia Tokatlidou, ACS Athens Dean of Academics and key point person of the ACS Athens Virtual, “our school has been ready to transition to the online realm for many months now, as we have offered a number of our accredited high school courses online. The only additional step was to extend this platform to grades 5-12, train our teachers in the most modern tools of e-learning and prepare our families for this eventuality, due to the global outbreak of the coronavirus.” Students in grades Kindergarten - 4 depend on e-learning tools, teacher sites, documents, videos and activities that require the collaboration of the parents.

The ACS Athens Virtual platform is powered by Moodle® open-source learning management system used by schools and universities worldwide, which hosts all the courses offered by the school in the form of webpages called “shells”, one for each course. Teachers maintain and update their course material daily, which is directed to every classroom they teach. Students meet in a synchronous and asynchronous way, in pre-determined times and at their own availability to see assignments, submit classwork, ask the teachers questions, collaborate with their classmates, do research, and be assessed for their learning. Other than Moodle, ACS Athens educators utilize Google Apps for Education, KhanAcademy, Screencastify, VoiceThread, etc.

Outcomes of ACS Athens Virtual operation will be shared with our community as we proceed with the program.

IB English teacher Dr. Syropoulos mentioned to his students: “This is one of the classes I enjoyed the most!!!! You were very well prepared, that's why our backup plan worked so well! It was fascinating to visit your shared docs and see your thoughts unfolding. You perfectly grasped the idea of narrative omniscience and applied it to Ms. Austen!”

Ms. Mente, one of our First Grade teachers said to her students before the first online day of school: "We want to make sure that your day is productive and that your “school time” is well spent! We also want to make sure that you are staying healthy – mind, body and soul! So keep your hands clean, your body nutritiously fed and your soul energized with the things you love to do during your free time.”

David Nelson, the Academy Principal has stated: "When everyone else in Athens stopped learning, we started ... in a different way!”
Monday, 21 September 2020 12:16

Rare Olympic Medal From 1896 Sold At Auction

A medal awarded at the first modern Olympic Games, held in Athens in 1896, recently sold at auction for $65,625.
 
The bronze medal was awarded to Georgios Tsitas, a Greco-Roman wrestling athlete who won second place at the Athens Olympic games in 1896. At the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens, first-place winners received a silver medal, a certificate, and an olive branch, while runner ups won a bronze medal, a certificate, and a laurel branch.
 
The medals were designed by Jules-Clement Chaplain, a renowned French Art Nouveau sculptor, and feature a relief of Zeus holding Nike, the goddess of victory. On the other side, there is an elaborate representation of the Parthenon and the words “International Olympic Games in Athens, 1896,” in Greek.
 
The Boston-based auction house that made the sale noted that athletes’ medals from the 1896 Olympic Games are extremely rare to come across, and this is the first one they have ever sold.

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

According to dieticians and doctors around the globe, Feta is the healthiest cheese option in the world and now there is clear evidence to prove it.

The Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA) announced that a group of researchers has decoded the “DNA” of authentic feta cheese produced in Greece, unlocking its secrets at a molecular level, it was announced on Wednesday.

Dr. George Tsangaris and Dr. Athanasios Anagnostopoulos analyzed several varieties of feta cheese from all over Greece bearing the indication “Protected Designation of Origin” (PDO), identifying their nutritional properties and value.

It was discovered that all varieties of PDO Feta contain 489 different types of protein known, among others, for their antimicrobial activity and for strengthening the immune system. The research also identified many proteins related to vitamins and other oligo-elements known, among others, to benefit the nervous system, to maintain good kidney function, to help regulate arterial pressure and reduce cholesterol. According to researchers, these 489 proteins make up the “identity” of original Greek Feta cheese, which thus emerges as one of the protein-rich cheeses in the world.

Researchers used a ground-breaking method recently developed and exclusively implemented by the BRRFAA Proteomics Facility, called trophometry, foodometry, or nutriometry. Using a high-resolution mass spectrometer, scientists are able to qualitatively and quantitatively determine all the molecules contained in both solid and liquid foods, as well as in food supplements. The grand sum of these elements forms the “trophometric trace” of each individual food product, which is unique for everything we eat or drink and can thus be compared to the human DNA profile.

In addition to proving Greek Feta’s high nutritional value, the new BRFAA method can help determine the quality of the milk used during production; shield the market against instances of food adulteration; and, finally, distinguish authentic PDO feta made in Greece from other varieties of white cheeses.

Since 2002, ‘Feta’ has been a protected designation of origin (PDO) product in the European Union and the term can only be used to describe brined cheese made exclusively of sheep’s or sheep’s and goat’s milk in specific regions of Greece. In other countries, the term can also be used to describe white cheeses that are sometimes made with cow’s milk.

Originally published on:greekcitytimes.com

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