XpatAthens

XpatAthens

Wednesday, 18 February 2015 14:52

Sightseeing In Greece

Sightseeing can mean different things to different people. To us it means having a look at whatever is around. Some of the things you look at are more worth it than others though, so when we see something we really like, or if we want to write up a short day trip from Athens to a nearby place of interest, here is where we put it.

Sometime we might organise these into some sort of order, but for now have a browse to read a bit about some of Greece’s famous and not so famous must see sights!

Mercouri Winery – Western Peloponnese
We had heard about this winery somewhere around Katakolon and one Saturday we decided to go find it. It turned out to be the Mercouri Estate and while there we got chatting with a Scottish fella by the name of Chris who happens to be helping out with the tourist program (that's multicultural Greece for you). One thing led to another and I suggested he write a quick blurb about the estate for Travels in Greece. He said yes, and here it is. For anybody in the area, a trip to the estate is well worth it, what with the lovely buildings, the old museum piece tools on display and the grounds full of peacocks. The wine is pretty good too! If you happen to get chatting with Chris, say hi to him from us, over to you Chris....

Museum of Ancient Greek Technology in Katakolon

We received an email today regarding the Museum of Ancient Greek Technology which resides on the main square of Katakolon opposite the train station and next to the church. The last time we were in Katakolo in the summer of 2009 it appeared very shut and we were told that it was unlikely to re-open, but the email seems to negate that news.

To read more, please visit travelsingreece.com

 

Friday, 20 February 2015 16:58

Greek 7 Layer Dip

When I came across the idea of a Greek 7 layer dip on Our Best Bites recently, I knew that I would have to add it to my snacking mix for the big football game this year. I am a huge fan of both the classic Texmex 7 layer dip and of the Greek flavours going on in this dip. In fact this Greek version of the 7 layer dip reminded me of the Greek nachos that I make that are also a fusion of Greek and Texmex.

I started the dip out with the layer of freshly homemade hummus and then I went on to replace the cream cheese layer with a layer of tzatziki made with a thick and creamy 0% Greek yogurt.

(I figured that I would be getting a lot of cream cheese in the other dips that I will be serving so I would keep this one nice and light and the tzatziki fits in with the Greek theme as well.) The next few layers are more of ingredients that are stacked on and they include some tomatoes, cucumber, red onions, Kalamata olives, feta and a touch of mint as a garnish. I strongly associate oregano with Greek cuisine and I wanted to work some in so I mixed it into the tomato layer.

Although I was expecting this dip to be good with all of the great flavours in it, I was not expecting it to be as amazing as it was! I nearly devoured the entire batch in one sitting! The combination of the creamy hummus, the tart and garlicky tzatziki, the juicy tomatoes and crunch cucumbers, the salty olives and feta was simply fantastic! In addition to being one of the most addictive dips that I have had in a while, this dip is also pretty healthy, especially when served with toasted whole wheat pitas triangles for dipping. This dip is perfect for anyone looking for a healthier alternative for snacking at any party!

(makes 4 servings)


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups hummus
1 cup tzatziki
1 cup tomato (diced and mixed with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon oregano)
1/2 cup cucumber (cut into small pieces)
1/4 cup red onions (diced)
1/4 cup feta (crumbled)
1/4 cup Kalamata olives (pitted and coarsely chopped)
1 handful mint (chopped)
4 whole wheat pitas (cut into triangles and toasted until just crispy)

Directions:
1. Assemble dip starting with the hummus and stacking each ingredient on top of the last.

By Kevin Lynch

www.closetcooking.com

 

Φύγαμε για ελληνικά! is intended for adult learners of Modern Greek as a foreign/second language who are at an intermediate level.

As the title implies, you are invited to join us on a voyage of discovery which offers you the opportunity to practise your Greek reading and listening comprehension skills and to enrich your vocabulary.

This book can be used either in the classroom or for self-study. It covers a wide range of everyday life topics and it also provides information on various social and cultural aspects of life in Greece.

The main body of the book consists of 12 increasingly difficult thematic units. Each unit is divided into two parts.The first part includes a text or a dialogue written in simple, contemporary language followed by a reading comprehension and a vocabulary exercise. Two more exercises aim to further expand and consolidate your knowledge.The second part aims to help you to practise and improve your aural comprehension skills by listening to a dialogue or an oral text based on the theme of the unit followed by three listening comprehension exercises.

To read more, please visit: fygamegiaellinika







As olives were harvested this fall to be prepared for the massive olive oil production that takes place throughout Greece, a special harvest took place in the municipality of Glyfada, involving a humanitarian effort by the city and volunteers to provide olive oil to people in need.

Like most of Greece, olive trees are abundant on public land and go largely untouched, with tons of fruit simply withering and falling to the ground, season after season.  One resident - Stavros Giakoumakis - wanted to change that and approached Glyfada's mayor, Giorgos Papanikolaou, with a plan. 

That plan involved a massive volunteer and educational effort to harvest all of the olive trees that exist on public land; parks, forested areas and other areas that belong to the municipality, and produce olive oil that would, in turn, be given to needy familie through the city's public welfare efforts.

To read more, please visit: Pappas Post



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Athens International Airport has received yet another distinction from World Routes, the biggest global airline networking forum! The recognition was voted by airline companies who has a special honourary distinction among 4-20 million passengers.
 
Athens International Airport offers continuous dynamic support to airlines for their developmental efforts under the extremely adverse economic conditions, but also during the recovery period of the aviation industry.

Athens International Airport is the most awarded airport in the history of World Routes, one of the most important institutions in the industry, with 13 distinctions in 10 years.

At the highly acclaimed Routes Conferences, airlines evaluate the airports’ marketing plans and programs, rewarding the ones that address most efficiently the airlines’ efforts to develop new routes and enhancing their presence in the local markets.

To read this article in full, please visit: Protothema
The video, ‘Greece - A 365-Day Destination’ video was nominated for the ‘Best Video In Europe Award’ for 2017 and recently won at the second World Tourism Organization Tourism video competition!
 
‘Greece – A 365-Day Destination’ was selected as the top promotional video of a European destination, among 23 candidate European countries that participated in the global competition.

Greece’s video was voted as the best in Europe by a jury consisting of the chairs of the UNWTO’s six regional commissions – Africa, the Americas, East Asia and the Pacific, ‎Europe, the Middle East and South Asia.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Travel Pages


Thursday, 30 November 2017 09:17

Jamie Oliver Visits Ikaria, Greece

To investigate what superfoods can do for us, Jamie Oliver traveled to Ikaria, Greece, where the residents live an average of 10 years longer than anyone in Europe and America. In this video, Oliver searches for the answer to Ikaria’s longevity. What’s their secret? Find out below!

*Unfortunately as of December 1, 2017 this video is no longer available online.
 
 
Source: Greece by a Greek
The American Embassy in Athens has announced that the FLEX exchange program will be offering 10 scholarships to Greek students of 9th and 10th grade (DOB from January 1, 2002 to July 15, 2004).

The Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX) was founded in 1992 and has since become a competitive, merit-based scholarship program funded by the U.S. Department of State.
 
Applicants go through multiple rounds of testing to earn a scholarship to spend an academic year in the United States with a volunteer host family and attending a U.S. high school.

"This is not a year in your life, this is life in a year" Kateryna, FLEX student 2013-14

FLEX students gain leadership skills, learn about American society and values, and teach Americans about FLEX countries and cultures. FLEX is a highly competitive program with over 26,300 alumni who have contributed over one million hours of community service in cities and towns across America. The students return home to active alumni networks that carry out inspiring activities.

 
To learn more about FLEX, please visit the U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Greece.
Monday, 22 April 2019 07:00

Mazi Farm: Farming For The Future

Mazi Farm

Located on the island of Euboea in central Greece, Mazi Farm is a 5-hectare farm that produces fids, pomegranates, almonds, and pistachios. Unlike most farms in Greece and the Mediterranean, Mazi Farm is a farm of regenerative agriculture, a technique that strives to produce quality food whilst having a positive environmental impact, enriching our social context and being financially sustainable.

The team of farmers are applying agricultural techniques capable of building soil, protecting biodiversity, keeping rivers clean, and capturing carbon from the atmosphere while producing an abundance of healthy nutritious food. At the heart of their approach is agroforestry, the union of agriculture and forests. Forests are vital to the health of our ecosystems and provide numerous ecosystem services that we can include in our farming practices.

The Farmers

Back in 2017, the Tsitsos family took a leap, a very big leap… they decided to become agroforestry farmers. The family, which was spread out in different parts of the world, reunited to become full-time farmers, restore a rugged 5-hectare plot, regenerate the land, and manage to grow highly nutritious food.

Dimitri, Georges, Etienne, Christine, and Solene have put their previous lives behind and have committed to actively participate in the restoration of our ecosystem and to harvest nutrient-dense produce that’s healthy and wholesome.

Together, they are farming for the future and so far, have planted 8,000 fruit & wild trees.


To learn more about Mazi Farm, please click here.
To support Mazi Farm, please click here.
Wednesday, 05 February 2020 07:00

Global Expertise Versus Local Players

Companies continuing to rely on global expertise of IWG instead of local players

A fact that virtually every company will agree with, regardless of size, is that business is becoming increasingly global. So regardless of where a firm is based, when it comes to choosing a provider for an essential service such as office space, it makes sense for them to choose someone that can provide that truly global outlook.
 
The world of flexible working is one of those services. Undoubtedly one of the emerging disruptive trends in recent years, and a growth sector for global business that shows no signs of abating, flexible-office space providers have sprung up to try and service this need in cities all over the world.
 
But regardless of whether they’re pursuing international growth, there are a range of crucial factors all firms should take into consideration before deciding on a flexible-office space provider. From stability to global reach, professionalism and reputation, it’s a simple fact that smaller companies simply can’t contend with what a worldwide provider like IWG can provide.
 
This is something that’s been seen in the Russian market. Smaller, local players may have emerged in the flexible-workspace market there but IWG – with its global reputation and respected brand – has continued to be a firm favourite with tenants in the country’s capital. “One international company planned to move to a competitor due to a lower price, but then preferred to stay at Regus as their HQ considered Regus the most reliable workspace-provider in Moscow,” says Irina Baeva, Country Manager IWG Russia.

IWG20167_35948_Regus_Spaces_Digital_Banners_Grxpat_90x728px.jpg

With IWG being the biggest global provider of flexible workspace and flexspace-industry experts, it also has an enviable reputation built up over 30 years with market expertise and an infrastructure built on tried and tested processes.
 
High corporate standards across every department, from legal, operations and HR, to training and management are all strictly monitored by head office too. As well as the longevity and stability provided by IWG, in markets such as Russia there are also the myriad of practical advantages that being backed up by a truly global business provides as well. “Some international/foreign companies choose Regus because they can pay in USD, not only in Roubles,” adds Baeva. “The local players do not accept payments in foreign currency.”
 
When deciding on a flexible-workspace provider, it’s also important to consider that IWG is following a model that has seen it establish and successfully operate in 3,300 locations in over 1,000 towns and cities in more than 110 countries.

As flexspace-industry experts, IWG serves a massive 2.5m people to work more productively right around the globe via state-of-the art offices that include business-class broadband, virtual offices, meeting rooms and shared office spaces. These facilities, combined with unrivalled expertise, make it simple for companies to up- and downscale, control their rental costs, stay agile and also make their businesses more appealing to potential new recruits, with 80% of workers saying they would choose a job that offers them the flexible-working option.   

This all helps to ensures that every office and every new client is following a well-trodden path to success, and it’s this reliable reputation as flexspace-industry experts that Baeva says is continuing to place Regus as the preferred office space provider in the market, regardless of which newer, smaller companies emerge.

“Regus is known on the market for the ability to fastest set up an office space for a customer, so that they can move in ASAP,” she says. “While other market players are catching up, Regus still has the best standards and expertise in this regard.”

The outlook is clear: for companies looking for a reliable, stable flexible-office space provider with an established business model that’s stood the test of time, IWG is the ideal solution.

 

To find out more, visit IWG today.


This content has been sponsored by IWG - an XpatAthens Brand Partner.
Originally published at IWG

 

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