XpatAthens

Monday, 07 November 2022 07:00

8 Practical Ideas That Bring Laughter & Joy Into Your Everyday Life

Do you remember those times when a good laugh was all you needed to change your mood and become more joyful? We all know that laughter is like medicine. In fact, research has shown that a good laugh has the power to relieve stress, improve your immune system and shift your perspective.

Think about it. You cannot feel stressed when you laugh, can you? On the contrary, you may feel relieved even if it’s for the short term. I’m sure you’ve noticed how easy and how often children laugh out loud.

Among others, laughter is a powerful communication tool. It brings people together and strengthens relationships. Here are some practical ideas to increase laughter in your life:

Watch a comedy, a funny TV series, or a funny video on YouTube. There’s plenty to choose from.
Share a good joke with friends, family, and colleagues. A good sense of humor is essential so all parties involved have fun.
Play with your pet. Dogs may show a more playful and joyful attitude but cats can be lots of fun too.
Watch your favorite stand-up comedian. Whether in a live show or not they will definitely make you laugh.
Tell funny stories with your kids. It can be something that happened to you or to someone near you during the day or a story from your childhood. Make sure you have a screen-free environment.
Laugh at your mistakes. This may be tough sometimes but learning not to take yourself too seriously takes out some weight off your shoulders.
Look at funny photos. They can be photos of your children or from your childhood. Even better, share them with your funny friends.
Spend time with people who bring you joy. Get your distance from grumpy people and choose to be around those who understand the value of good, authentic laughter.

Don’t wait for something big or fancy. Make up a reason, any reason, and just laugh.

Originally published on: itsmylife.gr

If there’s a topic you’re interested in and would like to learn more about you may contact me via email. For more information about me and my work check the XpatAthens Directory or visit my website. Because this is your life!

Published in Mind

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Thursday, 01 August 2024 15:43

Apostolos Christou Wins Historic Silver Medal In Paris 2024

Greek swimmer Apostolos Christou made history on Thursday by winning the silver medal in the men's 200m backstroke at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Christou’s remarkable performance set a new national record with a time of 1:54.82, securing Greece’s first Olympic medal in pool swimming in 128 years.

Breaking a 128-Year Drought

Christou’s silver marks a monumental achievement for Greece, as the previous seven swimming medals were all earned at the 1896 Athens Olympic Games. The most recent honor before Christou's victory was an open water silver medal by Spyridon Gianniotis at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

A Stellar 2024 for Christou

The 27-year-old swimmer has had an impressive year. His journey began with a bronze medal in the 100m backstroke at the Doha World Championships in February. He continued to shine at the European Aquatics Championships in Belgrade, where he clinched gold in both the 50m and 100m backstroke events and contributed to the Greek men's 4x100m freestyle relay team, which won bronze.

A Historic Day

Christou dedicated his silver medal to his family, calling Thursday the best day of his life. His performance not only brought pride to Greece but also highlighted his remarkable talent and determination.

Greece's Success in Paris

Christou’s achievement follows another significant win for Greece at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. On Wednesday, July 31st, judoka Thodoris Tselidis secured a bronze medal in the men’s -90kg weight class, earning Greece its first medal of the Games.

Final Standings in the 200m Backstroke

Gold: Hubert Kos (Hungary) – 1:54.26
Silver: Apostolos Christou (Greece) – 1:54.82
Bronze: Roman Mityukov (Switzerland) – 1:54.85

Apostolos Christou’s silver medal is a historic milestone for Greek swimming, marking a triumphant return to the Olympic podium after more than a century.

Published in Greece In The News

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Thursday, 05 February 2015 14:17

My Week in Athens… May 2

This week we hear from our new member Kristie, who spent the last few weeks in Greece and Athens…

“I am lucky to be able to travel a lot – my work affords me the opportunity to move around all the time. So much so, that I don’t really have a place that I consider ‘home’. I’m a person who can honestly say ‘wherever I lay my hat is home’ – and I mean it. This lifestyle is not about wealth and riches – quite the opposite: this lifestyle is about having different experiences and the richness of meeting interesting people wherever I go.

The last few weeks were particularly special. I spent the first ten days in the Peloponnese, staying in a rural house, looking after the pets for the owners who were away. This was lovely and peaceful, a world away from the urban chaos of London, my previous destination. Then I came to Athens, determined to see the ancient sites that I had learned about during my studies. I wouldn’t say I had many expectations – I take each experience as it comes.

The ruins and rocks I expected. What I didn’t expect was the realization that Athens is more about what you feel than what you see. There are of course some beautiful parts of the city – and there are some not-so-beautiful parts of the city. But this feeling is undeniable, this unique mix of highly charged and yet incredibly relaxed energy – this is how I will think of Athens and its people.

This is a city that one must experience, rather that ‘tour’. And hopefully at the end of your experience, you will say ‘I get it’ – as I did. It is not a city without challenges and troubles and woes – but I believe that even these things add to the particular energy that is Athens. I understand why so many choose to live here – also not because of wealth and riches, but rather about the richness of everyday life. I found myself thinking that my hat might like to stay here for a while…”

Thanks for the inspiration, Kristie!

Until next week,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

Published in My Week In Athens

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Monday, 16 February 2015 11:56

Abovo Restaurant in Kefalari

TV’s Top Chef Michalis Nourloglou is head of cuisine at the modern, stylish (decorated in dark tones) and relaxed gourmet restaurant in Kefalari. And he’s doing a really good job. Creative, well made and elegant presentations, the dishes are by themselves sufficient justification to book a table, while the picture is complete with several labels of wine, delicious cocktails and great service.

Address: Kolokotroni 37, 1st floor, Kefalari

Tel: 2108015324

Closed Sundays.

athinorama.gr

Do you have a recommendation or recipe to share? Send it to us at ideas@xpatathens.com!

Published in Restaurants In Athens

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Thursday, 19 February 2015 11:36

Lego Acropolis: Taking It Piece By Piece

The University of Sydney's Nicholson Museum offers the Acropolis Museum a Lego Acropolis. The model features the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Nike, the smaller Erechtheion temple and the site's monumental gateway, the Propylaea. The LEGO model displays the Acropolis both as it was in the fifth century BC and today, as one of Greece's most popular tourist attractions.

Captured in LEGO are some of the Acropolis' more famous visitors including Pericles, Lord Elgin, Dame Agatha Christie, and even Elton John. Michael Turner, senior curator at the Nicholson Museum, says the Acropolis Museum emailed him" asking if it could borrow the model to attract younger visitors. "

After a largely sleepless night, I got back to the museum and said no, they couldn't borrow it … we'd give it Nicholson Museum’s Greek collection contains artefacts representative of the material culture of the Greek mainland, islands and surrounding regions, from the Bronze Age through to the Late Hellenistic period. to them."

To read more, please visit greeknewsagenda.gr

Published in Local News

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Wednesday, 23 March 2022 07:00

The Traditional Dish Of Greek Independence Day

Bakaliaros (Cod) is a Greek traditional dish that has become synonymous with the celebration of Greek Independence Day on the 25th of March, which is also the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. The Annunciation in Greek is called 'Evangelismos' and those named Evangelos or Evangelia celebrate their name days.

How Did This Tradition Start?

The celebration of the 25th of March always occurs during the Great Lent, a period when many Greeks fast for nearly fifty days- abstaining from meat, fish, and dairy from Kathara Deytera up until Easter.

During Lent, however there are two exceptions: one on the 25th of March and the other on Palm Sunday when fish is traditionally consumed. In the old days, people living near the shores ate fresh fish on both occasions but people in remote mountain villages could not, as there were no refrigeration trucks to transport fish. Consequently, salted cod substituted fresh fish, during lent and other occasions, as it was cheap and could be preserved for a long time.

The basic secret for the batter is to use ice cold water which helps the fish not to absorb too much oil. Corn flour makes the crust light and crispy making it hard to resist devouring more than one piece!

Ingredients

1 kg salted cod fillet
Olive oil for frying

For the batter:

1 tbsp lemon juice
(75 grams (about 1 1/2) egg whites (or replace with 1 tbsp baking powder)
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup corn flour (corn starch)
250 ml beer (or 165 m beer an 85 ml water)
½ tsp salt
A pinch of white pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fennel fronds finely chopped (optional)

Directions

Cut the cod into portions, remove skin, rinse to remove salt and place in a bowl and cover with water.If cod is not a fillet make sure to remove all the bones. Drain and change the water every 3 – 4 hours for at least 24 hours before preparing.

Beat one egg white into meringue. In a bowl add the flour, corn flour, (baking powder instead of egg white), salt and pepper, fennel fronds, the beer, the olive oil and lemon juice and start mixing adding the water gradually, until you have a thick batter. Do not add all the water as you may not need all of it. Mix in the egg white and place the batter in the refrigerator for an hour.

Dip the cod into the batter and fry on both sides in hot olive oil. Serve with delicious garlic dip (skordalia).

Enjoy!

Article Source: Kopiaste.org

Published in Greek Food & Diet

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Thursday, 05 May 2016 07:00

Great Parks In Athens For Kids & Spring Picnics

Spring is in full swing and there's no better time to enjoy an outdoor picnic with the kids!

Celeste Tat, from Family Goes Out Greece, gives her expertise on great parks to enjoy a picnic in Athens. Below are some of her favourite spots. Also, click here to read about child friendly parks in Athens.

National Garden, Athens centre

Address: The main entrance is on Amalias Avenue but you also enter the garden from Vasilissis Sophias Avenue, Herodou Attikou street and the Zappeion park area.

The National Garden, formerly called the ‘Royal Garden’, is a public park of 15.5 hectares in the centre of Athens. It is located directly behind the Greek Parliament building (the old palace) and in between the famous monuments of the Zappeion and the Panathenaiko first Olympic Stadium.

I find it an ideal cool oasis and a green escape in the middle of the city centre for a hot summer day. My kids always love the huge and impressive palm trees at the entrance of the park. Inside the National Garden you will find a little farm with animals and birds and a pond with turtles. There is also a nice playground with a large sandbox. There are impressive botanic gardens, a labyrinth of rare plants and trees and plenty of open grass areas and benches to have a picnic.

Syngrou Estate in Maroussi

Address: 182 Kifissias Avenue, Maroussi

Syngrou Estate is best described as an area of unspoiled countryside where you will forget that you are near the centre of the capital city. The land belonged to Andreas Syngrou, a successful and wealthy businessman. What I love about the very well kept park of Syngrou Estate is the variety of trees and shrubs, the pathways for bicycles and open areas. There are expanses of grass for picnics and ball games.

Kaisariani Forest & Monastery, Kaisariani

Address: Alimou-Karea Avenue, Kaisariani

Kaisariani forest is located 5 km from the Athens city centre up and around the forest of Mount Ymittos. The park has many footpaths, beautiful trees, many birds, old churches, ruins and rocks. There is a botanical garden as well and there are large grass areas with picnic tables and benches. There are endless possibilities in this park, both in the sun and in the shade. There are bicycle paths, a playground and a café too. A picnic in this park can be combined with a visit to the Kaisariani Monastery.

To read this article in full, please visit: Family Goes Out Greece

Published in Kids Life

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Monday, 11 July 2016 11:11

Live The Santorini Experience 2016

Privileged prices for your airline tickets!

“Santorini Experience” continues to innovate by bringing closer to the people, the unique beauty of the worldwide destination of the island of Santorini, on 7-9 October 2016!

After the announcement of the cooperation with the leading TV channel FOX Sports of FOX Networks Group, another significant cooperation, this time with the airline, Ryanair, is achieved for the first time at a sports tourism event, in Greece.

The company will undertake to carry with safety and credibility as the official airline partner of “Santorini Experience” the visitors of the event contributing to the goal for the extension of the tourist season and the promotion of the island as a destination for 365 days a year.

Further to the announcement of this collaboration, Ryanair’s Sales and Marketing Manager for Greece and Eastern Mediterranean, Chiara Ravara said, “As Europe’s largest airline, Ryanair is pleased to support the Santorini Experience event, in what is one of the world’s most sought after destinations. With its breath-taking and diverse landscapes, its mild climate in the four seasons, it is an ideal destination for active holidays and for sports addicts. Ryanair is fully committed further growing and developing Greek tourism and in promoting Greece as a year-round destination, and we look forward to bringing more customers to the ultimate sport experience on the island. To celebrate, we’re launching a seat sate with fares starting from just 19.99€, which are available for booking only on Thursday 14 July & Friday 15 July for travel between 5 to 12 October. Since these amazing low prices will be snapped up quickly, customers interested in joining the event as active participants should log onto Ryanair and avoid missing out.”

On 7-9 October 2016, people will have the opportunity to discover the sport side of Santorini!

On Saturday October 8th 2016, professional and amateur runners will be able to run and live the adrenaline of Caldera!

The starting time for both 10 km and 15 km routes is at 08:15 am in the morning, while the starting time of the 5km route will take place at 11:00. All routes start from the desalination plant in Oia.

Moreover, on Sunday October 9th 2016, professional and amateur swimmers will be able to sense the eruptive atmosphere of the volcano with the impressive view of the island in front of them!

The starting time of the unique swimming route of 1.5 mile (2.4 km) of “Santorini Experience”, will take place at 10:00 am, from the volcano to the old port in Fira.

Registrations in swimming and running continue with an undiminished pace through the official page of the event in the following link: http://activemedia.com.gr/product/santorini-experience-2/

Dreams… that become memories!

For those wishing to combine sports with tourism and take advantage of their stay in one of the two or three most beautiful islands in the world, if not the most beautiful, privileged packages starting from 300 euro for 2 people for 3 days - 2 nights (including transportation, accommodation, food and participation in the event) will be available. For more information you may contact the hospitality sponsors of the event: Aqua Vista Hotels, Santorini Hoteliers Association, Meltemi Hotels & Resorts, Athina Luxury Suites, Central Fira Hotel, Sienna Residencies, Memories Hotel, Loizos Stylish Residencies and Esperas which are available in the following link: http://santorini-experience.com/event_accommodation_en.html. The page will be daily enriched with new supporters and in the upcoming days discounts on ferry tickets to Santorini will be announced.

“Santorini Experience” will be held under the auspices of the Hellenic Swimming Federation and will have the international promotion by FOX Sports of FOX Networks Group that participates this year as an Official Broadcaster of the event.

“Santorini Experience” is collaboration between the Municipality of Santorini, the Municipal Sports Cultural Environmental Organization of Santorini (D.A.P.P.O.S.) and Active Media Group.

Official Sponsors: Alafouzos Sport, Santorini Boatmen Union

Official Airline Partner: Ryanair

Official Supporters: “Vikos” Natural Mineral Water, Aqua Vista Hotels, Saucony, Arena, Village Cinemas, Village Cinemas, Passagio Santorini

Official Broadcaster: FOX Sports
Hospitality Sponsors: Santorini Hoteliers Association, Meltemi Hotels & Resorts, Athina Luxury Suites, Central Fira Hotel, Sienna Residencies, Memories Hotel, Loizos Stylish Residencies

Under the auspices of the Hellenic Swimming Federation

Published in Local News

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Tuesday, 06 December 2016 07:00

The 10 Best Bars In The Psirri District

This old district in the heart of Athens, Greece near Monastiraki, has been enjoying a new breath of fresh air. Psirri is considered the low-key area to enjoy a night with friends! Here are a few of The Culture Trip’s favorite bars.

Barrett

Industrial decor, great music, a relaxed vibe, and an array of great drinks and cocktails is what you get in Barrett. This newcomer in Psirri is a great place for late-morning coffee and homemade sweets or for after-work drinks with friends. Things get serious at night with various guest DJ sets exploring jazz, soul, and indie rock tunes. All in all, Barrett is the cool hangout spot we were all looking for in the capital city.

Address: Protogenous 11

Telephone: 210 321 8373
Website

Cantina Social

With its resolutely alternative vibe, and its vast array of Russian beers, Cantina Social is a small joint with a minimalist interior, tasty cocktails, and a cozy atmosphere. The bar plays mostly indie music but will spontaneously revisit dance, Latin, and reggae hits. Most nights, black-and-white movies are projected onto the surrounding apartment buildings. The bar also hosts several exhibitions. If you want to give your nights out some edge, you know where to go.

Address: 6 Leokoriou

Telephone: 210 325 1668
Website

Concierge Athens Café

This new space is an all-day cafe/bar offering breakfast, lunch, and brunch options as well as extensive drink options at night. These include straight alcohols, cool cocktails, beers, and wine. The cafe is located on the ground floor of the Concierge Athens, which rents apartments and studios for long and short stays in the city. With its large doors always open, there is no doubt the Concierge Athens Café is a friendly and welcoming bar where residents and clients alike feel at home. Grab your favorite book and spend the afternoon there.

Address: 8 Agias Theklas

Telephone: 213 036 9266
Website

To read this article in full, please visit: The Culture Trip

Published in Pubs, Bars & Cafes

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Tuesday, 03 January 2017 20:22

December 20 - Enjoy The Holidays In Athens

Wishing everyone a happy and festive holiday season! Check out these articles on top things to do in Athens, what to do in Greece for the holidays, how to celebrate a Greek Christmas, and a Greek Christmas cookie recipe.

Please click HERE to view this issue of our newsletter!

Remember to stay connected with us through our weekly newsletter, Facebook, and Twitter!

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LOGIN

8 Practical Ideas That Bring Laughter & Joy Into Your Everyday Life

Apostolos Christou Wins Historic Silver Medal In Paris 2024

My Week in Athens… May 2

Abovo Restaurant in Kefalari

Lego Acropolis: Taking It Piece By Piece

The Traditional Dish Of Greek Independence Day

Great Parks In Athens For Kids & Spring Picnics

Live The Santorini Experience 2016

The 10 Best Bars In The Psirri District

December 20 - Enjoy The Holidays In Athens

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