South America is calling

Yes, it is official...we have booked out trip to Machu Pichu and the Galapagos Islands for April 2015!!!
Can you hear the drum rolls?
We are so very excited...we were invited by a couple of friends to join their group after we mentioned that we had postponed our South America trip. It seems that fate had other plans!

Get ready because I intend to do a cooking class and to take some awesome pics!

Our travel consultant Lady Sanchez (who was kind enough to take us on) from ADVENTUREPERU is wonderful!

We look forward to meeting her and having a fantastic adventure with our friends!

Sun, Sand and Sea water

We are lazing around the Glyfada Beach Hotel http://www.hotelglyfadabeach.com/ for three days...oh the luxury! not having to pack and go each morning...

It is a beautiful hotel with great breakfast every day...and seconds away from the beautiful sandy beach with warm water to swim!
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corfu

The rooms are lovely and large and there are three dinings areas to choose from...we eat outside on the terrace facing the beach!

http://www.corfu-greece.biz/

The food is good and plentiful and the company is wonderful!

 

Dionysus Hotel in Mytikas

The Dionysus Hotel in Mytikas really lived up to its name. Dionysus is the ancient god of food, drink, and hospitality who always makes sure everyone has a good time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysus

Our hosts were wunderbar! They spoke fluent German (daughter lives in Germany). I didn't realize how much German I understand before staying with them!! They did not speak much English but were adept at hand language and sounds that exemplify meaning! They were so very helpful and friendly I would have to rate the service a 10 (only because the scale doe s not go any higher).
This husband and wife team made us feel right at home. He even drove us to a nearby village when the market we wanted to go to was closed at that time of day. They gave us a map and a tour book of the area with local archaeological sites and even drove us to one nearby.
Our hotel room was spotless, large, and well appointed. The hotel was modern and well kept.

There was a beautiful sandy beach within a few steps of the hotel in a secluded little cove with warm water and a few bathers. Our host mentioned that this was a wild beach (clothing optional)).

 

 

Breakfast at the Dionysus could be classified as an event which Dionysus himself would be envious of and would definitely approve. It consisted of fresh coffee, fresh squeezed juice, a tray of cold meats and cheeses, boiled eggs, fresh bread with creamy butter, breakfast cakes with jam, and jellies and to make sure we didn't leave hungry ....watermelon!

Oh my goodness...there was so much care and attention put into this breakfast preparation and presentation that we felt like long time friends visiting again! The hotel, hosts, and food well exceeded our expectations and I would highly recommend it to anyone who comes this way.

Hotel Hercules and To Steki

Our stay in Olympia was made all the nicer by having a great host at our hotel. The Hotel Hercules
 http://www.booking.com/hotel/gr/hercules.en.html?aid=311088;label=hotel-96706-gr-_fINLvplXUzeBS5CETLoFgS2580930723:pl:ta:p1:p2:ac:ap1t1:neg;ws=&gclid=CJiYoO2u2LICFUPHtAodwx8ArQ
is a family run hotel in the center of town. Nicolas was very helpful and recommended a restrauant for us for dinner.

 

 

We had the all important Greek salad,

 calamari, and some lovely lemon sauce drenched Dolathes.

Our host made sure our room was ready and provided a great breakfast the next morning. 

 

Every Tour bus in Greece!

 We stopped at Olympia and visited the archeological site there where the temple of Zeus is located.

It was a great experience to be at the site of the very first Olympic games and learn about the athletes, the housing, the games (the mens and womens games were held on separate occasions on different years every four years).

We spent quite a bit of time walking around the site and really got a feeling for what it might have felt like in ancient times.




We loved that each area was well marked with plaques telling the story and giving pictures of an artists rendition of what the buildings may have looked like way back then...

The next day we wanted to go to the Olympia Museum until we saw the number of tour busses and cars at the site, and blocking every side street and alley in the whole town! There were about 500 cars and busses lined up and people everywhere!! Ok ahhhhhh...pass on the museum... next time! Off to Pyrgos, Patra, and Diakopto.

To Olympia and beyond

We saw a sign for an Archeological Site at Lepreon and decided on a whim to take the 'road' up the mountain... well ok it was more like a goat path... but, not to worry we made it ok. Nearly went over the edge one time but Don's driving skills saved the day!







It was an ancient site and we were glad we stopped as we would not have had the experience if we didn't.


The air at the top of the mountian smells like a combination of lavendar and jasmine...how wonerful is that!

Some times whims work out well!!
 

Food, food, and a museum...

The New Acropolis Museum!

We went to a small cafe across the street from our hotel for breakfast this morning http://www.pellainn.gr/. I had Greek coffee which seems to be a variation of Turkish coffee but with more grounds...it was a mighty wallop to the system! I saw that they had 'double' Greek coffee too... that must really be impressive to your brain!

We had a nice 'breakfast' as it was listed on the menu. No idea what this meant but we went ahead and had it anyway... adventuresome like that! Although not listed as such the breakfast was represented by a coffee, a freshly squeezed large orange juice, and a wonderful omelet.

Finally made it out to Brettos to pick up our supply of Ouzo and do some tasting... boy were we surprised! http://www.brettosplaka.com/index.php/?___store=gr&___from_store=en

Brettos makes  40 different flavours of liqueur all natural and all wonderful...no I did not taste them all...but wanted to! We did taste strawberry, peach, apricot, caramel and watermelon. My favorites were the peach and the caramel!(pictures) Yes, yes, yes we did buy some. We also bought some ouzo blue and some gold to bring home and a bottle of blue for our evenings here in Greece while travelling.


WE also made it to the museum...WOW!! OK double WOW, WOW!!
It was fantastic...and if you like museums you must find a day to do the new Acropolis Museum. http://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/?la=2 . The building is new and VERY modern(not my taste) but beautiful in its own right. There is a cafe for snacks or lunch and the food is very good. (pictures)The wait times could be improved and the serving staff is more than a little slack... but is is off season!

Keftediki...meatballs witha delicious tomato sauce

Tonight we plan to eat at Brettos 'ozerie'... which is a small taverna style restaurant which serves ouzo with metzes (starters or snacks) as well a dinner. It is reported to be 'wonderful' and friendly. But I will let you know whether it lived up to the Brettos reputation in a few hours and if we will go again!  I'm guessing the answer will be a resounding and well deserved yes!

Don's moussaka

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Greece/Prefecture_of_Attica/Athens-426812/Nightlife-Athens-Vrettos-BR-1.html

Photo Credit: pics from the website on the New Acropolis Museum http://www.yatzer.com/The-new-Acropolis-Museum-Athens-Greece-Bernard-Tschumi

Well.... Pier 1 did not disappoint. The food was good and the company was great!
My husband had the roast lamb and he was as happy as a Sheppard!! I deviated to a wonderful creamy  (and rich)shrimp fettuccine Alfredo. A pan fried sole with a heaping plate of beautiful roast veggies made my sister happy too.

Greece and the Islands

We have been to Greece a number of times and it remains an all time favorite of ours. We will be returning soon as we are completely out of stock of Britto's Ouzo (can only be purchased at the Placka - at least that is what I am told!) Past pictures and future plans coming soon.

Leaving for Greece on Tuesday September 18, 2012... I am so excited...

2010 - Turkey Synopsis

What an exceptionally wonderful country! The people are warm, helpful and friendly...even though everyone wants to sell you a carpet (we now have three!). We were there in June 2010 and found that the weather was beautiful and not too hot for us Northern Canadians to bear.
We started in Istandul (double WOW for the beautiful buildings and the history) and travelled throughout the country by our own devices...and lots of help from very friendly and helpful locals. The bus transportation system is amazing, the buses have stewards who serve coffee and snacks, and it is almost always on time.
Just about anyone can do a trip of Turkey on their own as we did. We did a massive loop from Istanbul around the northern part of Anatolia to Hatusha, out to Nemrut Daag, down to see the Fairy chimneys in Goreme - Central Anatolia, all the way to the Syrian border (a little hotter here) to see the first settlement in human history (!!) and then along the coast on a Turkish yacht for a bit of a cruise to Fetheya.
We saw the 'chimera' and stayed at the Canada Hotel http://www.canadahotel.net/en/index.htm (yes it is owned and operated by a Canadian-Turkish family who were absolutely wonderful) and then along the coast to Troy and back to Istanbul. It was quite an adventure and I will be posting pictures of each section with a longer 'appreciation' of the sights and people and food.

Adjika

Recipe for Adjika

Skewers of kebab

Skewers of a different kind of kebab

Kofte (meat balls)

Pita sandwich

Fruit pie

Dolma