Having spent a wonderful holiday in Serres and Thessaloniki, here I am relaxing at home on this last day of the Easter break. Since Alkis and I flew back home on Thursday, I've been looking at all the photos we took, bringing back so many wonderful moments of what was probably the best Easter holiday I've ever spent in recent years.
I slept in today and missed most of the sunshine that flooded my terrace, but I did enjoy breakfast outside and blogging in the remaining sunshine of this bright Sunday in Larnaca. Since we came back from Greece, I've been mostly sleeping or lazing around, unpacking and doing the laundry. It's funny how much laundry can pile up after a week away! I don't have a tumble drier, so I was really thankful for the sunshine today which, apart from drying up laundry, also inspired this post!!
Saturday was the last day of classes before the Greek Easter break. Most private language schools here break up during the Easter weekend only, which is next week, but I feel that after a long term and exams coming up soon, we all need a break. I'll be back to school on April 23rd after what I think is a well-deserved holiday for both my students and myself. Soon after classes yesterday, Alkis picked me up and spent the night in Protaras located at about 50 km from Larnaca. As always, we stayed at The Golden Coast Hotel which has been my favourite hotel in the area for years.
We had lunch at Christos Fish Tavern in Ayia Napa while enjoying the great sunny weather as much as we could. It seems that we're in for stormy days next week! In the evening, we had dinner with some very good friends of ours at one of Ayia Napa's greatest Italian restaurants - De Medici. I had proscuitto with strawberries, pear salad and grated parmesan for starters and tagliatelle with salmon and a divine pink sauce for main course. Unfortunately, there was no room for dessert!
Today, after breakfast at the the Golden Coast terrace facing the sea, we went back to Larnaca and did most of our Easter shopping.
The Limassol Carnival is one of the most important events in Cyprus, related to the Dionysian Festivals of the classical antiquity. It is a joyful and colorful event that attracts both young and old, locals and visitors, making Limassol the carnival center of Cyprus.
The festivities begin on Shrove Thursday (February 16th) with the entrance of King Carnival in town and last for ten days. The Limassol Municipality organizes various events such as open-air parties, children’s parades and serenaders evenings.
Τhe Grand Carnival Parade on Sunday, February 26th, is the culmination of the carnival events. It will start at 13.30 from St. Nicholas roundabout and will proceed along Makarios III Avenue.
In Nicosia where I was born and reared, the Carnival was certainly not as popular as it has been for years in Limassol. As a child, I never used to dress up or go to fancy dress parties. Having been to the Carnival in Limassol about 10 years ago, I had so much fun that I decided to dress up for Carnival and go to fancy dress parties in Larnaca! Neredless to say I had a great time! But just like in hometown Nicosia, the carnival isn't very popular in Larnaca either, so I haven't been to a fancy dress party since 2008!
Greece is one of the few countries in the world where folk dances are as alive today as they were in ancient times. Dance has always played an important role in the life of a Greek. It is an expression of human feelings and everyday life. The Greeks danced at religious festivals, ceremonies; they danced to ensure fertility; to prepare for war and to celebrate victories; they danced at weddings; to overcome depression and to cure physical illness. Almost every dance has a story to tell. Dance was regarded as one of the highest forms of art. Plato agreed with his mentor Socrates that every educated man should know how to dance gracefully by which he meant the manly exercises that kept the body strong and supple and ready to do its duty on the battlefield. The Pyrrhic, or weapon dance (a form of mock combat) taken from Crete and perfected in Sparta, was the ideal.
The dance, of all the arts, is the one that most influences the soul. Dancing is divine in its nature and is the gift of the gods. Plato
Traditional dance continues to be passed from generation to generation, which in turns maintains national identity. Folklore is the term used for traditional dance when performed out of its traditional social context. The principal characteristic of folklore dance is that it is not transmitted in a traditional manner but by a process involving dance teachers and gym instructors.
There are two distinct categories in the traditional Greek dance; the springing/leaping dance and the shuffle/dragging dance known as sirtos; the latter being the oldest form of dance. Most dances are circle dances, start with the right foot and move counter-clockwise. Each dancer is linked by a handkerchief or by holding hands, wrists or shoulders. In mixed dances, the man will lead the dance, which allows him in most regions to improvise or break away allowing him to express himself. Until recently, men and women rarely danced together although chains of men and women danced together at the same time, the women in the inner circle and the men in the outer circle. The order of dance varies from region to region. In general, the men are commonly at the beginning in descending order of age, followed by the women also ranked according to seniority. Sometimes the married men come before the bachelors and likewise for the women. The oldest inhabitant always leads the dance. In the islands the circle is usually formed of groups of families, the husband leads the wife who is followed by the eldest son, his wife and their children etc. Occasionally the local priest will lead the first dance symbolising a blessing. In olden times a man never held a woman’s hand but a kerchief. This also applied to married couples. In some regions a woman could not dance next to a man who was not family: therefore a child or an elderly would be placed in between. Most women's dances are slow, simple and dignified
A dramatic commercial could be made showing how much we would all miss advertising. The first few incidents would be easy. Posters and billboards would disappear. Most of the world's websites and television stations would vanish. Many newspapers and magazines would cease to exist and those that remained would be much smaller and more expensive.
Yet such deprivation would be nothing compared with the effect the disappearance of advertising would have on the process of mass production and mass consumption, on the price and range of goods in the shops, on the economy and on employment. Without advertising, many products, companies and jobs would simply cease to exist.
We receive a pile of flyers in our mail box, every single day of the week despite the fact that Alkis and I put up a notice saying we wouldn't like to receive advertising flyers! This is what I call...aggressive marketing, yet I always have a look at the various special offers advertised.
Do you receive flyers in your area? To what extent does advertising, in general, influence your behaviour as a consumer?
There are two kinds of Greek coffee: hot and cold (usually iced ). The traditional Greek coffee, though, is always hot. It's a strong brew served with foam on top and the ground in the bottom of the cup. According to tradition and, if desired, the cup of Greek coffee is also used for fortune-telling. Once you drink your coffee, you can put your cup upside down in the saucer and let it dry for a while. Then the lady of the house looks at the patterns formed by the ground and foam and tells your fortune!
This is what you will need to make the traditional Greek coffee (always hot):
You will need:
Greek coffee
sugar (if used)
a "briki" - a special coffee pot for Greek coffee
demitasse cups
cold water
water glasses
The pot used for making traditional Greek coffee is called briki and it comes in 2/4/6 demitasse sizes that help create the right amount of foam - foam on the top of the cup is essential! If you do more than 2 cups, I suggest you do it in stages - making more than one pot - to make sure each cup has its share of foam.
Use the demitasse cups to measure the water needed for each cup of coffee and pour it into the briki. never use hot water!
Add the coffee and / or sugar and turn on the heat (medium-low).
Stir the coffee until it dissolves but do not stir again!
Heat slowly. Foam will begin to rise before it boils.
When the foam rises to the top of the briki, remove from heat.and serve, evenly dividing the foam in all cups, then fill cups with the remainder of the coffee, taking care not to disturb the foam.
Serve piping hot with a glass of cold water ( a must!) and, if desired, homemade biscuits or cake.
If you ask for a traditional Greek coffee , which is very similar to Turkish coffee, by the way, people will ask you how you like your coffee. Never say with or without milk because Greek coffee is never served with milk. You can choose among the following:
"Sketos" - unsweetened coffee. Add 1 heaping tsp of coffee to the briki and stir (just once, remember?)
"Metrios" - medium-sweet. Add 1 tsp of sugar and a heaping tsp of coffee.
"Glikis" - sweet. Add 2tsp of sugar and 1 heaping tsp of coffee.
"Variglikis" - extra-strong sweet coffee. Add 3 tsp of sugar and 2 heaping tsp of coffee.
Curiously enough, the Greek iced coffee is called "frappé". This derives from the french verb "frapper" meaning to beat or to shake. Frappé is enjoyed throughout the year in Greece and Cyprus, come rain or shine!
Here's what you will need for Frappé:
Instant Coffee
a tall glass
milk and sugar to taste
In a shaker put 1 tsp of instant coffee or more , if you like it strong.. Add a tall glass of iced cold water . Add milk or sugar to taste. Add some ice cubes , if you like.
My frappé is black - no sugar, no milk, and I like my Greek coffee "sketos" (no sugar). However, my favourite coffee is Espresso or French coffee. I used to drink a lot of coffee - 5-6 cups daily. I couldn't imagine breakfast without one or two mugs of freshly brewed French coffee. Yet, I've lately discovered all the benefits and great taste of green tea and I only have 2 cups of espresso daily and about 4-5 cups of green tea - sometimes more.
How about you? Are you coffee lovers or would you rather have tea?
The village of Mosfiloti - a haven of peace and quiet
March arrived on the Island of Venus quite aggressively greeting us with downpours, stormy days and stone- cold nights while temperature ranged from 2*C inland to 5*C on the coast and to -5 in the mountains (23*F-41*F). Then all of a sudden we had sunny days, clear blue skies and temperature rising to 25*C (77*F). Just when I thought that spring had come at last, today felt more like early autumn. Despite the slate-grey sky and the fine drizzle, Alkis and I decided not to allow moody March to spoil our Sunday trip to the surrounding countryside.
The village of Mosfiloti is essentially a rural community with pine-covered hills on either side of an evergreen valley. It owes its name to the "mosfilia" - loquat tree - a fruit tree which thrives in the area. Mosfiloti is located at an altitude of 250m, at about 22 km from Larnaca. The village is surrounded by the mountains Pipis, Vizakeri, Petromoutos and Kalogeros, regarded as the "lungs" of the village, which provide the luxuriant vegetation and Mosfiloti's natural beauty. We had lunch at Kokkinou Restaurant - strongly recommended if you visit the area. The food is excellent - mostly local cuisine- and the service is impeccable.
Next time we have such a fabulous date will be on October 10, 3010! Today, I will certainly not feel confused about the American way of writing dates!!! I've done some reading online and here's what I found about my favourite number 10.
Symbol of the matter in harmony - 4 + 6.
Represent the Creator and the creation, 3 + 7, the Trinity resting in the expressed universe.
For Pythagoras, 10 was the symbol of the universe and it also expressed the whole of human knowledge.
Sum of 5 + 5, the number 10 represents the two opposite current directions of the conscience: involution and evolution.
According to H.- P. Blavatsky, the 1 followed by 0 indicates the column and the circle, meaning the principle of the female and male, and this symbol would refer to the Androgyne nature and also to Jehovah, being at the same time male and female.
The zero in the form of circle is a symbol of unit, completing then the meaning of the number 1 to show that the number 10 contains all preceding numbers as a whole contains its parts.
Represent the first couple, the marriage: 1 = the man, 0 the egg fertilized by the 1. The ten gives the indication of a spiritual regression since the marriage is a consequence of the fall of the man. The number ten is regarded as the most perfect of numbers, because it contains the Unit that did it all, and the zero, symbol of the matter and the Chaos, of which all came out; it then includes in its figure the created and the non-created, the beginning and the end, the power and the force, the life and the nothing.
It represents the straightness in the faith because it is the first number "in extension" (of two digits), just as hundred and thousand, explains Hugues of Saint-Victor.
According to Agrippa, "ten is called the number of all or universal, and the complete number marking the full course of life." Also he attributes to it a sence of totality, the achievement, the return to the unit after the development of the cycle of the first nine numbers.
Represent the revelation and the Divine Law.
At the Mayas, it represents the end of a cycle and the beginning of another. The ten was regarded as being the number of the life and the death.
In China, the cross represents the number 10 - as the totality of the numbers.
Enjoying a relaxing weekend on the west coast, Mischa Barton was spotted out and about in West Hollywood, California on Saturday afternoon (June 12).
The former "OC" star was looking in good form while joined by a guy pal as they left Oak Fire Pizzeria and Pub after having lunch together.
And while she's currently situated in Cali, Miss Barton recently chatted about her shopping habits and love of NYC retail options.
The 24-year-old tells, “I like to shop in Brooklyn, New York, where there are a lot of people selling their things on the street. I love to pick out weird stuff like that."
Going with her gut instinct while browsing the racks, Mischa adds, “I’m not very patient when I shop. I don’t try things on – if they don’t work out, I take them back, but usually I have a pretty good eye. On bags, I always look for pockets that are actually functional – that’s the most important thing. I tend to have quite big bags, but I do like little purses – just for the things I need, like a credit card and ChapStick. Other days, I like to be able to throw everything in there!"
I'm pretty much like Mischa when I shop. I never try on clothes - just thinking of how many women must have tried them on puts me off. As for handbags, I am an authentic Louis Vuitton freak, so I'd rather save up and get one or two LV bags a year. For work, I always carry big bags with a strap and lots of pockets but on a night out I like clutch bags or medium-size evening bags as I often have to carry Alkis' cigars, credit cards and keys!
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