greece travel secrets

by

A Christmas wonderland and masterful stonemasonry under the snow-capped mountains of Tzoumerka, Epirus

The village of Pramanta in Tzoumerka, Epirus is famous for its master stonemasons (known as “mastores” or “mastoroi”).

These skilled craftsmen could produce intricate and durable structures using local stone and traditional methods. The nearby villages of Syrrako and Kalarites, which are absolutely stunning and protected under historic preservation laws, were largely built by these craftsmen.

Perhaps the most famous master stonemason of Pramanta was Kostas Bekas, who constructed the historic Plaka Bridge over the Arachthos River, the largest single-arch stone bridge in Greece.

 
 

It was completed in 1866 but suffered serious damage during the devastating flood of 2015. Today, it stands complete and accessible again, having been restored by a team of contemporary master stonemasons from Athens.

See more photographs of the Plaka bridge and details about its restoration.

Many of the traditional buildings in Pramanta were destroyed in a major earthquake in the 1970s, but the village still maintains its original charm with its beautiful paved streets and stone buildings.

The legacy of the stonemasons is preserved to this day through traditional building workshops and the work of modern-day masons such as Yiorgos Bekas, a descendant of the famous stonemason family.

As you enter the village, the first monument you see depicts a stone trowel on a rock, but that is just a small taste of the tribute the locals have paid to the huge stonemasonry legacy of the village.

 
 

Our coach parked at the edge of the high street at a crossroads. Right at the entrance of that main street, a work of art mounted on the wall depicts stonemasons at work and their various tools.

It leads the eye naturally down the street toward the main square of Pramanta and pays homage to the skillful craftsmen whose works still stand whole and beautiful today, all over the area of Tzoumerka.

The main square of Pramanta had been transformed during our visit into a Christmas wonderland for the holiday season.

 

On the lower side of the square, we admired a perennial plane tree and the church of Agia Paraskevi. The buildings all around looked whimsical decorated with string lights.

A sign at the square informed us that the Greek saint and avid preacher, Cosmas Aitolos (aka Cosmas the Aitolian), gave a speech to the locals at that very square in the summer of 1779.

The saint dedicated his life to preaching the gospel all over Greece and urged the people to build schools so that the Greek children could learn about the Faith and be well-grounded in Christian values.

He is thus widely cherished and celebrated by the Greek church for helping to preserve the faith and the Greek identity during a centuries-old occupation under a barbaric ruler.

Before visiting Pramanta, we had been tipped to choose the restaurant Boutzas for lunch. We weren’t disappointed. It was quite crowded in there, but we got served soon enough. Sitting by a window with a view to beautiful mountains we sampled local pie and cockerel with ‘hylopites’ pasta in an aromatic tomato sauce.

This restaurant experience was simply divine, and I urge you to visit it too if you’re ever in the area. Boutzas is situated right at the square, across from the plane tree (it is not the blue building in the photo above, but it’s standing to the right from there).

After our hearty lunch, we took some time to walk around the “Christmas wonderland” I mentioned before, which included a Santa’s grotto and a mailbox for posting letters to Santa. It was pretty cold, but fun walking around and exploring every corner of the square and the nearby streets until it was time to leave.

 
 

Our next stop was the much quieter village of Agnanta that offers stunning vistas to the mountains and the village itself on the opposite peak. The village is built on multiple levels, some houses standing on much lower ground edged by lush fields.

We had a quick coffee in Agnanta as the light of day waned fast, and soon were on our way back to our hotel in Arta, having admired the Christmas lights and a humble nativity scene once it got dark.

Visit my Facebook page to see all my photos from Pramanta and Agnanta.

Read all about the historical city of Arta and the chilling legend behind its stone bridge.

 

All this talk and pictures of snow-capped mountains made me think of these special low-fat cookies that I make every New Year. I call them ‘magic snowball cookies’ because in the oven they flatten and crack and take this mouthwatering shape.

They annually have pride of place on my New Year’s Eve table with the Vassilopita, i.e. the Greek traditional cake that contains a coin inside!

See this post for details and recipes for both these festive delicacies, and others too!

 

I will bid you adieu with this fun photo of my husband and me from the festive square in Pramanta. Merry Christmas, everyone! I will be speaking to you again a year later 😜 (Sorry, old family joke, couldn’t resist!) I meant, in January 😁 Till then, have fun and enjoy all things lovely and warm 🥰

 

THANK YOU FOR READING! MAKE SURE TO DOWNLOAD MY 3 FREE BOOKS BELOW 🙂 YOU WILL RECEIVE THEM INSTANTLY WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION TO MY FUTURE POSTS.

Hey, before you go! In my latest newsletter, I am sharing a plethora of FREE kindle books! Some in PDF format too. Check it out here!

 

Sharing is caring! Here’s a ready tweet for you to spread some love:

Interested in FREE books, Greek travel and easy recipes? Here's a blog you will love! #Greek #blogger #writer Share on X

 

3 FREE books for you! Sign up below to receive them instantly!

NEW! Clean Christmas romance. Single mother Cathy Roussos gave up on love long ago, and veterinarian Alex Rallis doesn’t believe in it, but one magical Christmas on a Santorini farm might just change everything…
Check it out on Amazon     Read a FREE sample!

 

A clean romantic suspense short read with an unreliable narrator that’ll keep you guessing! Vera is losing her mind over famous actor Yannnis Ksenos, except, she isn’t just a fan… Now, she plucks up the courage to ring his doorbell… Visit Amazon

 

For my delicious Greek recipes, go here. 
 
Planning to visit Greece? Check out my  FREE guide to south Corfu!

Clean romance short read, FREE with Kindle Unlimited. It’ll transport you straight to Corfu to experience summer in an idyllic Greek seaside village. The story is inspired from the author’s love for Moraitika and its people. Now, also available as an audio book! Visit Amazon

Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters! The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind! Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes! Visit Amazon

Kelly ran a marathon in Nafplio and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with tantalising clean romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon
 
by

Rushing streams with trouts and beautiful nature. Welcome to Planitero in the Peloponnese!

Hello, All! Today, I am sharing about the beautiful village of Planitero in the Peloponnese. It’s a lush heaven of rushing streams with trout and plane trees! 🍃

 

The village of Planitero is located 25 km south east of Kalavryta and north east to the village of Klitoria. Nestled on the southwestern slopes of Mount Chelmos (Aroania) at an altitude of 700 m, it is a quiet little place of rushing streams and waterfalls within a lush plane tree forest.

Other than the remarkable beauty and serenity that it offers, the visitor is bound to also be appreciative of the culinary masterpieces on the menu at the local tavernas.

Take the one I chose during my visit, for example. Planiteros Restaurant is also a trout farm, and the menu reflects that. I went for the smoked trout, which was absolutely amazing.

The last time I had trout was at the village of Psarades, on the shore of the Big Prespa lake. The trout there was grilled to perfection and had been fished from the lake. We enjoyed it with a dish of locally produced broad beans drenched in a rich tomato sauce. It was an unforgettable culinary experience.

Having now had both the fresh and smoked variety, I can tell you that the fresh trout makes for a more hearty meal, since the fish can be huge on the plate, but the smaller-size portion of the smoked trout that I had at Planitero was simply mouthwatering.

We accompanied that with onion pie – a dish I had never tried before. Since that day, I looked online for traditional recipes and was able to make a mix-and-match version of my own. Pleased to say that the taste is very similar to the culinary masterpiece I sampled in Planitero! Go here to get my recipe for onion pie!

 

On the grounds of Planiteros Restaurant, punters can enjoy a nice little walk around the pools where the trouts are grown. Beautiful swans and ducks float or waddle around, and in the enclosures at the edge of the green there are cockerels and peacocks too. For one, the kids seemed to have a whale of a time seeing it all.

The snow-capped mountains in the distance completed the idyllic scene on that sunny spring day of my visit. Throughout our stay, the sound of rushing waters remained rich in our ears along with the chirping of the birds on the ancient plane trees.

Planitero is a truly blissful little place, and I highly recommend it for a visit. You can easily get there from Kalavryta. As I mentioned earlier, it is only 25 kms away.

On the day we enjoyed the beauty of Planitero, we also visited a majestic cave that has many lakes in it (and bats!). We also visited a beautiful mountain village called Vytina, that had a road dedicated to youngsters in love! You can read all about these places and see photos in this post.

Tap here to see my photos from Planitero!

Go here for the short video I took at the restaurant to show you around!

 

In case you haven’t heard of Kalavryta, it is an amazing mountain destination with equally beautiful nature, and great places of interest within short distance, including the seaside town of Diakofto – dont miss out the opportunity to take the famous cog train (odontotos) to Kalavryta from there, by the way! The route through the mountains is breathtaking.

 
 

Other places of interest near Kalavryta include The Agia Lavra Monastery where the Greek Revolution was declared in the 1820s, and the imposing Mega Spileo Monastery–the latter is unmissable (see photo above). Having been partly built inside a rockface, it even contains a cave!

Last but not least, the town of Klitoria that’s on the road to Planitero from Kalavryta is a must stopover for meat eaters. Roasted pork is the famous dish of the town and can be enjoyed at every restaurant there.

At the end of September, every year, the locals at Klitoria organize a pork feast where dozens of whole pigs are put over the fire to be enjoyed to the sound of Greek clarinet (clarino) music.

Truly, the Peloponnese is a place of many radiant gems to be discovered, and I haven’t really been all over, but I feel blessed to have been to many parts already.

Have you ever been to the Peloponnese? Of so, which parts? Make sure to add a comment and let me know. I’d love to hear from you!

THANK YOU FOR READING! MAKE SURE TO GRAB BELOW MY 3 FREE BOOKS 🙂 YOU WILL RECEIVE THEM INSTANTLY WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION TO MY FUTURE POSTS!

Sharing is caring! Here’s a ready tweet for you to spread some love:

Interested in FREE books, Greek travel and easy recipes? Here's a blog you will love! #Greeklife #blog #author Share on X

 

3 FREE books for you! Sign up below to receive them instantly!

New! Clean Christmas romance. Two broken hearts. One magical holiday. A Santorini farm where anything can happen. 
Check it out on Amazon     Read a FREE sample!

 

For my delicious Greek recipes, go here. 
 
Planning to visit Greece? Check out my  FREE guide to south Corfu!

 

by

The joy of traveling and sunny Calamos

You know me… I cannot commit to staying at home too long. My heart always yearns for the next escape. I have always been an eager traveler, but in the recent years, I have been deprived of this great passion of mine.

Family health issues, first with my beloved Corfiot grandmother, then both my parents, who got ill with cancer in succession, forced me into assuming the role of carer that didn’t allow me to have almost any travel experiences at all for about 7 years.

Sadly, all the aforementioned members of my family are now gone. It’s tough to be left behind with all the memories, good and bad, and I am sure many of you can relate, but I continue to count my blessings every day as I have a lot to be thankful for – a husband who is loyal, funny, and who supports me on my writing journey, for one. And he is a fellow keen traveler to boot!

It’s been a busy year travelwise, which had the added benefit of allowing me to escape from the harrowing memories of the past few years and my own sense of mourning.

Traveling opens the horizons of the mind. It unravels and refreshes it and lifts the soul. If you are mourning whatever in your life, I highly recommend traveling to you as an escape, if you can do it. Even one-day escapes or extended time spent in nature often, especially in the company of other people, can have the same effect.

Andy and I had a wonderful 4-day coach tour to Epirus last Christmas. In the photo above, you can see some of the stunning places we visited. We stayed in Arta, that is well known for its legendary stone bridge. It’s pictured on the bottom right in the picture above, and you can read all about it here.

Each day, we went to a different place. We were enthralled to visit Tzoumerka for the first time, a mountain area near Arta very reminiscent of Zagori, as one will find there stone bridges and enchanting villages with beautiful stonemasonry.

We also dedicated a day to explore Ioannina, a stunning city built on a lake, that has a lot of history, mainly from the Otthoman Empire.

Last, we visited Messolonghi and the absolutely breathtaking Nafpaktos. The latter made our heads spin with its quaint beauty. The old fort on the tiny port made our cameras sing. I am going to have a hard time picking which pictures to show you from that place. They are all postcard-perfect!

Before I go, I’ll change the scenery completely for you! I am not going to leave you without some sunshine today. Nuh-uh!  There’s a few months left till it’s summer so I thought some sunny pictures would be very apt right now, to keep our hearts warm. Keep on reading!

 

A weekend at Calamos in north Attica

Since it’s so grey and cold out there right now, I hope these sunny photographs serve to brighten your day. They certainly did that for me.

Andy and I spent a weekend (2 nights) last September in a family hotel called Calamos Beach Resort.

It is situated in the area of Calamos in north Attica, across from the island of Evia (Euboia), 2.5 kms out of the town of Agioi Apostoloi.

We had all-inclusive bracelets, so all meals and drinks were paid for (we had to exercise all of our restraint LOL). We had everything we needed on the grounds for a fun weekend, but we did venture to the town to have a walk around, too.

Agioi Apostoloi has a lovely marina, very reminiscent of our town of Nea Peramos, what with the fishermen fixing their nets and chatting, and the local cats waiting to be fed. There were many inviting eateries and cafes on the seafront that seemed to be popular. We didn’t need to visit one of them, since the hotel provided everything we needed, but it’s lovely to know they are there in case we ever return to stay in town somewhere.

We came across 2 cinemas (always a plus when I visit towns as we are both film enthusiasts) and on the road that leads out of town, at a short distance away, there is a stunning church that I’d love to explore on the inside, perhaps during my next visit.

Back at the hotel, we had the most relaxing time, just lying under the trees or a beach umbrella for hours every day. The beach was perfect for me as I love pebbles – the sound waves make when they scrape pebbles is my favourite beach sound. I couldn’t get enough of it. As for the waters they were incredibly clear. Swimming there was amazing, reminding me of the perfect sparkling waters of my beloved island of Corfu.

The sea bed was uneven, mind you, with large pebbles, making it a little hard to get in and out of the water. I would recommend to use flippers or other suitable swimming footwear to swim in this place. The store in the hotel sells plastic swimming footwear in case anyone needs them.

They think of everything at this shop. It had great merchandise. We bought a box of playing cards to play by the pool in the evening. Doing that in the cool night air while people-watching proved to be more fun than watching TV all by ourselves in the room!

In the evening, we also took long quiet walks on the seafront along a wide cemented road with sparse traffic. The area seemed to be touristy in previous decades but no more. We saw various establishments that seemed deserted.

We didn’t walk too far after dark, though, as it can get pretty quiet there. And, for a short stretch near the hotel, there are no streetlights.

The view to the opposite shores of Evia (Euboia) in the dark was enchanting. In the areas where there are air turbines on the mountains–like in Aliveri–lights came on in the dark that blinked delightfully like little stars. It was all very pleasing to gaze at in the semidarkness.

If you’re interested in booking this hotel, you can find it here at Booking.com.

If you’re driving to the resort, you may benefit from these instructions:

To get to the resort, you take the Athens-Lamia highway and turn off at Kapandriti (after Afidnes). The route takes you via the centre of Kapandriti and continues to Calamos along a quiet country road. At Calamos there is a sign post to Agioi Apostoloi, where you take a right turn to follow a road at high altitude with panoramic coastal views.

Very important: Once in Agioi Apostoloi, make sure to drive all the way to the marina. Turn right there and immediately right again, at the first turn into a narrow road. The way is straight after that, and you will see the hotel on the left side of the road after a couple minutes’ drive.

We made the mistake of relying on Google maps and turned off the main road BEFORE reaching the marina. As a result, we found the hotel after a maze-like detour via narrow dirt roads in the backstreets of the town. Stupid Google maps! LOL!

I’ll know for next time. And I am saying this because I am definitely going back. Andy loved it there too, and we reminisce about it all the time.

I think the reason Andy and I loved this place so much is because it made us feel so relaxed…  As all our meals were included we didn’t have to venture anywhere outside looking for sustenance or even to think about what to order.

This hotel offered us a chance to unwind, and it was somewhat like us reverting to our childhood in a way… No worries at all, no schedule, no to do lists, nowhere we needed to be, no need for a watch. We just ate when we got hungry, swam, and slept all day!

GO HERE to see all my photographs and fill up with Greek sunshine!

 

Sharing is caring! Here’s a ready tweet for you to spread some love:

Interested in travel, food and books from Greece? Here's a blog you will love! #Greek #blogger #writer Share on X

 

3 FREE books for you! Sign up below to receive them instantly!

Clean romance short read, FREE with Kindle Unlimited. It’ll transport you straight to Corfu to experience summer in an idyllic Greek seaside village. The story is inspired from the author’s love for Moraitika and its people. Now, also available as an audio book! Visit Amazon

Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters! The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind! Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes! Visit Amazon

Kelly ran a marathon in Nafplio and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with tantalising clean romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon

 

A clean romantic suspense short read with an unreliable narrator that’ll keep you guessing! Vera is losing her mind over famous actor Yannnis Ksenos, except, she isn’t just a fan… Now, she plucks up the courage to ring his doorbell… Visit Amazon

 

For my delicious Greek recipes, go here. 
 
Planning to visit Greece? Check out my  FREE guide to south Corfu!