Christmas wishes

We wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Thank you for the successful year that we had!

Greece to Hit 2015 Tourism Goal of 26 Million Int’l Arrivals

Greek tourism is on track to end 2015 with a record of 26 million international arrivals, the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) said on Monday after reviewing November figures released by the country’s main airports.

According to the recent data, the number of international tourist arrivals in Greece registered a positive growth during the first 11 months of the year.
 
International air arrivals increased by 5.7 percent to over 15 million during the January-November 2015 period, which corresponds to nearly 820,000 additional arrivals compared to the same period of 2014.

Last month, Athens saw a double-digit increase with arrival numbers up by 11.3 percent compared with November 2014. In the first 11 months of the year, the Greek capital saw arrivals up by 23.6 percent.

The Cyclades island complex maintained its arrival growth rate of 15 percent over the first eleven months of 2014.

On the other hand, the Dodecanese and Crete continued to record a slight drop in arrivals by 2 percent and 0.8 percent respectively, compared with the same period of 2014.

The data showed that the whole country — not including Athens — moved on an 11 percent negative rate in terms of foreign arrivals by air compared to November 2014 and a marginal growth rate of 0.7 percent compared with the first eleven months of 2014.
(source:gtp)

Aki’s Spiced Christmas Cookies in Syrup! (Melomakarona)

1 hour

Preparation Time

80

Portion(s)

3

Difficulty

Method

These amazingly aromatic little cakes are a traditional Greek Christmas sweet…called "Melomakarona". Your house will be filled with aromas of orange, honey, cinnamon and cloves… Each bite is so deliciously Christmassy…it will become an instant personal favorite!
For the syrup:

• Boil all of the ingredients for the syrup, apart from honey, for 3-4 hours. This is done so that by the time the cookies come out of the oven, the syrup will have cooled.
• When the syrup is ready, remove from heat and add the honey. Stir and set aside to cool completely.

For the cookies:

• Preheat the oven to 190* C (370*F) Fan.
• To make the cookies, you need to prepare 2 separate mixtures.
• For the first mixture, add all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix, using a hand whisk.
• In a separate bowl, add all of the ingredients for the second mixture.
• Combine the first and second mixture.
• Mix by hand, very gently and for a very short time (10 seconds at the most). If you mix longer the mixture will split or curdle.
• Mold cookie dough into oval shapes, 3-4 cm in long, 30 g each. Try to keep them as similar as possible.
• Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until they are crunchy and dark golden brown.
• As soon as you remove them from the oven, soak the hot cookies in the syrup for 10 seconds.
• Allow them to drain on a wire rack.
• Drizzle with honey and chopped walnuts.

Tip

Be careful not to overwork the cookie dough because the oil may start to seep out and then they won’t turn out crispy! The orange used for the syrup should a whole fresh orange, cut in half!  

Ingredients

For syrup:

• 500 ml water
• 800 g granulated sugar
• 150 g honey
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 orange, cut in half

 1st mixture:

• 400 ml orange juice
• 400 ml sunflower oil
• 180 ml olive oil
• 50 g caster sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• 2-3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• grated zest of 2 oranges

2nd mixture:

• 1 kilo all-purpose flour
• 200 g fine semolina

See here: Kitchen Lab by Akis Petretzikis

Photo of the day..

"December, being the last month of the year, cannot help but make us think of what is to come."
 -Fennel Hudson

 Yesterday photo at Plakias!

Photo of the day: Preveli beach

 Heart-shaped rock on Palm Beach, Preveli, Rethymno, Crete, Greece. 
 Preveli is located about 35km south of Rethymno and 10km east of Plakias.
 It is certainly the most famous beach in southern Crete, accepting thousands of visitors every   summer.

Photo of the day: Autumn sunset..

Beautiful late afternoon at Plakias Suites beach in Crete island...

The Greek islands on the top, for the Conde Nast Traveller worldwide list.

 The Greek islands received the votes of Condé Nast Traveller readers and ranked first in the “Favorite Islands” category.

The world’s best islands – Top 20

1. Greek Islands
2. Balearic Islands
3. Maldives
4. Hawaiian Islands
5. Bali
6. Mauritius
7. Sicily
8. Seychelles
9. St Barth’s
10. St Lucia
11. Koh Samui
12. Jamaica
13. Barbados
14. Antigua
15. Great Barrier Reef
16. Capri
17. Sardinia
18. Malta
19. Cuba
20. Lombok

 Access the full study here.

Tirokafteri: a delicious, creamy cheese spread from Greece.

It is usually served as part of a mezze platter but it can also be enjoyed by itself, with slices of warm bread.
  
Serves: 1 jar Preparation time: 10m Cooking time: 5m Ready in: 15m

A delicious, creamy cheese spread from Greece. It is usually served as part of a mezze platter but it can also be enjoyed by itself, with slices of warm bread.
Ingredients
1 Florina pepper or any sweet pepper
1 -2 chili peppers (depending on how spicy you want the spread to be)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
250 gr. anthotyro, a traditional fresh cheese
250 gr. crumbled feta cheese
A pinch of sweet paprika
Preparation method
Step 1
Remove the seeds from the Florina pepper and the chili peppers and finely chop them.
Step 2
Heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute until tender.
Step 3
Place the anthotyro cheese and crumbled feta cheese in a blender. Add the sautéed peppers with the oil from the pan and the paprika and process the ingredients until you get a smooth and homogeneous mixture.
Step 4
Keep the cheese spread refrigerated in a glass jar, pouring a little oil on the surface from time to time.

Source: Olive magazine
Chef: Ioanna Stamoulou
Photo: George Drakopoulos
Food Styling: Tina Webb

Photo of the day: calm evening by the sea..

By reaching the first days of November, the touristic season gradually fades away, and Plakias returns to its easy and relaxing winter pace....

New Review on Tripadvisor: “Better than ever” 5 of 5 stars

 Reviewed 1 week ago...

We have just returned from our 4th stay at Plakias Suites, our first in late season, and it was perfect! 

Eleni and Giorgos are such wonderful hosts. 

The proximity to the fabulous beach, beach bar, and the great taverna next door makes it an ideal location for relaxation. 

Every day we returned to a spotlessly clean apartment. I wish we could stay there for ever!

• Stayed October 2015, travelled with family.

See here: http://bit.ly/1WqcDyL

 Plakiassuites: Ranked #1 of 46 Speciality Lodging in Plakias

  

91 Reviews Certificate of Excellence

Photo of the day! October sunset..

Plakias: Set beside a long southern-coast beach, between two immense wind tunnel gorges, Plakias was once a humble fishing village. In 1961, the official census recorded a population of just six!! Today its population explodes each summer with Central European package tourists...

Plakias has some decent restaurants and plenty of accommodation options. From here you can walk through olive groves, along seaside cliffs and to some sparkling hidden beaches. It’s also a good base for regional excursions..