Δευτέρα 21 Δεκεμβρίου 2015

Christmas wishes


We wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Thank you for the successful year that we had!


Πέμπτη 17 Δεκεμβρίου 2015

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.
 passionforgreece_girl_santorini
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)

Τετάρτη 16 Δεκεμβρίου 2015

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

Clock dfcc0e208d138d9bd767c6f1f85dfe28624afa0652c24ad00a1a457ca3ec6e0d
1 hour
Preparation Time
Shares 5606bf075942176c08f602bcfddfb1eae4f9ffc25749ab7454da85f803864740
80
Portion(s)
Difficulty ff7c9d703c99daf2ec2af59a591ebe31b6bd74796afe6167236e1316b56ed4a6
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

Παρασκευή 11 Δεκεμβρίου 2015

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!

Τρίτη 24 Νοεμβρίου 2015

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.

Τρίτη 17 Νοεμβρίου 2015

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.