Sifnos is the island next-door for me. Serifos is “my” island – I started going there a good 25 years ago, and from the moment I set foot on it, I knew I’d be back and start spending my summers there. I still do. It’s mountainous, wild and unpolished; beaches are virgin, and the occasional […]
After spending a good part of two decades hunting for small (and charming) hotels in Greece, it’s the question I get most often: “Which hotel is your favourite?” It’s not an easy one to answer. It so depends on the circumstances. What the mood is. Who is coming along. The season. The budget. Ask me […]
I am trying to recall my first introduction to Greek music. I was a teen when my parents took me on holidays to the island of Corfu. Was it during the taxi ride to the hotel – taxi drivers love their music, and they like it loud – or was it that night we signed […]
Jacoline Vinke, Trufflepig’s Greece planner, heads to Euphoria Retreat in Mystras, and finds that taking it easy ain’t so rough after all… : Give me some Greek dirt to dig into and I am happy. I find truffles. An old man – son of a miner – taking me for a walk into abandoned mineshafts on […]
We were saying. Mayieritsa. You’ve got to taste it to believe it. It smells quite good actually (that’s the spring onion), but it’s a kind of an, um, acquired taste. And I never quite succeeded in acquiring that taste. (Honestly, I tried.) My Greek husband swears by it. To the extent that during the years we […]
It’s lent. The 40-day period prior to Easter, during which the Greek Orthodox church prescribes that we should all abstain from eating animals with red blood flowing through their bodies as well as whatever they produce (dairy, eggs), as well as fish. Boneless seafood – shrimps, octopus, fish eggs – is fine. Pretty much every Greek observes […]
Take me to the shoe store, and all I can think of is blisters. (My toes prefer the feel of beach sand and water.) Shopping for clothes? As fast and infrequent as possible. Jewellery and accessories? I don’t care much. But set me free on the Athenian street market, something happens to me. I am […]
Because travelling on ferryboats is cool. Because creamy yoghurt with fruits & honey make a yummy breakfast. Because the national guards in front of Parliament (with those pompoms on their feet) look so funny. There are umpteen reasons why Greece is a great country for family holidays. Here are my top 12. 1) Greeks love […]
Palia (old) Peritheia is reputedly Corfu’s oldest village. The guides will tell you it’s a ‘ghost village’. The oldest it may well be, but a ghost village? Not really. Here’s the story. Go back to the 14th century. The island’s inhabitants, the corfiotes, were suffering regular pirate attacks, and many sought refuge away from the […]