Open Doors – every year this wine event takes place in the area of a different city

This year, in fact 17-18 May weekend, in the areas around Athens. From 1100 hours in the morning to 1800 (6PM) each evening.

Free visits, tours, special offers and delights at Wineries around Athens.

Most important – the map> http://www.enoaa.gr/xartis_dr1a1.pdf

One of the estates – for information: http://www.semeliwines.com (one of the best of the bunch for visitors). But be sure to look at the winery in Stamata (not Nemea which is further away in the Peloponnese)

For details (in Greek): http://www.enoaa.gr

A taste of Carnival from Greece.
Many towns are flooded with carnival-goers today.
Fancy dress brings fun for kids of all ages.
Floats parade by with music vibrating and beckoning…

Without more ado, we feature, from Crete – a little bit east of Chania -
the Kalyves Carnival in motion today…

See pictures ( taken between 3.00 to 3.20 PM (local time in Crete), Sunday 9 March 2008 ) PHOTOS here > http://www.cretetravel.com/Photo_Galleries/carnival/Kalives_carnival.htm

We award first prize to the Dragon float followed by the Zoniana-parody (it’s a local thang! ) float.
Some signature authenticity was added with a Brazilian, Rio-style float with hip-swivelling, the real thing, Brazillian dancers.

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More from Crete at http://www.CreteTravel.com

September 27 is World Tourism Day.

For you we will be working hard at finding, selecting those delight-making, joy-to-behold beautiful small hotels in Greece to add to the SuperbGreece and CreteHotelRooms collection on this year’s day for the celebration of tourism.

Travel broadens the mind, and we will continue to help you enjoy the experience and make those most valuable days of your year something real – from something you may have only seen in a dream.

That perfect place to stay….mixed with informed, warm, friendly human advice appropriate to you.

Greece gets better…you get to enjoy it.

To mark, celebrate, help you enjoy and experience the August full moon, many archaeological sites across Greece and around Crete will stay open tonight ( Wednesday, August 9 ) until 1.00 AM ( on Thursday morning ).

Amongst the sites to see the sights at:
-Acropolis ( Athens ) see the guide for information http://www.cretetravel.com/Athens/Athens_mini_guide/Athens_mini_guide-Museums.htm
-Ancient Olympia ( see some delights of the Peloponnese http://www.superbgreece.com/Peloponnese/index.htm )
Nemea (also in the Peloponnese)
-Delphi
-Sounio (in the aftermath of Lord Byron )
-Aptera (just east of Chania on the island of Crete)
-In other areas and islands ask around or just linger later over your iced espresso or zesto elliniko.

They are models, depictions, sculptures, and fun images.
The “Cow Parade” comes to Athens. A moving feast of an “art” event, first created by Walter Knapp in Zurich. Now after several cities have been exposed to sponsored sculptures, figures and representations of….cows, Athens is not be left out.

From May 8 major squares, the airport and some metro stations will cow-down to cows and this whimsical festival will have everyone in a very dairy mood….

On the Shipping News Front: Shipping owners have finally had enough. Understandably so. Even though we hate strikes. This time shipping companies are to keep their ships tied at port on May 16 in protest at the slow liberalization, to allow free competition on ferry routes within and to/from Greece.

The criticism of slowness and a lack of liberalization (encouragement of free enterprise) can be levelled fairly and squarely at all areas of Greek government, yes – even the current supposedly/allegedly enterprise-friendly government.

We can only hope that this government is slowly (but clearly too slowly) extricating itself from the outdated practices of its discredited predecessors.

Meanwhile laugh at the cows while the ships are in port.

During the Olympics and the whole summer Chania and Heraklion have a variety of arts events.
Singled out amongsts many:
Heraklion – Pix Lax (popular and enjoyable even for non-Greek speakers) perform songs on 15 September at the Nikos Katzanzakis Theatre
Chania – dance contest and classic dance and ballet performance on Monday 9 August

More information :
HERAKLION: http://www.heraklion.gr/English/index-en.htm (but be Warned, clicking on “Programme” entails a long, slow, PDF download!)
CHANIA: http://www.chania.gr/events.jsp?lang=en

Wine, Tsikoudia, music and dance plus treats. All promised for Vouves up in the lush hills, inland from Kolymbari in the Kissamos region.

Festival events take place on both days.
While attending it is well worth seeing the oldest oak tree at Ano Vouves (the higher and smaller of the two Vouves villages) where the Olympic olive branch was plucked for this year’s games.

If you fancy staying in the area http://www.crete-hotels-rooms.com have some wonderful places to stay nearby. as well as in Chania and the rest of Crete.

The villages can be reached off the “main” road for Paleochora or from Spilia.

For more information on magical villages in crete visit www.cretetravel.com

On giant video walls in Heraklion’s Pan Cretan stadium, in Heraklion’s Eleftherias Square, in Chania, Ierapetra, Xerokambos, Loutro and all villages in Crete crowded cafes, bars and tavernas, the CreteTravel.com monitoring room – a massive cry of celebration as Greece, against all the odds wins the Euro 2004 football championship.

Every car seems to display the famous blue and white flag of Hellas, Greece.

The summer festival in Avdou starting on July 24th and ending on the 15th of August this year, is usually very lively and well-attended (10000 people in 2003).

Most of the events are produced in Greek, but some of them can be enjoyed by foreign visitors as well, such as concerts by local bands, dancing…and an exhibition of the area’s most delicious dishes (a variety of 200 different dishes is promised for this year for you to taste).

Other events include a treasure hunt, plays, singing from the village’s old women and children.

Some dates to aim for:
- 24 July (Saturday), concert of local bands (Th. Papakonstaninou, Y. Aggelakas)
- 30 July (Friday), tribute to the Vyzantine churches of the area. The Vyzantine chorus of St. Minas participates in this event.
- 1 August (Sunday), musical and theatrical performance with the Avdou women’s chorus.
- 6 August (Friday), traditional music concert, band “Octava”
- 8 August (Sunday), feast with local traditional dishes and cretan music playing
- 14 August (Saturday), greek music night with band “Pandos kairou”

Events are all al fresco – open air and you just turn up if you wish!

Place to stay in the area:
Avdou Villas (houses & studios in an organic farm estate, with shared pool)
http://www.crete-hotels-rooms.com/Reservations/Avdou_Villas.htm

The round-the-world journey of the Olympic torch comes to Crete on July 9.
Heraklion, where the journey will start across Crete, will keep the “Laiki” street fruit and vegetable markets closed, on the 9th and the 10th.
Especially noticeable will be the Saturday market’s absence on Saturday July 10. The market is a major weekly shopping source of fresh produce for Heraklion’s residents and those from surrounding areas.
A stretch of 1 kilometre on the road by Heraklion’s port is normally covered by endless stalls of fruit and vegetables, cheap clothing and knock-off t-shirts; it is a major tourist attraction!
But no doubt the chance to see the progress of the Olympic torch “the flame” on clean streets unsullied by the excess of the market\’s produce – and to provide clear passage for this historic journey will be welcomed and also provide a much more significant, most memorable spectacle.