When I think of “wine countries”, I immediately think France, South Africa, Chile, Australia, California… Greece doesn’t even spring to mind. Strange, because after all, during the antiquity, the Greeks were one of the largest wine producers in the region and their ancient techniques still form the bases of modern wine culture today! Greek mythology and history show us that wine played an essential role in ancient Greek civilisations. The Greeks even worshiped a wine god, Dionysus.
I knew all this from history and Latin classes in high school yet I still found myself surprised that there was such thing as good Greek wine. I guess it’s just not much promoted internationally.
Curious about this Greek wine, I decided to join a wine tour in Corinth to taste what was originally known as the nectar of the gods. I’m usually not a fan of bus tours, but this one was leaving from Athens, making a few stops in the old city of Corinth and finishing off in the countryside taking us to two wineries. Since it was quite far from Athens and you can’t possibly drive after a wine tasting, I thought I’d give it a chance.
driving to the Corinthian countryside
On our way to the winery, our guide Stella fascinated us with some of the myths taking place in the region. She topped off the storytelling with some personal anecdotes. She remembered that in the 70’s the farmers of this region were running low on food resources. Since they were using so much energy working the land, they looked for alternative ways to bump up their daily calorie intake. The answer: adding wine to their milk. Even children were given this concoction before staring their mile long walking journey to school.
the Greek “winebelt”
We arrived at the Seméli winery. Gorgeously set on a hilltop with incredible views over the Peloponnesian countryside. First, we got the wine estate’s grand tour, we say it all: the vineyards, the wine making process, the bottling, labelling and storing. By the time we got to the storage cellar, all we could think about was: “Wine. Must. Taste. Now.”
end of season grapeslearning about the wine making processand the different typesbeautiful storage cellar
Wish granted. We started with the lightest white wine and ended with a more mature, robust red wine. Now I’m absolutely not a connoisseur, so I don’t think it would make much sense for me to try to tell you how the wines tasted, would it? I can confidently say though, that I found them to be exquisite. My tour mates agreed. I bought their most expensive bottle as a gift, the reserve -which was a steal at only €8- and I would have bought a bottle of white and rosé for myself, were I not backpacking and flying out of the country the next day.
Nemea wine turned out to be an incredible value for money winetasting my favourite white over and over againwine tasting with a view
After the tasting, a light lunch was provided. Deliciously fresh and simple Greek staples.
Greek delights to accompany the wine
On our way to the second winery, our guide received a call informing her that the second winery could no longer accomodate us due to an unexpected event. What a bummer! Especially because we could have stayed longer in Seméli.
Loosing flexibility is one of the reasons why I’m not too fond of tours. So we started our journey back to Athens, a little disappointed. However, that disappointment was soon forgotten when we managed to convince Stella and the bus driver to stop on the way so we could enjoy some more of the countryside.
olives on the side of the roadrunning through the grapevines
I LOVED the whole wine tasting experience, just like I thought I would. I will definitely be doing it again in the next wine country I visit. Tours are still not my cup of tea, but because the other participants were fun and interesting, I did very much enjoy the arranged excursion. Besides, as said earlier, there is really no other way to do a wine tasting than to be driven around unless you’re spending the night at the winery.
You can visit Seméli independently though, just make an appointment by contacting them. Order lunch with them or bring your own. If you would like a day tour from Athens (including wine, lunch and a visit to ancient Corinth and Nemea), there are several companies offering the same tour with prices ranging from €77 to €100 per adult.
I spent the last two days of 2014 in a haze, trying to beat jetlag and fatigue from the long transatlantic flight to South America . During the turn of the year hug exchange and fireworks, I was soundly asleep, enjoying my warm bed. Despite the endless wishes and photo’s circling on social media, I’ve only just realised a new year has begun. I blame the altitude.
I wasn’t expecting 2014 to be a busy travel year but it turns out, it’s impossible to make such predictions. At least for me it is. 16 countries in one year without being on a round the world trip, I’m still not quite sure how it was possible. Let’s see…
JANUARY…
SULAWESI- INDONESIA
I started 2014 in the heart of Toraja in Sulawesi, Indonesia. A start of a new year with good friends and 24-hour fireworks on every street corner- often handled by children ages 4 and up. It was magical, crazy and unexpected. The festivities were followed by an off-the-grid vacation, exploring the colourful underwater world, deserted beaches and untouched jungles. I spent a day at a local funeral and saw one of my travel dreams come true: seeing a tarsier in the wild. I really had to keep myself under control not to kidnap one of these cute monkeys.
Torajan funeraltarsier
MALAYSIA
As if the Torajan death rituals weren’t culture shock enough, I faced yet another cultural eye-opener: Thaipusam in Kuala Lumpur. I gasped at the men, women and children as they devoted themselves to their gods by suffering the pain of large metal hooks piercing through their skins during their pilgrimage to Batu Caves. Read my blogpost about the festival here.
proud devoteefor the sake of devotionthe end of the pilgrimage
FEBRUARY…
BALI
As we knew this was going to be our last month living in Bali, we spent the month doing the touristy things we hadn’t done yet. Visiting those temples we never got around to, taking that silversmith workshop we’d been meaning to… We spent time with friends, I took up yoga, went surfing and learned to cook healthy organic meals. I always seem to have the best time when I know a journey is about to end…
last weeks in Bali friends and indulgences (click to enlarge)
MARCH…
HONG KONG
A long time wish list destination finally within my reach. I found the city to be a perfect balance between East and West. I got to see quite a bit of the city even though my travel companion was injured during the trip and our activities consisted -for a large part- of sitting down options, or let’s just say eating. I’m not complaining. So far it’s the only place in the world where I actually like dim sum- how’s that for a travel snob quote?!
visiting Chinese templesorder after order of new flavours
MACAU
During our stay in HK, a short stint to Macau diversified the trip. Having spent a year in Asia, I felt home in the European-looking streets of Macau. I found out spending money in casino’s wasn’t really my thing.
wide sunny boulevardsgamble paradise
APRIL…
BELGIUM
Home sweet home. I thought it would be a good idea to surprise all our friends and family by showing up unexpectedly into their homes. Nobody had any idea we had arrived in Belgium. The joy was intense, so much fun. I immediately resumed work at my previous job and spent my free days filling up on breads, chocolates, Belgian beers and my favourite local dishes as well as catching up with family and friends. It was incredibly challenging to fit into the society I now felt so alienated to. I spent my birthday in my home country with my family, something I hadn’t done in years.
deliciously gross Belgian farea long time since I last saw spring
MAY…
ITALY
By may, I reached a high in missing my life in Asia. However, I decided not to sulk but take advantage of the perks of living in Europe. I took some time off to explore the culinary side of Italy. Well, a small side at least. Bologna brought me to me knees with it’s incredibly pure and fresh food. I hadn’t even left the city and was already talking about coming back.
the red city seen from aboveincredible food and wine in Bologna
JULY-AUGUST…
DRC
Three years after my last visit I returned to the motherland. People called me crazy for going to one of the most dangerous corners in the world; North Kivu in the Democratic Replublic of Congo. Even crazier for bringing along 20 muzungu’s (swahili for white people) and “endangering” their lives. It wasn’t nuts to me: part of my family lives there, so why would I not go? I was right not to second guess my instincts; the trip went smoothly, the muzungu’s had the time of their lives and oh… I got married!
It was however, an exhausting journey, more so mentally than physically. Perhaps that’s the reason why I have not yet found the courage/energy to write about the trip. But byy now, it’s at the tip of my fingers and I’m eager to share the stories with you very soon.
Congo’s stunning naturesafety firstkids in the villagecrossing the Congo-Nile
UGANDA
On my way to the DRC, I revisited my favourite spots in Uganda. Lake Bunyonyi still holds a special place in my heart. This time my entire family joined me, which made it even more special. Thinking I will return to Uganda again next time I visit DRC, I once again skipped the gorilla tracking. Still don’t think this was one of my brightest moves.
buying goat brochettes from the bus windowLake Bunyonyi with family. Photo by A. Van den Daele
RWANDA
Having spent part of my childhood in Rwanda, I had my heart set on going back and mirroring childhood memories to reality. I began to search for our old house and schools which I found after several hours of “Sherlock Holmes-ing”. I was surprised at how much the country had changed post-genocide. Most of my favourite places in Gisenyi, the town I had lived in, where still up and running, with a fresher look nonetheless.
sunset in Gisenyi
SEPTEMBER…
FRIESLAND- THE NETHERLANDS
To finish off summer in Europe, Douglas and I treated ourself to a weekend in Friesland visiting our friends we had met in Bali. Strangely enough, Friesland always sounded like an exotic place, despite the fact that it’s right next door. We were lucky to arrive during a festival celebrating Friesland’s cultural heritage. It was time travel at it’s most possible. We went ‘supping’ on the Frisian waterways, which is actually a great way to explore the region.
catching up in front of an old country houseclog bootsold fashioned fun
OCTOBER…
MONTENEGRO, ALBANIA, KOSOVO
Montenegro and Albania both surprised my with their natural beauty and quaint historical towns. Though both countries are completely different, I found both nationalities to be warm, helpful and welcoming even to a dark skinned traveler like me. In Montenegro I enjoyed my solo travel in Kotor and around. Albania stole my heart the minute I set off to the mountains, which was undoubtedly one of my travel highlights of the year. I highly rate both countries and am looking forward to visiting again as soon as possible.
As for Kosovo, I only spent a short time and visited just one city, Prizren. I found the cobbled stoned city rather pleasant and spend the afternoon strolling around and drinking coffee in the riverside café’s. I loved the fact that it was an unexpected visit, but I needed more time to really get to know the country.
kids in Beirat, Albania
GREECE
I went to Greece to attend TBEX, the biggest travel Blogger’s conference. I had a magnificent time getting to know other travel blogger, the city of Athens and myself on a professional level. After the conference I took some time to see more of the country. I visited Corinth, went on a wine tasting tour in the country side and learned to cook traditional Greek food in one Athens oldest taverns. I’ve yet to see the rest of Greece, so I consider this trip as the intro.
Athens by nightwine tasting in the country side
NOVEMBER…
IRAN
Why Iran? People asked me. I couldn’t even remember the exact reasons, it had just been on my mind for such a long time, for so many reasons. When I stumbled upon a dirt cheap ticket, I didn’t think for a moment and booked straight away. The time had finally come. I ignored all the safety warnings, I was convinced they were overstated, especially coming from people knowing nothing of the country. Boy am I glad I did!
Iran made me laugh, cry, think, marvel, love, feast and fantasise. The architecture is stunning, nature is untouched and diverse, the history is absolutely astonishing and the food is truly unique. But most of all, the people… They are the best part of Iran. Lots of Iran posts coming up soon.
inside Sheik Loftollah Mosque, Esfahanfarmer in Kashanout of this world rooftops
DECEMBER…
ECUADOR
The last destination of 2014, Ecuador. Not for travel but possibly to live for a while. We set off to Ecuador knowing very little of the country yet planning to live there. That’s what makes the start of the new year even more exciting.
What will happen next? I have no idea and I like it that way. I’m excited about what 2015 will have in store. I’m pretty sure there will be less international travelling, but then again, I said the same thing last year…
on the look out for a new life in Ecuador
How was your travel year? Were you able to full fill some of your travel dreams?
The first thing that sprung to mind when I decided to go to Greece was: “YES! Greek food!” I’ve always been a fan of the Greek cuisine. Feta is one of my ‘go-to’ cheeses and moussaka happens to be my signature dish. When my friends and I are at an impasse on what or where to eat, a Greek restaurant always seem to be the choice that has everyone’s agreeing happily.
When I travel to a new country I try to learn to cook a couple of dishes or at least the basic principles of the local cuisine. I slip backstage of a small restaurant or hang out in the kitchen while a family mom is cooking, but I had never taken a real class before. So I was psyched to join the cooking lesson organised by Athens Walking tours with a group of travel bloggers attending the TBEX conference.
The “Greek Sunday dinner course took place in a quaint tavern called Klimataria, where they’ve been serving traditional homemade meals since 1927. What an honnour to learn some new cooking skills in one of the oldest taverns in central Athens!
The host and cook of the evening, the lovely Maria Sotou, greeted my classmates and I with a warm smile and a shot of raki. That’s when you know you’re welcome!
Maria helping us start the lesson the right way
We threw on our aprons and gathered around a table filled with fresh, colourful ingredients. This was going to be a good experience, I could smell it. After washing our hands -of course- it was time to get them dirty again. We had a loaded agenda; we were going to make 6 starters and one main course in just a few hours. And upon completion, we would taste our creations.
bloggers at work
Maria showed us the tricks of the game by explaining everything we needed to know about fresh produce, Greek culinary traditions, herbs and spices… She even let us in on some of her kitchen secrets. Part of the learning process was tasting some of the regional specialities. We sampled several types of cheeses, nibbled on savoury pastries and were introduced to some herbs I had never even heard of.
mixing of herbs
After a seemingly short amount of time, we had whipped up mini eggplant pies, learned how to make some fabulous dips and prepared dolmadakia from scratch. The entire class was so excited and eager to learn we got sidetracked by our questions, jokes and -what else could you expect from a bunch of bloggers- extensive photographing. Therefore, we ran out of time to make all the dishes we had planned to prepare. Luckily for us, Maria had all the dishes prepared by her staff while we were learning so we still got the chance to savour them and took the recipes home.
mini eggplant pies and laughterthis is what happens when you gather bloggers around food
As our stomachs started to growl we were invited to settle down at a large dinner table, our hard work (and mostly the work of the kitchen staff) was about to be payed off. We started with some homemade wine and then the food started coming in. Dish after dish, “ooh’s” and “aah’s” followed. There was so much food! Apparently it’s the Greek thing to do: spending a very long time at the dinner table, talking, drinking and enjoying copious amounts of deliciousness. As I mentioned earlier, I thought I knew Greek food, but this… This was something else. What I had eaten before almost seemed like garbage compared to what was lying on this table. This meal was undoubtedly one of the best I’ve ever had. Just the way I like it; simple comfort food with fine and pure flavours. As Maria thought us: “The main ingredient for cooking is love”.
Maria bringing out our freshly baked eggplant piesdolmadakiaescargotsslow cooked lamb in hull
I can only recommend this cooking class if you’re ever in Athens wanting to dig a little deeper in local traditions. The class doesn’t come cheap at €68 per head, but it does come with wine and a meal you will not soon forget.
“cooking creates a bond” Maria tells us.
Should you be on a tighter budget or have too little time to take the lesson, do consider dining in the Klimataria tavern. A meal for two including salad, appetizers, two main courses and wine will set you back about €25-30, a good deal I recon. They also host live music a few times a week, check out their website to find out more.
Have you ever taken a cooking class abroad? Which cuisine(s) did you learn?