Hand to hand with a Janissary (Gianitsaros) in Naoussa

Hand to hand with a Janissary (Gianitsaros) in Naoussa

  Carnival is celebrated everywhere across Greece, but it’s only in Naoussa that the Janissaries dance along the “patinada” rhythm. And it is this sound of the “zourna” approaching slowly and getting louder and louder as it gets closer, until you feel the tabor accompanying him pounding inside you, like a second heart! At that moment, the group of the “Janissaries and Boules” passes by you! Young and old Janissaries outcross their swords dancing “patinada”, a slow, sad song. The musicians are the last to follow the group, along with the leader of the group who checks everything around and instructs which songs will be played. If you don’t hear the zourna playing, you haven’t experienced the carnival in Naoussa!

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“Hooked up in pleasure”

“Hooked up in pleasure”

  “Agkistro” (= hook ), a small village close to the borders with Bulgaria, was picked as a relaxing destination during our Christmas holidays and it very much justified our choice! So here are all the secrets so that you can enjoy what it offers!

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Pelion, where the mountain meets the sea

Pelion, where the mountain meets the sea

The decision to spend our summer holidays in Pelion was not difficult, since it combines the sea and mountains and can satisfy the lovers of both. That’s why we picked it as our destination. Everything was ready for our five-day getaway in the mountains. The hero of the story is the little “smart” which travelled from Athens to Pelion without protest. Our destination was the village of Milies, a mountain village in South Pelion and specifically the traditional lodging “Anemoessa”. The truth is that we encountered traffic on the ring road of Volos, from “Achillopouleio” hospital until the traffic lights of the ring road. We thought that it was Friday afternoon and the local people wanted to escape the city!!!!

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A 2-days’ trip to West Zagori

A 2-days’ trip to West Zagori

    Easter was very early this year. We always have a small trip somewhere in the 2nd week of Easter holidays but this time we were a bit concerned about the weather. It was rainy and cold. The excursion was arranged the minute we saw the photos of a hotel that Vasia (our niece) booked for a weekend. The hotel was in Papigo and she had traced and booked it from Belgium! It has been almost twenty years since we last visited the area. We were so jealous! Both about the hotel and the destination.

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