Category Archives: Cultural Sites

Frida in 5 at Casa Azul

Monday, 16 March 2020 Marc d'Entremont 1 Comment

“I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.”
Frida Kahlo

*Self-Portrait Wearing a Velvet Dress* (hand colored photo print 1926)

Frida Kahlo is undeniably beautiful in this Modigliani-like 1926 self-portrait, and why not at 19 years-old. Yet it was only a year after her near-fatal tram accident. It’s not an idealized painting; it’s a photograph hand colored in oil by Frida.

Self-Portrait Wearing a Velvet Dress greets you in the entrance hall of Casa Azul fittingly alongside that of her famous photographer father. Casa Azul is the house her parents built in Mexico City where Frida was born, lived and died. It’s the “lived” part that created a legend.

Countless books and films document a turbulent and creative life that near-death simply sparked. In a recent visit to Casa Azul, a museum to all that was important to her, five images stayed with me. A prolific writer, Frida was known for her wit and insights. In her own words Frida provided for me a frame for the image I was remembering.

“I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality.”

Frida’s survival in the Mexico City tram accident of 1925 was eclipsed by her determination to not shatter her creative soul. “Passion is the bridge that takes you from pain to change.”

In Marxism Will Bring Health to the Sick she accepted that her own life of multiple surgeries followed by months being bedridden and still frequently in pain would not dim creativity in art, love or politics.

Whether camping across the North American continent, being honored in Paris or her love affair with Leon Trotsky, physical disabilities may have complicated plans but never stopped her.

“Diego was everything; my child, my lover, my universe.”

Casa Azul is blue. It was her home and that of her husband the renowned Mexican bad-boy creative genius Diego Rivera. Their relationship lasted her lifetime and his connection to Casa Azul until his death.

“There have been two great accidents in my life. One was the trolley, and the other was Diego. Diego was by far the worst.” The friction between these titans matched their artistic legends. Both had numerous lovers – “Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are a bourbon biscuit.” They divorced in 1939 but remarried a year later.

Perhaps she shed insight on both their personalities, “I was born a bitch; I was born a painter.”

Yet in the garden of Casa Azul there’s a photo taken of Frida and Diego as they stand on the terrace that’s just above. Their eyes are locked. The tension of mutual passion, competition and life’s complexities is captured in a photo.

“I am not sick. I am broken. But I am happy to be alive as long as I can paint.”

in Frida’s studio at Casa Azul, Mexico City

A horrific tram accident in Mexico City in 1925 when Freda was only in her late teens ought to have killed her. Instead it left her, in her own words, “broken.” Her spine had been fractured in multiple places, her right leg in 11 as well as the pelvic bone and collarbone. She also suffered severe internal injuries.

She was a pre-med student. Her injuries, pain and long periods in bed became the catalyst for an artistic expression of her life experience. In the process she created a unique life experience that has inspired many.

I am sure the comfortable, airy, light filled studio on the second floor in Casa Azul is neater than it was when a working room. Frida had space with most essentials easily accessed, and large windows overlooked the garden courtyard. In the center was her easel.

The easel is as it would have been the last couple years of her life. A still life, which she enjoyed painting – “I paint flowers so they will not die” – may have more meaning than simply a pretty picture, and it was the wheelchair that caught my eye last.

Its brown color blended into the studio as if her disabilities were of little importance. Frida had lost her feet a few years before her death, but that did not dampen her great passion… as long as she could paint.

“I want a storm to come and flood us into a song that no one wrote.”

Frida Kahlo’s Death Mask on her bed at Casa Azul

Frida Kahlo’s Death Mask rests on her bed in Casa Azul. There is serenity to her face, especially after a life of pain, yet not a countenance of finality. She looks as if she’s sleeping as she had in that bed for so many years.

Frida may have said, “I hope the exit is joyful, and I hope never to return,” but does that mean she wanted creativity to stop. Perhaps the turbulence of storm and flood (written to one of her lovers) was freedom – being swept into an unknown reality. Behind those sleeping eyes she could be fashioning a new song.

When you go: Museo Frida Kahlo (Londres 247, Del Carmen, Coyoacán, 04100 Ciudad de México, CDMX) is 11 km (6.5 miles) from the historic center of Mexico City. It’s accessible by bus or taxi/Uber.

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Leon Trotsky (left ) with Frida Kahlo (center) at Casa Azul

culinary tourism, Cultural Sites, Food, Historic Sites, Hotels, Mexico travel, Restaurants and hotels, Travel, Travel and Food, UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Insects return to Mexican menus

Friday, 20 December 2019 Marc d'Entremont

According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, Mexico has 300 to 550 species of edible insects, more than any other country.

chinivuiles (Red Maquey Caterpillars) Mercado San Juan, Mexico City

The ancient tradition of eating insects is steeped in culinary tradition, not lack of other foods. In pre-Hispanic days insects were an easy power house of protein to gather as ingredients and enjoy as a convenience food.

Chapulines, roasted grasshoppers, Mercado San Juan, Mexico City

The UN report in praise of entomophagy — insect-eating — as a promising source of sustainable protein stressed that “The case needs to be made to consumers that eating insects is not only good for their health, it is good for the planet.” After all, insects outnumber all other living creatures – and many are edible.

In the past decade there has been a revival in Mexico from street vendors to celebrity chefs reincorporating insects into the cuisine. What was dismissed after the Spanish conquest is chic again.

Mexcal cocktail with Chapulines at las Piramides

At Restaurante las Piramides within the UNESCO Zona Arqueológica de Teotihuacán they serve a traditional Mexican menu with some ancient exotic foods. An appropriate introduction is a Mexcal cocktail with Chapulines (roasted grasshoppers – they do have a nutty taste and texture). Chapulines have been a popular fast food since the ancient Mayan days, especially in southern Mexico.

From their starter menu there is a selection of dishes that would be a perfect introduction to tasting insects.

Fried corn cakes with quacamole y chapulines.

Excamoles al epazote (sauteed ant larvae with wormseed herb)

chinivuiles (red Maquey caterpillars) and gusano blanco (white Maquey caterpillars)

Tacos with Chapulines at El Arrayan, Puerto Vallarta

In Puerto Vallarta at El Arrayán the Oxacan inspired cuisine includes tacos stuffed with chapulines.

serious seafood & fish at Mercado San Juan

The Mercado de San Juan Gourmet is Mexico City’s food mecca for the serious eater and chef. Among the food stalls are small attractive cafes where locals frequent and visitors can experiment with new tastes.

I will not address the “disgust” factor when it comes to “exotic” foods. I’m interested only in the “wow” factor that there is so much to try. The world is a pantry.

serious colors, this is Mexico! Mercado San Juan

When you go: Mexico City is well served by international air. For accommodations I recommend the historic Hotel Geneve (1907). It maintains and polishes its glory every day.

roasted insects: fast food at street vendors

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Living history on Corfu

Wednesday, 4 September 2019 Marc d'Entremont

History is not about the past; it’s about the present.

We only remember yesterday because we’re alive today. We can only understand today if we dissect what occurred yesterday. It’s with that rubric a visitor to Corfu, if interested, can glean this Ionian island’s reality.

If the first time visitor is already familiar with the classical heartland of ancient Greece encircling the Aegean Sea than the beautiful streetscapes of Corfu Town are in an Italian city. The island’s premiere museum perhaps belongs in London. The charming Casa Parlante offers insights into the daily life of the Venetian nobility.

Yet this is Corfu, and it’s just a short distance from the mainland of western Greece. The reason has everything to do with geography, which means it has to do with politics and trade. The regions that comprise Hellenic civilization for the past several thousands of years were the bridges and battlefields between Asia and Europe, and Corfu represents that reality.

Even olive oil, the gift of Athena to the Hellenic world, has a story. During its 400 year reign over Corfu (1383-1797) the Venetian Empire mass produced olive oil for international export. As a result the island has over four and a half million trees, more than any other region in Greece.

If you watched the BBC series The Durrels in Corfu you may recognize the top photo as the house of the fictional character Sven. The 18th century stone building used to be an olive press and is surrounded by 400 year old trees in an idyllic setting. It’s currently for sale – history alive – and Sakis Gianniotis of X Adventure Club will take you there to revel in its tranquility.

Casa Perlante

Fanny, docent at Casa Parlante (Corfu Living History)

Case Parlante, the multi story townhouse dating from 1620, details the life of a 19th century Venetian noble family. This was the social class that ruled Corfu for 400 years until Napoleon conquered and ended the fabled Venetian Republic in the 1790s. Since 2013 the museum’s docents provide room by room tours bringing the family to life.

“To life” is almost real. From the patriarch to the cook, life-size animatronic figures bow, sip tea, read the news paper and chop vegetables. These entertaining figures were created by the Alaxouzi Brothers, Greeks whose business is based in London. As a guest in this noble house, visitors are greeted with kumquat and rose mint liquors – an homage to Corfiot’s Venetian inspired love of excessive sweets.

Several insights into life at that time are notable. An only daughter of a noble family could inherit wealth in her own right as well as arrange their own marriage, as long it was to another aristocrat. This was a particular freedom granted only to Corfu women.

The Count’s business office opening onto the main hallway

Mirrors and hallways were ingeniously positioned to keep eyes on the movements of the servants.

Cooks in aristocratic houses were often at the top of servant status and trusted as “spies” for the owner.

The Palace of St. Michael and St. George

The Corfu Museum of Asian Art and the Municipal Gallery of Corfu are housed within the impressive neoclassical Palace of St. Michael and St. George. The history of the palace is as interesting as the art on display. The fall of Venice led to a brief period in Corfu of French control. Upon Napoleon’s defeat, Corfu was ceded to the United Kingdom and was administered by the British Empire for 50 years (the Greek nation did not exist at this point.)

Constructed in 1819, the palace served as the official residence of the British Lord High Commissioner. After present day southern Greece gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in the 1830’s it was still not until the 1860’s that the United Kingdom ceded the Ionian Islands. Over the next century the palace served various functions including a royal residence for the Greek monarchy.

The Corfu Museum of Asian Art

The transition of the palace into a world class museum started in 1928 with a vast donation by an avid Greek collector of Oriental art expanding over the years to include southeast and central Asia. Today its collection numbers in the tens of thousands of objects, which, fortunately, are not all on display creating a tranquil setting to wander the quiet rooms without feeling overwhelmed.

Municipal Gallery of Corfu

Byzantine-Venetian Cretan School of Art greatly influenced Corfu

The Municipal Gallery of Corfu’s art collection ranges from priceless medieval Cretan works influenced while Crete was also under Venetian rule (15th – 17th centuries). The fall of Crete to the Ottomans in 1699 resulted in a flood of artist and intellectuals settling in Corfu.

A sizable portion of the collection is of 18th through early 20th century artists inspired by the the Romantic and Impressionist movements expressing individual life and events developing into Corfu’s distinctive Ionian School of Art.

Twenty-first century artists are well represented especially through special exhibits.

Corfu artist Kostas Tbros (b. 1975) with fellow journalist Janice Nieder

Encouraging artistic expression in the newest generations of Corfiots, the gallery sponsors “One Saturday, One fairytale” events for children to display their art and study the artist whose paintings are exhibited. In honor of Greek Orthodox Easter the gallery recently displayed a special exhibit of photos taken by Corfu boy scouts. The quality was stunning!

photos of Easter celebrations taken by Corfu boy scouts

History is more than facts, and a nation is more than geography. In his epic poem The People, Yes, the great American poet Carl Sandburg expressed it succinctly. I am the history; I am the present; I am the culture. Go to Corfu and discover so much more than an island.

When you go: Corfu International Airport (CFU) serves direct flights from many European cities including London, Frankfurt and Rome. Frequent flights connect the island to Athens and Thessaloniki. Ferry and coach bus connections to major Greek cities are frequent as well.

Special thanks: to The Golden Butler, Safari Xperience and Ducas Tours & Travel for facilitating my tour of Corfu.

Where to sleep and dine in Corfu:

Corfu magic at Villa 1870

Eat with your eyes: four stellar Corfu restaurants

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Thessaloniki: history in your face

Tuesday, 6 August 2019 Marc d'Entremont

“In Thessaloniki we live our history.” Sofia Bournatzi

Of course that statement could almost be a cliché if it wasn’t applied to Thessaloniki. It has greater impact for the city simply than having eighteen UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It has more to do with resilience. Despite wars, earthquakes and fires, Thessalonians are doing what they have been for 2,300 years.

looking out on Thessaloniki port from the Heptapyrgion

Thessaloniki is still what King Cassander, its founder, planned:

Largest city in Macedonia
Greece’s second largest
The port city of the northern Aegean
Gateway to the Balkans
Commercially connected to Asia Minor
Strategically located on both Spice and Silk Roads to the Orient

excavations of antiquities during construction of 21st century Thessaloniki subway next to a 15th century Ottoman bath.

This reality has made the city coveted and popular over the millenniums by conquerors from Rome to the Ottomans, and their presence is palpable now. It’s under your feet; it’s towering over your head, and soon you’ll whiz by more on the new state-of-the-art underground subway/tube system. The past is an integral component of Thessaloniki’s urban fabric because it’s in your face.

Looking out to the Thermeic Gulf from Thessaloniki’s new Waterfront Promenade merchant ships are anchored waiting their turn at the modern docks just north of downtown. Behind are the Ladadika, Ano Poli and the “acropolis” – the imposing Heptapyrgion fortress. These districts are the commercial, cultural and culinary heart of the city. They offer postcards onto the past …

The Palace of Galerius

The Palace of Galerius was not a large luxurious house. It was an “Imperial City” within the city – administrative, residential, religious and public entertainment venues. Depending on interpretation, it was such a vast complex it could well be considered a rebuilding of Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki was a major distribution port for the Spice & Silk Roads from the Orient.

The Romans were enamored with Thessaloniki ever since they had absorbed Macedonia into the Empire in the 100s BCE. Four hundred years later the port city was the largest in Rome’s Greek provinces and one of the wealthiest in the empire. By the end of the 3^rd century Thessaloniki was poised to become central to the new Eastern Roman Empire.

Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus (Caesar: 293-311) newly appointed “assistant Emperor” in the Tetrarchy created by Diocletian, preferred Thessaloniki over his region’s official capital. Construction on his palace complex started in the late 290s.

(video published 02/02/2016, Vladimiros Nefides)

It was a vast site covering a good portion of Thessaloniki’s historic core and composed of numerous interconnected components, most of which today are lying underneath streets, parks, residential and commercial buildings as the city morphed over the centuries. The complex was enclosed by stonewalls from the port waterfront up to the newly fortified acropolis. The most visible examples of the complex today are the stunningly preserved Rotunda and the Arch of Galerius.

Rotunda

The cylindrical Rotunda was built in 306 AD and has served as a public building ever since. It was originally a temple, possibly to Zeus. By the end of the 5th century Christianity had been established in the Empire and for over the next thousand years the Rotunda was the Byzantine Church of St. George. After Ottoman conquest in 1430 it became a mosque (note the 16^th century minaret in the photo) until 1912 when with Greek-Macedonian reunification it was designated a national monument. (Ottoman era buildings are protected by historic designation throughout Greece.)

Arch of Galerius

The Arch of Galerius stands on a busy intersection (Egnatia & Dimitriou Gounari streets) just as it did when constructed. Thessaloniki’s Egnatia Street is a portion of the 2,000-year-old Roman Via Egnatia, which still connects Macedonia to Istanbul (aka Constantinople, aka Byzantium). Significant remains of its intricate carved marble panels detail the military prowess of Galerius and Rome.

Heptapyrgion

The Heptapyrgion towers above downtown Thessaloniki where the ancient acropolis was located on the foothills of Mount Chortiatis. The massive fortress guarded the city for nearly two millenniums. Started by the Romans in the late 4^th century along with rebuilding the defensive walls to encircle the city, it was substantially expanded by the Byzantine Empire in the 12^th century and the Ottomans in the 15^th.

Oddly both its Greek and Ottoman name (Yedi Kule) mean “fortress of seven towers” even though it has ten and at no time in its construction phases did it ever just have seven. Despite that anomaly, the impressive relic today serves as an UNESCO World Heritage site, a park with panoramic views of the city, and a backdrop for the historic Ano Poli (Upper Town) neighborhood , which survived the Great Fire of 1917.

The Baptistery of St. John

The Baptistery of St. John the Baptist of Thessaloniki (c.400) is a peaceful hidden sunken garden with an art deco apartment building and outdoor cafe overlooking the site. The sacred spring still flows but is channeled inside a modern chapel. It’s considered the oldest Christian baptistery. It is close to the 5^th century Hagia Sophia and within the Galerian Palace complex.

Bey Hamam

Surrounded by popular cafes in the shopping district of the Ladadika is one of Thessaloniki’s most beautiful medieval buildings. The 15th century Bey Hamam, an Ottoman public bathhouse, is testament to the sophistication this city has enjoyed during its long history. Only ceasing its original use in the 1960s, its intricate brick and tiled facade is an architectural sculpture dramatically lit at night providing a stunning visual backdrop as café patrons dine.

Ladadika

The unrestored street (left) in the Ladadika is on purpose to preserve the facades of what this major international commercial district was like prior to the 1917 Fire. (right) A busy historic district of cafes, commerce and culture today.

The White Tower

The White Tower’s infamous history as a notorious Ottoman prison fades in the mist of time when viewed today at its photogenic location on Thessaloniki’s historic waterfront. The current tower, constructed in the 15^th century replacing an earlier Byzantine fortification, anchored the city wall’s southern corner on the waterfront. The tower is a fascinating museum of the historic district and offers panoramic views of Thessaloniki.

Rebetika Music

(video published 28/01/2010, flat13onfire)

Within the prisons of the Heptapyrgion and White Tower many famous rebetika songs of love, loss, resistance and survival were written by Greek prisoners during the last 30 year period of Ottoman rule. The mournful yet captivating music of rebetika still reverberates in many Greek cafes bonding music, food and friends and in 2017 UNESCO listed rebetika music as an “intangible cultural heritage” of Greece.

When you go: Thessaloniki International Airport (SKR) is served through major European hubs and Greek cities. Thessaloniki is connected as well by rail and coach bus within Greece and to the Balkans.

Location of the The Baptistery of St. John the Baptist of Thessaloniki and much of the historic core:

Special thanks to Sofia Bournatzi of Pass Partout DMC and to Thessaloniki Tourism Organization for facilitating my stay. Historic and culinary walking tours can be arranged with certified multi-lingual guides of the Tourists Guides Association of Thessaloniki

You can read the culinary story of this history at:

Naturally Thessaloniki is a foodie city

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Thessaloniki through eyes and mouth

Tuesday, 30 July 2019 Marc d'Entremont

Food tours are visceral experiences. They start with your eyes and end in your mouth. Historic buildings and museums can’t offer that multi-sensory fusion with such an important facet of culture.

Read more in my August 2019 travel column for the Hellenic News of America…

Naturally Thessaloniki is a foodie city

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Looking upon Greece: Doors and Windows

Sunday, 9 June 2019 Marc d'Entremont

“The man who comes back through the Door in the Wall will never be quite the same as the man who went out. ”
― Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception

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Autumn in the Pindus Mountains, Greece

Friday, 31 August 2018 Marc d'Entremont

Epirus is a rugged, heavily forested and mountainous region largely made up of the Pindus Mountains. Considered the “spine of Greece,” the Pindus Mountains separate Epirus from Macedonia and Thessaly to the east.

Even though the clothing, architecture and food may have a Balkan feel, today generally older men and women gather on benches around Metsovo’s church of Agia Paraskevi to observe life on the Central Square and speak the ancient Aromanian dialect.

Metsovone smoked cheese, Katogi Averoff Red, fresh figs

Livestock grazing on the green Pindus mountain slopes and crafts are still a part of life in Metsovo. To that foundation, tourism has had a significant impact over the past half century. Winter skiing, summer hiking, vineyards, unique foods, charming hotels and restaurants with a view add to the allure of this northwestern Greek enclave.

You can read more about the Pindus Mountains, Metsovo and a recipe at the Hellenic News of America ….

Metsovo shimmers with Greek Autumn colors

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Greek magic at Chateau Nico Lazaridi

Tuesday, 31 July 2018 Marc d'Entremont

Inspired by the allegorical 1924 Thomas Mann novel The Magic Mountain, Frederico Lazaridis takes seriously the primal interplay of mythic forces and human reality. Wine was essential to the Greek psyche and had its own god, Dionysus. In everyday life Eastern Macedonia and Thrace was its motherland.

Mount Pangeon from the theater at Philippi, nearby Chateau Lazaridi

More to the point, Chateau Nico Lazaridi sits opposite Eastern Macedonia and Thrace’s own magic mountain – Mount Pangeon. Its magic was both mythic – a favorite party mountain for Dionysus – and tangible. Its vast gold deposits funded the empires of Philip II and Alexander the Great, paid for the construction of the nearby legendary city of Philippi and, sitting on the Via Egnatia, was at the crossroads between Eastern and Western cultures for centuries.

During the Roman Empire era (100s BC – 500s AD) retired legionaries were often settled in the region producing high quality agricultural products shipped as far as Rome. The Via Egnatia spanned the length of today’s northern Greece from Thessaloniki to the Dardanelles. It was the “super highway” for the distribution of goods between the Mediterranean and Asia.

Frederico takes all of this personal. Nico Lazadidis, Frederico’s father, is from the region – the historic city of Drama. His mother was from Florence, Italy, which added a cultural influence already common in the lands along the Via Egnatia. Nico’s profession was also ancient – stone and marble purveyor. Their roots are, literally, in the building blocks of civilizations.

Nico learned to make wine during his years in Italy. In 1974 the family and business returned to Drama but continued perfecting their wine making techniques as a “garage art.” In the early 1980s Nico explored commercial possibilities and in 1987 established Chateau Nico Lazaridi.

ultra modern facilities but the labels are still placed by hand

They were one of the only wineries at the time in the Drama region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. It’s ironic that for seven millenniums, Thrace has been the mother terroir of wine grapes. Yet wine production virtually ended in the 15^th century under Ottoman Islamic rule coupled with the phenomenal profits earned from “King Tobacco” followed then by the devastation of 20^th century wars.

Of course it was precisely the devastation and upheavals of 20^th century wars that ended the preeminence of tobacco as an economic engine. Macedonia and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace are once again regaining the wine reputations they held since ancient days. Eleven wineries dot the Drama area while seven labels are in the nearby Kavala region.

The Kingdom of Thasos, which the region was a part in the 1^st millennium BC, established the first quality control system for grapes, wine and olive oil. Today the Drama area is within the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) Agora.

Chateau Nico Lazaridi is between three mountains, which funnel steady winds ventilating the grape vines helping to prevent mold. The vineyards lay on an ancient riverbed, which provides soil rich in minerals. The region’s flat riverbed land was made arable only as a result of 1930s drainage and land reclamation projects. The famous Battle of Philippi (1^st century BC) fought nearby was on wetlands.

Chateau Lazaridi proves that bigger can be better. Its 1.1 million bottle production consists of over a dozen wines and tsipouro, the classic distillation from wine must. One hundred sixty acres in the Drama area (PGI –Agora) contain the main vineyards. Thirty-seven acres are contracted from area growers.

Their Mackedon Winery in Kavala is 25 acres and a new small ten acre winery will soon open on Mykonos Island.

Neither bio-dynamic nor organic farming methods are used in the vineyards because Frederico feels they’re best in an enclosed growing environment such as the islands where it’s easiest to maintain proper conditions.

The new wine cellar, for me, is the centerpiece. It has exposed earthen walls that maintain climate and temperature with 85% humidity. French and American oak barrels fill the vast room, but acacia wood is now being used especially for the whites. Acacia imparts a floral note. An impressive curved ceiling mural looking upward at the sky through a grape arbor graces the length of the cellar.

Chateau Nico Lazaridi is a multidimensional company of several divisions today. A demo kitchen, which will feature area guest chefs, will offer cooking and wine classes. It will be the forerunner of a future restaurant on site.

A lab is on site to maintain quality control. They research developments in vinification in the quest for the next generation of Greek wine.

The Magic Mountain Art Gallery is the family’s great pride. It is both the private collection of the Lazaridi family and, in many cases, the designs for wine labels. Twenty-five years ago Nico established an artist partnership to contemporize Greek wine marketing. The Magic Mountain Art Gallery works with and patronizes contemporary Greek and European artists who express interpretations of the primal link between this drink of the gods and its role in Greek life.

Lunch with Frederico offered hearty northern Greek dishes and two of Chateau Lazaridi’s most popular wines both from the PGI-Agora. Cavalieri Lazaridi White (Assyrtiko 70%, Sauvignon Blanc 15%, Ugni Blanc 15%) has the dry yellow fruit notes with hints of honey emblematic of assyrtiko. It spends six months in acacia barrels adding floral accents.

Greek fashion designer Andria Thomais designed both labels for F- EY, a dry red of the PGI-Agora (Merlot 85%, Grenache Rouge 15%). The original paintings in the Magic Mountain collection are of two contented men and women. Ey (εὖ in Greek) is a descriptor for all that’s good and creative in a person’s life. It’s an apted descriptor for Chateau Nico Lazaridi and one that Dionysus sitting on his magic mountain would bestow.

The god would probably want his portrait on a label.

Mount Pangeon from the vineyards of Chateau Nico Lazaridi, Drama, Greece

Disclaimer: The author was a guest of Chateau Nico Lazaridi and the Municipality of Drama. All opinions are the author’s. Arrangements were facilitated by Pass Partout Tourism Marketing, DMC, Thessaloniki

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Villa life in Halkidiki with Ermia Resorts

Tuesday, 10 July 2018 Marc d'Entremont

It was difficult to get lost especially armed with the well-written and informative guide “Halkidiki Inside Your Dreams” by the Halkidiki Tourism Organization.

Aelia Beach BAr & Restaurant at Nefeli Villas & Suites

Yet even if one did take a wrong turn on the modern well-maintained roads that hug the coastline of the Halkidiki peninsulas of Greece you would be apt to discover a small Orthodox church on the side of the road, a centuries old Byzantine tower, an archeological site from antiquity in a field, another secluded beach and everywhere the sweeping vistas of farmland and blue water.

Capitan Taverna, Loutra, Kassandra, Halkidiki, Greece

At the photogenic seaside village of Loutra, close by Nefeli Villas & Suites, lunch at Capitan Taverna combined excellent traditional Greek cuisine with a classic atmosphere. Costas Vamvakas has maintained both its popularity and quality since 1977. An old grape arbor heavy with fruit covered the flower bedecked dining porch. Olive trees anchored the corners and a fountain burbled softly.

Just a few miles from Loutra was the Spa at Agia Paraskevi. Known for its hot sulfur springs, southern Kassandra has long been sought by people suffering bone and muscle disorders. With a commanding view of the sea, the modern spa facilities include pools, saunas, steam baths and hydro massage.

Positioned on the west coast of Kassandra, Nefeli Villas & Suites offers spacious one to four bedroom villas in a village setting. Halkidiki’s three peninsulas – Kassandra, Sithonia and Athos – have long been sun-kissed family oriented summer playgrounds. Easy access to dozens of public beaches, classic white washed villages climbing hillsides and the incomparable clear water of the Aegean attract tens of thousands of visitors annually.

Ermia Hotels and Resorts, a family owned real estate and hospitality company headquartered in Thessaloniki, develops resorts and manages villa rentals. Its portfolio includes the Premier Luxury Mountain Resort in Bansko, Bulgaria, Amaryllis Paros Beach Hotel on Paros Island and Sani Woods on Kassandra in Halkidiki. In Halkidiki as well they manage the Nefeli Villas & Suites, the Bellevue Villas and the unique Hastia Villa.

Giorgos Tsalikis and the staff of Nefeli Villas & Suites run a double operation. The units in this Ermia built complex are privately owned with the option to offer the unit for seasonal rental. It’s a resort and condo. The reception office maintains a compact shop with a nice selection of local Greek foods from cheese and wine to thyme honey and mastic liquor – especially convenient as gifts.

Nefeli Villas & Suites , Kassandra, Halkidiki, Macedonia, Greece

The four-bedroom, two-floor townhouse I enjoyed during my stay was more than spacious for the normal maximum of eight people. Premium furnishings and kitchen appliances, Wi-Fi, outdoor barbecue, washing machine, pool and beach towels are all provided. Breakfast is available at Aelia Beach Bar & Restaurant.

The compact beach and tree shaded grass lawn provides comfortable lounge chairs with service from the Aelia bar and restaurant and protected swimming in the clear Aegean.

As a chef I’m impressed when a fine dining restaurant accents the food with simplicity. Greek yogurt topped with a few almonds in a simple and attractive dedicated glass container with a serene Aegean sea view provided by nature defines chic at Aelia Beach Bar & Restaurant.

While a wedding reception was in the final stages of preparation, I was served an imaginative dinner starting with a salty white taramas mousse attractively arranged on crispy phyllo crackers. Meaty pleurotus mushrooms were marinated in vinaigrette of aged Kalamata vinegar and fresh herbs. Grilled on wood charcoal, the large mushrooms would please a vegetarian as a meat substitute.

preparations for a wedding receptio on the beachfront lawn, Aelia Beach Bar & Restaurant at Nefeli Villas & Suites

Tender, savory lamb chops were bathed in a classic rosemary wine sauce. A rich but light chocolate soufflé rounded dinner. Thank you Maria Ntai for the warm Greek hospitality at Aelia Beach Bar & Restaurant.

At Sani Woods Anna Xafoudi, manages eleven architecturally stunning suites, apartments and a large villa. Set within a carefully landscaped yet natural arboretum the two buildings sit on a hillside that gently slopes down to the pool. Bicycles and a continental breakfast are included.

A mini “supermart” is a five-minute drive at the entrance to the large Sani Resort complex, which has popular restaurants and a marina. Fokaies village is 6 km away and has larger stores. Yet If quiet is what you crave, Sani Woods is your refuge.

Bellevue Villas, Kassandra, Halkidiki, Greece

Closer to the popular summer resort town of Pefkoahori the Bellevue Villas sit on a promontory with a panoramic view of the Aegean and Sithonia peninsula. The large, sleek ultra modern multi level villas each have their own private pool.

Hestia Villa, Kassandra, Halkidiki, Greece

Nearby Hestia Villa is a large, unique late 20^th century stand alone beach house. It has a 20^th century mid-century modern look but it is of more recent construction. A long green front lawn spreads down to Hestia’s own entrance onto the beach.

Pefkoahori, Kassandra, Halkidiki, Greece

For vacation nightlife, the fishing town of Pefkoahori has become Kassandra’s most popular tourist destination. On the east coast of the peninsula it’s a mere 20-minute drive from Nefeli Villas & Suites and Sani Woods – closer Bellevue and Hastia villas. During the summer season this family oriented resort town is a marriage of sun, sea and Coney Island.

A lengthy beachfront pedestrian walkway becomes a carnival of street food and vendors selling everything one expects from sunglasses to helium balloons. A small amusement park will delight children. Shopaholics will be pleased with the number and diversity of stores. Bar and restaurant hoppers will be sated with dozens of attractive beach venues and music opportunities.

secluded beach, Capitan Taverna, spa at Agia Paraskevi

Ermia Hotels and Resorts villas offer the ideal luxury accommodations for an extended beach vacation. From enviable locations, premium furnishings, fine cuisine and unique architecture Ermia is simply offering Greek hospitality. As a bonus explore Kassandra, a storied finger of fabled Halkidiki.

When you go:

In general the summer season runs from May through mid-October. Pefkoahori is an easy and picturesque 50-mile drive on modern highways from Thessaloniki Airport “Makedonia.” The gateway city of Thessaloniki is served by direct flights from a number of European cities. Numerous flights from Athens are available and affordable for the short 35-minute journey.

Disclaimer: the author was a guest of Ermia Hotels and Resorts and Nefeli Villas & Suites. Special thanks to Kiki Petridou (Ermia Resorts) for the villa tours. Arrangements were facilitated by Pass Partout Tourism Marketing, DMC, Thessaloniki.

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Lipsi Island: tranquility in the Dodecanese

Sunday, 8 July 2018 Marc d'Entremont

From artisan cheeses and wood oven baked breads, handmade ecclesiastical beeswax candles, weaving on a century old loom, bathing at another secluded beach to leisurely sipping tsipouro while enjoying meze on the waterfront, Lispi is for seekers of tradition and tranquility.