We get excited in Crete once the winter rains turn into the warmth of spring. We know it’s time to pull on a pair of boots and go out into the hills where the landscape has suddenly donned a mantle
‘What goes around, comes around’ is a well-known adage and rarely is it better demonstrated than in the Mediterranean with its frequent interchange of people and cultures – especially when it comes to food. And never more so when it
ROMEIKO, ROMIEKO – WHEREFORE ART THOU ROMEIKO? So Shakespeare is in the bar at the Globe Tavern enjoying a flagon of fine Cretan wine – and it’s delicious. Lifting his glass and draining the dregs he calls to the landlord
SIZE MATTERS – AND WE’RE NUMBER 1 In total there are around 6,000 islands in Greece although only 200 or so are inhabited by humans – some of the others support populations of goats, or a few olive trees, but
At least 95 percent of all Greeks claim membership in the Greek Orthodox Church, part of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Until 1054, the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches were one body. Theological, political, and cultural differences split the church
Good health was a particular fascination of ancient Greeks, who took a very holistic view of wellbeing. In Greek legend the responsibility for this was given to Asclepius, God of Health, a son of Apollo, who actually dates back to
Or: why Easter takes so, so much longer in Greece We like to make a meal of things in Greece – any excuse for a feast and we’ll be on the barbie grilling a lamb or three, either whole or
It is perhaps the most natural thing in the world for Greeks to be hoteliers. It all comes down to our philosophy of ‘philoxenia’ (or filoxenia), the practice of welcoming strangers. Literally it means being ‘a friend to a stranger’.
We Cretans don’t keep Christmas in the same way you do in the UK. Not that we’re like Scrooge – we don’t approach it in a Bah Humbug sort of way. We’re always up for a good meal and
Cretans hate wasting things we grow, especially when we can turn them into alcohol! So that’s the reason why, around 40 days after we press our grapes to make wine, we make a drink called ‘tsikoudia’ or ‘raki’ and start
November in Crete is olive picking season. With over 20 million olive trees cultivated the length and breadth of the island, that’s a lot of picking. Traditionally, back in the day, most would be picked by hand with the fruit*
Most days in Crete the sun shines. Those days people hang out around the pool or go down to the beach – we’re famous for our beaches. Very occasionally the sun doesn’t shine, it gets a bit cloudy and might
It doesn’t take much to get a harvest festival going in Crete. Like most Mediterranean people we’re always happy to celebrate the grape harvest over a glass or two of wine. We’re equally delighted to raise a tumbler of ouzo
Sadly most people still equate Greek wine with Retsina – although to be fair, there’s nothing wrong with a good bottle of frosty Retsina with a plate of fried calamari in a waterfront taverna, but the resin flavoured gold liquid
IT RAINED THIS WEEK! Which in itself is amazing and perhaps a sign of climate change, rain doesn’t normally come this early. What’s more it was rain of biblical proportions – at one stage Adonis thought he might have to
SINGLES SPRING AND AUTUMN WALKING HOLIDAY IN CRETE We run two walking weeks every year from the Mistral Hotel – the first in spring, the other in autumn, both stunning times of year when the weather is fresh and not
FLAVOURSOME & THEN SOME – SINGLE FOODIES’ SPECIAL To misquote Shakespeare – ‘if food be the music of friendship, play on!’ Certainly many of our single guests have bonded over the dishes created in the Mistral Kitchen – but this
A WELLBEING RETREAT FOR SINGLE TRAVELLERS Life is a journey with many paths and many directions. Often our direction is dictated by the circumstances of the world around us, a fast-moving world where we can get swept up and carried
