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Traveling around Skyros with a local
Hello! I am back from Skyros, my favorite Greek island. During my 10-day stay, I reconnected with my family, swam in the crystalline waters of the Aegean, relaxed by the sea reading novels and poetry, savored Skyrian delicacies (see below), and sipped cocktails. This was the fourth time I visited Skyros as an adult, and it certainly won’t be the last. In fact, I’m already making plans to visit again next summer. There are quite a few reasons why Skyros is the island I have visited the most; I have highlighted those in my post ‘Skyros: the island of wellness and wellbeing’, published in January 2019. Today, I would like…
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Traveling to Greece through film & music
The London Greek Film Festival has been taking place every year since 2008. This year, however, the festival will move online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under normal circumstances, the screenings would have taken place at the Theatro Technis, an independent theatre in Camden, North London. The festival, due from 13 to 16 May 2020, showcases feature, short and documentary films either by Greek film-makers (no matter where they are produced) or simply related to Greece. According to the organizers, the festival showcases ‘films from Greek Origin Individuals and Production Companies from all over the world, or International Individuals and Production Companies from all over the world, with film or…
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Now & then: a musical journey to Greece
A few months ago, I published my post ‘Beyond Eurovision: A musical journey in Europe’, where I ‘visited’ 22 European countries, listening to some of my favorite musicians from each of these countries. When I visited my home country, Greece, I struggled to choose among the many musicians I grew up listening to. In the end, I went on with those I consider ‘the classics’: composer Manos Hatzidakis and soprano Maria Callas. Then… a musical journey to Greece Manos Hatzidakis Manos Hatzidakis (also spelled Hadjidakis; 23 October 1925 – 15 June 1994) was a Greek composer, whose music has traveled the world. In 1960, he won the Academy Award…
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9+1 Greek islands to visit this summer
It’s been a year since the article ‘10 great Greek islands: readers’ travel tips’ was published in the Guardian. My tip ‘Hiking in Amorgos, Cyclades’ was not only included but it was also the winning tip. Since then, I have launched the Traveling Psychiatrist, a travel and wellbeing blog, where I publish weekly travel tips on my happy places (Greek islands, Norway, and London) and wellbeing tips based on my clinical experience and inspired by the books I read. An amateur cook and baker, sometimes, I’ve gone as far as to also share healthy recipes inspired by my travels, such as the orange pie (portokalopita) from Amorgos. …
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My Happy Place(s): London, Greece, Norway
I recently visited the ‘Edvard Munch: Love and Angst’ exhibition at the British Museum in London. Already a fan of Munch, I wanted to learn more about the renowned Norwegian painter – his life as well as his art. The British Museum is only a few minute walk from Russell Square, which is where I got off the Tube. Stepping onto the platform, I noticed a larger than life advertisement of Emma Bunton’s new album ‘My Happy Place’ (released on the 12th of April 2019). Baby Spice’s fourth studio album consists of ten tracks; two are original, whilst the rest are cover versions of older songs. My favorite is ‘Come…
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Island-hopping around the Cyclades
The Cyclades. A group of 24 inhabited islands (and many more uninhabited). But which one to choose? Hedonistic Mykonos, romantic Santorini, or a lesser known one? Or, perhaps, island-hop? A Greek travel enthusiast myself, I definitely prefer island hopping, as this allows me to explore more than one islands each time… but, of course, I still have to make a choice! A couple of years ago, I followed a 13-day itinerary from Santorini to Amorgos, and then to Koufonisia and Mykonos. Certainly, a good place to start (that was my first ever holiday in the Cyclades)! I have been back to the Cyclades several times since, and here is another…
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Aristotle ’s Way: Ancient Wisdom & Happiness
Today is the World Book Day. To mark the occasion, I’m publishing this post based on Edith Hall’s recently published book ‘Aristotle ’s Way: How Ancient Wisdom Can Change Your Life’. I first came across this book a few months ago, when I read Lisa Allardice’s article ‘How Aristotle is the perfect happiness guru’. Three words, two featuring in the title of the book, and one in the review, sparked my interest: Aristotle, wisdom, happiness. Aristotle was born in the town of Stageira, in Halkidiki, Greece, an hour’s drive from my home-town, Thessaloniki. Then, I studied Medicine at the Aristotle’s University of Thessaloniki. ‘Let Wisdom Guide’ is the motto of…
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Folegandros: the secret alternative to Santorini
When I came across Jade Conroy’s article ‘the secret alternative to Santorini’ (published in the Telegraph on 22nd February), Folegandros immediately sprang to my mind. I was right. One of the least known Greek islands, Folegandros is only an hour away (on the ferry) from the world-famous Santorini. This rather small Cycladic island is located in the southern Aegean Sea, nested between Milos and Kimolos on the west, and Sikinos and Ios on the east (Santorini is further on the east). An off-the-beaten-track island, Folegandros has a small population of fewer than 1000 inhabitants. Every summer, however, it comes to life thanks to a wave of mostly Greek,…
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Sifnos: the island of Greek gastronomy
I was born and raised in Greece, a country with a rich history, and a healthy and delicious cuisine. As a child, I would often hear the word ‘tselementes’ being used to refer to any cookbook. So, I naturally assumed that it meant ‘cookbook’. Not quite so. I later learned that Nikolaos Tselementes was a Greek chef and cookery writer born on the island of Sifnos in the late 19th century. 130 years later, this small Cycladic island is considered the capital of Greek gastronomy. Sifnos is located in the western Cyclades, northeast of Milos and south of Serifos, which I also visited last summer. Despite the island’s close proximity…
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Serifos: the Greek island where time stands still
In June 2017, Kate Lough shared her ‘10 reasons why you should visit the Greek island of Serifos’. She wrote that she ‘found a Greece that seemed to have stood still since the 1960s and where island life remains unspoiled by mass tourism’. I visited Serifos a year later, in August 2018. Oblivious to Kate’s article at the time, I came to the same realization: Serifos reminded me of a Greece of a different era: it was the Greece that starred in the 1960s movies I used to watch as a child. Again and again, during my time on this small Greek island, the phrase ‘time stands still’ came to…