VERS.

HONEYMOON_PART III.

the last picture of the previous post was about the beautiful view from the bus on our 

way to and from the port. as i have said, it was a long, four-hour trip, but we weren't bored 

for a moment. the scenery was awesome, and the tour-guide told us many interesting facts

about greece. 

 

 the hillsides in these parts /from paralia to volos/ were covered in olive trees. olive is a 

species of small evergreen tree native to the coastal areas of the eastern mediterranean 

basin. the olive trees are very hardy: drought-, disease- and fire-resistant, they can live 

to a great age. many olive trees are said to be hundreds of years old, while some trees 

can live up to 2000 years (in some cases, this has been scientifically verified).

olives are harvested in autumn and winter. the longer they mature, the darker they 

become. the olive branch is a symbol of abundance, glory and peace. olive oil has long 

been considered sacred; it was used to anoint kings and athletes in ancient greece. 

it was burnt in the sacred lamps of temples as well as being the "eternal flame" of the 

 original olympic games. victors in these games were crowned with its leaves.

 we bought a bottle of home-pressed extra virgin olive oil from the captain of the boat. 

 this oil is a tremendously useful stuff, it has a number of health benefits. it is a great skin

moisturizer, in part because it contains linoleic acid, a compound not made by the body, 

but which prevents water from evaporating. extra virgin olive oil makes the perfect, simple

solution for dry nails and cuticles. simply rub a few drops into the cuticle area and around 

 the nail. cuticles stay plump and moist, and nails respond with a natural shine. olive oil also 

 has benefits for your hair.  after shampooing, massage some oil into your hair. leave on for 5 

 minutes, then shampoo and rinse. your scalp will benefit from healthy conditioning; 

 your hair will respond with more shine and strength. 

 olive oil also contains at least four different antioxidants, which can help neutralize 

 damaging free radicals that can lead to skin aging and skin cancer. there are many scientific 

 studies that suggest that olive oil helps prevent and treat heart disease. studies have shown 

that olive oil offers protection against heart disease by controlling ldl ("bad") cholesterol 

levels while raising hdl ("good" cholesterol) levels. olive oil may play a part in reducing 

rates or risk of some types of cancer, particularly colon, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers.

 for maximum nutrition, quality and flavor, ideally, the olive oil you buy should not be more 

 than one year old. it should say "extra virgin." it should be harvested carefully, processed 

 quickly and minimally, stored in a cool dark environment and opened and used without too

much exposure to air.

 greece is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. the earliest evidence 

 of greek wine has been dated to 6500 years ago. 

 most of greek wines are resinated - it means that they put pine resin in it because they 

 like that taste. 

 we didn't taste their wines, but we ate huge amounts of grapes. :D we could buy fruits 

 at the market for half or third of the price than at home and everything was much more 

 finer and sweeter. no wonder, since they are local goods, not gas ripened fruits...

 

watermelon was also very-very delicious there. it is one of my favorite fruits, so i filled 

my tummy with it as often as possible. :)

this weird whitish liquor is the traditional greek aperitif called ούζο (ouzo). it is flavoured 

 with anise (reminds me of the flavour of hašlerky). it is a clear liquid, however, when water

 or ice is added, it turns a milky-white colour.

 in greece, ouzeries can be found in nearly all cities, towns, and villages. these cafe-like 
establishments (for men only!) serve ouzo with mezedes — appetizers such as octopus, 

 salad, sardines, calamari, fried zucchini, and clams, among others. It is traditionally 

 slowly sipped (usually mixed with water or ice) together with mezedes shared with others

  over a period of several hours in the early evening.

 

one night there was mussel dinner party at the hotel. cooked mussels were served for free, 

 so we decided to taste this slimy and smelly dish. i ate it for the first and last time. it tasted 

 like some muddy, smelly fish. okay, i don't say it can't be delicious if it's steamed in some 

aromatic stuff like garlic or wine, but i'm not sure i ever would feel like to eat mussels again. :D

>> neither would peter... :P

a million times finer were the ice-creams! we found this cute little place and stayed devoted to 
it for the whole week. they had many flavors of ice-creams that we had never tasted, about 20
kinds of ice lollys and other amazingly delicious sweets.

 

i can't stop myself from posting so many photos of these goodies. *yummy*

 

in the end: a couple of pictures about the two of us ^^ 

 .

HONEYMOON_PART II.

 skiathos is a small greek island in the northwest aegean sea. the island's main  town is skiathos. 
 the film mamma mia was partially filmed on skiathos and nearby island skopelos.  
 the town has an airport which has a very popular runway to watch flights land and take off.  
 the runway is very short so the planes are landing low. it is a little bit scary but also exciting.  
 the houses here are small in their majority, built close to each other. they are built of stone 
 while their external walls are whitewashed. 
 there are over 60 sandy beaches on this island, including the beautiful koukounaries beach. 
 koukounaires was named after the stone pine forests which are typical for this area. 

 

after a 4-hour bus trip on winding mountain roads we are boarding our ship 'africana' 

which took us to skiathos.  

the weather was great the whole time, it was very-very hot. the open sea was beautiful. 

we didn't see dolphins or sharks, not even one fish, but some nice yellow jellyfish appeared. 

i love them. ^^

we spent 2 hours in this lovely town. we had lunch in a restaurant. the food was delicious, 

but we missed the greek dishes. they are serving mainly western european cuisine - probably to comply with the taste of tourists. but one can always find some greek specialities like 

grilled fish, deep-fried squid, octopus in vinegar, fried shrimps, roasted lamb...

 

from skiathos we sailed to koukounaries. we stopped halfway and had an opportunity 

to jump into the water from the boat. it was exciting, we had a lot of fun. :)

 

*the beautiful koukounaries with it's golden sand and turquoise water*

 

*the coast with the pine trees*

*view from the bus*

PART III. COMING SOON ^^

HONEYMOON_PART I.

paralia is a village in the eastern part of the pieria regional unit, greece. 
we spent there a beautiful week with our best fiends. we were on our first honeymoon ^^, 
but for rita and bence it was their second, since they are married for 2 years! :)

paralia is one of the most popular resorts of the olympos riviera. 
this little town is living from the tourism. after a long and tiresome journey we went to map 
the area. of course the sea enchanted us, we tried the water immediately. 
.

bence, rita and peti found some nice little shells on the shore. i was lazy to hunt for them.
the beach was sandy, so the shells were hiding under the sand...
.

*the four of us* 
.

 

the sea and the coast were beautiful. what i missed were the typical greek houses 

with white walls and blue jalousies. there were hotels and apartments everywhere. 

and we didn't see too many greeks. the people who are working there are mainly 

seasonal workers and we met a lot of foreign people, who came to live there 

from distant countries.

 

*pure happiness* 

 

i made patrick star {spongebob squarepants' character} from my husband. :D 

 

*my man* ^^ 

 

the beach was always crowded. there were countless bars on the shore and every 

of them had a number of deck chairs. we always chose the chairs in front of the 

sugar bar, where in exchange for the chairs and the sunshade we had to order

 something. their frappé and cocktails were really delicious. ^^

 

it was a little bit unpleasant to have our swimsuits, shoes, clothes, hats, ears, noses, 

mouths etc. filled with these teeny tiny grains, but as you see, the sandy shore 

had it's positive side as well. :D

*big shell, small shell*
.

one morning we went to see the sunrise. the sun came up at 6.30 and it was strange
to me, because here in slovakia the sun used to appear on the sky so much earlier. 

 

it was cold in those early hours... nobody was on the coast except of us.
there were seagulls flying above the sea and little fishing boats floated by
in front of the sun. the waves were the only thing that broke the peaceful silence.

PART II. COMING SOON

xo

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