Familiarization Archives - Page 7 of 9

18/12/201013/01/2011

CHRISTMAS WISHES

Dearest friends,

The weather has finally become more “christmasy” and we can hope for a more suitable to the season atmosphere.

Of course, this year Christmas will be somehow hectic and” tight”, given all the recent developments in the country, but we must try to keep our spirits high and return to habits and practices that we might have neglected the last years. One of them is our home and the company of our close friends and family. In the past we used to focus on going out on holidays, eating out with friends, living OUT in general. Now, with the finacial difficulties we are all encountering, this has got to change, but…you know what? It’s not necessarily bad-or should I say, it’s a lot better! This is our chance to “hug” our own people again, to spend more quality time with them, to listen to them, visit them or have them visit us, cook together and eat simple and delicious food seated around large tables-or even squeezed around small tables.This is what we all grew up with, this is what our parents used to do, these are our memories-people gathered around tables! Getting together is back! Let’s all enjoy it and let us not nag and complain about the things we can’t afford anymore. We can gain our integrity and our “soul mates” back-think how important this is!

So, we wish you all, Greek and foreign, crisis-affected and non-affected,

a very happy holiday, a better New Year and health and happiness to all of you.

We will continue to inform you on a daily basis about everything going on in Athens these days.

We are working on lots of activities and events in the new year, after the turmoil of the feasts and bazaars and trips and…and….

One of them is a visit to the theatre (!), a Greek mythology group in English, (you know we already have one in French, don’t you?), Greek dance classes, visits to sites and museums, familiarisation with flavours from all over Greece, and a lot more–surprises as well!

So brace up for all that-we guarantee you will love them.

Warmest hugs and kisses to all of you.

15/12/201015/02/2011

Greek Mythology for Children in French

We have always liked telling stories.

We used to tell our children stories when they were little, but at the age of 16 and 19 they are the ones that tell us stories (usually HORROR ones).To cover our need for story- telling, we have chosen our foreign friends who seem to appreciate them greatly. Except for adults, children seem to be keen on Greek Mythology and the Greek culture in general; therefore we have decided to organize a group for children at a similar age. The children should have an interest in Greek culture because, when we meet, we will tell stories, learn Greek traditional songs, and draw.

Daidalos and Ikaros

Knowledge of Greek is not a must, since the languages spoken will be French or English.

Dear friends,
We suggest the first group to have 10 little ones aged 6-11. We think that the number guarantees their full participation without creating chaos.The program will be adapted to the interests of each age group.We have very ambitious plans for the contents of the groups that stretch from story- telling to dancing, singing, outings, drawing,Greek cooking, etc. Let’s all work to make our dream come true! More groups will follow of different ages.

Please feel free to ask for details on:

http://www.livinlovin.gr/contact/

or:

Katerina Tsitsipi

Aristotelis Makris

Nea Erythrea, Athens – Greece

tel./fax: +30-210-8077073

cell: 693-7073699

e-mail: info@livinlovin.gr

The first group this year will be in French. The next one will be in English

08/11/201026/11/2010

Young and beautiful at the Acropolis Museum (En)

Being a parent is a handful!!!
Being a parent of a teenager is a HUGE handful!!! Taking a teenager to a museum is ……(you know…). We know, we’ve been there and still are. In order to make your life easier, we had an idea: why not organize a tour of the Acropolis museum, especially designed for young people and their parents? What that means is a very experienced and highly qualified guide (who is a mother of a teenager herself) who knows exactly how to present the museum in a way that will keep everyone happy and motivated. The visit will be on Saturday 13th of November at 11:00 am and please apply soon, because we want to have time to plan ahead.

The guided tour will be in English and it’s not to be missed.

13/08/201013/10/2010

Already in Athens ?… You can always go swimming !!

The coastline of Attica offers a variety of beaches , some organised some free , where you can have fun without having to drive long distances. Here’s some of them : (contact us for details)

LEGRAINA (ΛΕΓΡΑΙΝΑ) near SOUNION

62,7 km. or 1h & 15 min from the center of Athens . Bus from PEDION AREOS

Not an organised beach. Sand and clear blue water. There is a canteen and tavernas in the area. Interesting sight : the temple of Poseidon in Sounion. There is also a detailed map of a bike path

http://trails.wwtrails.org/

PSATHA(ΨΑΘΑ) 66km. from the center ,a little before PORTO GERMENO (ΠΟΡΤΟ ΓΕΡΜΕΝΟ). Clear water ,small pebbles in and out ,many ouzo places and tavernas around. If you want meat ,go to VILIA (ΒΙΛΙΑ). Free entrance to the beach. Beautiful mountains around it. Quiet and relaxing atmosphere.

YaBaNaKi Near VARKIZA . Very well organised beach. Activities for adults and children. Restaurants ,cafe’s and bars. Rooms also available where you can rest or spend the night. http://www.yabanaki.gr/
PORTO RAFTI (ΠΟΡΤΟ ΡΑΦΤΙ) 43,3 km. from the center. Clear water and good for swimming ,free beaches. Lots of fish tavernas in the area – we recommend BIBIKOS.

ASTIR BEACH www.astir-beach.com

Situated in Vouliagmeni 20,7 km. from the center of Athens. Only 30 min. by car . Also accessible by tram from Syntagma or Faliron as far as Glyfada or Voula and the by bus No 114 to the entrance. Very cosmopolitan. You might see your face in a life style magazine. Water sports available . Eating : TGI FRIDAYS ,STARBUCKS.

11/07/201028/10/2010

LYSISTRATE means: “She who ended the War”

Another event we are organizing is a visit to Epidavros on the 16 and 17/7 to watch one of Aristophanes’ most famous anti-war comedies, Lysistrate. Don’t worry about it being in Greek, we will prepare it beforehand. The visit will include a stay at a hotel in Nafplio after the performance, a swim or a walk in Nafplio and a visit to an exhibition of Fred Boissonas in the morning and a relaxed return to Athens. If you don’t feel like driving there, we could all hire a mini van. Just answer in time so that we can organize the whole event better.

Une autre chose qu’on organise est plus tard, le 16 et 17 Juillet a Epidaure. La il y aura une piece de theatre, une comedie d’Aristophane, ‘Lysistrate’. Je vous ecoute dire:’mais c’est en Grec ! Eh bien, on vous prepare avant,on va vous donner la piece en francais,on va le lire ensemble,etc.

Repondez vite pour s’organiser mieux.

Merci !

16/04/201026/12/2010

CORNUCOPIA

To your surprise, today we are going to talk to you about a word in English that comes from Latin that comes from Greek!!!

The word is CORNUCOPIA, which in English means “HORN OF PLENTY». The roots of the word are CORNU (horn) and COPIA (plenty), but the amusing part is the myth behind it!

Well, dear friends, you may know Zeus, who was God of all Gods. When Zeus was born, his mother Rea hid him in a cave in Crete (Ideon Andron, you can visit it today) to save him from his father Kronus , who had the habit of eating his children as soon as they were born in order to protect his throne (hmmmm!). His mother had enough already, so she hid little Zeus there, asked a goat, Amalthea, to feed him with her milk and appointed a group of warriors, the Kourites, to bang their spears on their shields every time little Zeus cried, so that Kronus wouldn’t hear. Surrounded by all that crowd little Zeus grew and grew, until one day, while playing with Amalthea, he broke one of her horns – you get really strong if you drink goat’s milk, you know! Poor Amalthea was very distressed, so Zeus promised her that the broken horn would always be full of all the goods she desired.

Later on, in Roman mythology, the horn became the symbol of goddess Copia, the personification of plenty and nowadays it is used to refer to an abundance of something!

The moral (-s) of this story are: drink goat’s milk, it’s good for you.

Don’t eat your children; it’s bad for you and nature.

14/03/201014/06/2010

Dance with us !

Sometimes during an event we feel very intensely “God, it’s so beautiful! I wish more people could attend it!” That’s how we felt last Friday at the Lykeion during our event on Greek tradition.

The guide was amazing, she switched from English to German and then to French without hesitating when she saw that it would be easier for some of our friends to follow what she was saying.

The things she told us were extremely interesting,we saw costumes

and learned their background and history,about the various fabrics they used and why, how the costumes were related to the historical and social events and lots of other things.

Then the dancing lesson, then dancing with the professional team of the Lykeion,

their hospitality and friendliness,…it was all so beautiful!

We loved it, we loved being with all of you and getting you into our life and culture. We like your openness, your interest in learning more about the country you live in,either permanently or temporarily, and we are here to offer you more chances to do that. Don’t think that we are the only ones who offer,we learn from you as well,we learn about your cultures, we want to meet you because we like open-minded people wherever they come from.Thanks for your participation and we are confident we will see you again at our next event. Don’t forget,we’ve only just begun!

28/02/201014/03/2010

1rst Livin’Lovin’ Walk

Yesterday, 14 of Livin’Lovin’ friends and our guide went to Parnitha !

It was our first walk in nature with Livin’ Lovin’ friends and we liked it so much, and we had such a good time, that it was only the first one of a series of walks and trekking.

In the future various level groups will be formed so check our site constantly.

The few clouds in the morning worried us at first, but up in the mountain the weather was beautiful, the atmosphere was clear,so clear, that you could see the Marathon lake and even Evia. The first part of the walk lasted 1hour and 45 min. through black pines and fir trees.

We reached the shelter, where we had tea, spaghetti, spinach pie, cakes and tsipouro (as you can imagine the second part was a lot easier!).

After the break, it took us another 20 min. to get to the cars.

Our guide was very efficient but also very thoughtful. He cared about everyone, and he wanted to make sure that everyone was having a good time. We loved him !

(more photographs will follow)

Will you join us next time?

28/02/201006/07/2010

a new event: Greek Tradition !!!

You can’t imagine how excited I am!

I’ve just come home from the centre of Athens where I visited the Lyceum Club of Greek Women, which was founded in 1911 in Greece by Callirroe Parren,

a pioneer of the feminist movement in Greece and the first woman journalist.

The Lyceum is a volunteer organization which has, for 93 years, played an important role in the preservation and presentation of Greek cultural traditions and folk customs.

Why all that? Because we are organizing an event there for you, which will involve a visit to their exhibition of traditional costumes,dancing, and we’ll say no more!