Living a Mediterranean Lifestyle

There really is a 'Mediterranean Lifestyle' and it has taken me until now to realize that we really are  living it!

Sailing under the Mediterranean Sun

Now, I am not sure I would have believed that lifestyles could be so different until we moved to Greece from our home in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, but I can assure you that our lifestyle here is a far different one than it was there. 

 Hydra Island - a place to relax

The Mediterranean lifestyle has been described as one in which we 'more consciously take our time' with all things; one in which we never complete all tasks at once. We find that being retired fits that same description and lends itself well to this new expat lifestyle in the Mediterranean region.  

As many of you know from my earlier writings, the seeds of living a Mediterranean lifestyle were planted way back when I first saw the 1964 Walt Disney movie, 'The Moon-Spinners' which was set in Greece.

Back then I only dared hope to visit Greece one day, I certainly never dreamed of living a Mediterranean lifestyle! That would have been simply beyond imagination.  

Now that we are living it, one of the nicest things about it is that everyone lives it somewhat differently. There are no set rules and guidelines. Yet, while researching this post, I laughed out loud when I found that someone has actually written a how-to-do-it- guide titled, 'Mediterranean Lifestyle for Dummies'.

Really? Do we need guidelines?

Now, really! You  don't need someone telling you how live your life once you've been inspired to strike out and live a bit differently.  I've found that a far better source guidance, at least a source of inspiration, is The Mediterranean Lifestyle Magazine, TML,  for short, as it is filled with travel, culinary and lifestyle inspiration to make you feel like you are here even if you aren't. (Being totally transparent: I do contribute articles to the publication, but I was reading it long before I was writing for them).

In fact, I think the editors, Elena and Melisa Koyunseven, have pretty much summed up our life in Greece with their Seven Principles of the Mediterranean Lifestyle: 

TML 7 principles of the Mediterranean Lifestyle

1. Eat healthily

Roadside fruit stand in early March

With an abundance of olive oil, fresh fruit, nuts and vegetables at our fingertips, literally year-round, it is easy to eat healthily in Greece.  

Fresh fruit and vegetables combine in this salad

One misconception about Greek eating is that we have a diet rich in seafood. We don't. Fish is scarce and can be costly.  Friends dining at a new taverna in the village had one member of their party order the 'fish of the day' for her meal without asking about weight or price. They were flabbergasted when the waiter brought a 2.3 kilo, or 5 pound fish on a platter and the cost for that fish was 200 euros!

Our friend, Captain Antonis and The Scout 

Thankfully we live in a fishing village and have other restaurant choices for less expensive fish, but still don't order it often. We seldom cook it at home.  Recently though we received a generous gift of an Amberjack Tuna from one of our fisherman friends, Captain Antonis.  And that made a most tasty meal.

2. Spend time with family and friends

The Scout with two of our four fur-kids

As expats we've made numerous new friends and have created a fur-family at our Stone House on the Hill. And we find time spent with family and friends is simply happiness on earth.

Friends gather for Easter dinner

Seldom does a week go by that we haven't joined friends for dinner, drinks or coffee somewhere in the village.  It seems easier - more spontaneous than in our other world - to get together, and once together we may spend hours together.  Life is less structured, less formal and moves at a much slower pace here so no need to rush through meals or get-togethers.

3. Find More Time to Relax

Princess demonstrates relaxation techniques

Again we turn to our four-footed family members as role-models in relaxation.  We follow suit as a day without a nap -- or at least an hour or two lazing around reading a book -- is almost unheard of  in this lifestyle. And we never fail to pause and enjoy our surroundings - after all, that is why we moved here!

Pausing to enjoy our surroundings

4.  Laugh often

Selfies on a walk home from the village - instant laughter

This is such an easy principle and expat life is conducive to laughing: at ourselves and our bloopers, at the difficulties of understanding a different culture, for so many reasons, and sometimes just because we are having such a good time!

Expat stories always good for laughter

5. Enjoy Life and the Simple Things in Life

These two are village harbor icons 

A morning stroll to the village, an errand that turns into an outing, watching day-to-day routines in the village ~ all add up to simple pleasures and make for a most enjoyable life.

Finding a small fresco tucked away in a church wall

6. Be Productive

Springtime trimming burn in the olive grove

Growing olives has definitely kept us productive - but we also participate in a number of volunteer activities that help the community, keep us involved in local life and assure that we are leading a somewhat productive existence here - perhaps, even more so than we were doing in our other life.

American expats impromptu beach cleanup

7. Stay physically active

Olive harvest day - off to the press to become oil

The rural lifestyle here offers endless opportunities for hiking, walking, biking, swimming and other outdoor activities. Also working in the garden and the grove definitely keeps us physically active. Olive harvest is a workout - don't ever let anyone tell you differently!

Hikes on the kalderimi - great exercise!

We often say we feel younger, maybe even more alive living where we do and being a part of this rural slice of the Greek Peloponnese.  The Mediterranean lifestyle agrees with us ~ 

How about you? Are you living the Mediterranean lifestyle where you live? How would you describe your lifestyle? Tell us in the comments below or send us an email. 

As always, thanks for being with us today and hope to see you back again soon.  And to our new subscribers, many thanks for signing up - it is great to have you with us!

Linking with:

Through My Lens

Travel Tuesday

Our World Tuesday

My Corner of the World Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Friendship Friday Blog Hop

Meeting Those Who Enjoy Living Abroad

'Do you know her? 'I think you two have a lot in common. You would enjoy meeting each other.' wrote the editor of an on-line magazine for whom I am writing an article on our expat life in Greece.

She was referring to Seville-based travel writer Karen McCann, who with her husband, Rich, decided to have a year's adventure abroad and now 14 years later still reside in Spain.

Karen and I explore the interior of a Mani Tower

I responded that indeed we do know each other; at least as people know each other in this blogosphere world in which we live, write and travel.  We might even know each other better than some of our IRL (in real life) family and friends know us.

In fact her 2012 book, Dancing in the Fountain, about their move to Seville was on my Pacific Northwest nightstand many years ago, along with Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence and Frances Mayes's Under the Tuscan Sun, tempting me with the idea of living somewhere in the Mediterranean 'someday'.  Back then the idea of living in Greece hadn't occurred to either of us.  

For several years  Karen and I have followed each other's adventures. As we got to 'know' each other through blog comments, we vowed that one day we would meet somewhere on this side 'of the pond'. Her blog is aptly titled, Enjoy Living Abroad.

Mediterranean Comfort Food Tour

Karen and Rich have embarked on a Mediterranean Comfort Food Tour, using public transportation to travel around the Mediterranean rim with stops in North Macedonia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Italy and France before they return to Seville in mid-August.

Karen definition of comfort food is straight from the dictionary:  

             food prepared in a traditional style having a usually nostalgic or sentimental appeal.

Ferry, bus, train and other public transportation is the McCann plan

'We are Coming to Greece'

A few weeks before their departure she wrote saying they were starting the tour in Crete and would be taking the ferry to Gythio, the port town on the 'other side' of the point on which we live in the Greek Peloponnese. Would we be free to join them for dinner?

I responded that their food tour really should include a stop in The Mani, 'our side' of the point and home to the world-famous Kalamata olive.  I mean how could one write about Greek food and not have an up-close and personal encounter with this luscious Greek ambassador?

She agreed. Arrangements were made and we were off last week to pick them up in Gythio for what would be a three-day visit. As we drove to Gythio we discussed all the things we had in common and knew we would hit it off. (We just didn't realize how well we would hit it off!)

What concerned us though was how we would show them all the culinary wonders of our area in such a short time. The Mani, stretching from the shores of the Messinian Bay to the top of the Taygetos Mountains, has such a variety of culinary delights.

Eating our Way Through The Mani

Limeni, The Mani, Peloponnese

LIMENI: We began eating about an hour after getting past the introductions. We wanted them to experience Limeni, a strikingly beautiful harbor about 40 minutes south of our home.  Two small enclaves of tourist accommodations hug the shore here. One called Limeni (for the 'harbor)) and one New Oitylo.  Oitylo, the original village sits high above the harbor on a bluff and is one of the oldest in the area. Homer wrote about it, to give you an idea of its age.

We chose a taverna at water's edge and ordered a 'small' mixed meat meze plate to share.  We were pacing ourselves, we agreed, after we'd outlined where we would like to take them during their stay.

KARDAMYLI: That evening we headed to Kardamyli, a village also dating back to Homer's time. (Agamemnon, king of Mycenae offered it to Achilles, for you history buffs). This ancient setting is home to some of the most modern Greek cuisine to be found. Tikla Restaurant and Wine Bar was our destination for 'nuevo Greek'. The newly-reopened restaurant  offered some new twists to old favorites: pumpkin risotto, pita wraps, and rooster with pasta were among the items we sampled.

Pumpkin risotto, pita wraps with Mani ham and chees and rooster were among our selections

TRAHILIO/TRACHILLA: By whatever name, the little village 'at the end of the road' was our destination the second evening together.  Akrogiali, the restaurant operated seasonally by Petro and his wife, had opened earlier last week for its summer run.  His tables, flanked by the sea on one side and the main road through town on the other, are usually packed in the summer.

The meze plate is complimentary with our wine

The setting, the hospitality and the food always combine to knock it out of the ballpark when dining here. We take all visitors here for a taste of 'real Greece'.

KASTANIA: Our 'real Greece' theme continued on Saturday when we headed up into the mountains for a visit to this village named for chestnuts. I've written before about their October Chestnut Festival.  We toured a renovated Mani Tower and a restored church here working up a thirst, which we quenched at the local taverna. . .we were the only customers.

Sipping and chatting in Kastania

While we were there 'the fruit lady' from whom we buy our fruit and veggies showed up in the village square.  We'd missed her in the morning in Stoupa, so we simply went out and made our purchases and then returned to the taverna to finish our beverages. 

Sipping and shopping in Kastania

KARYOVOUNI: Joanna's olive press restaurant, officially called Archova, after the village's original name, was our final stop on the culinary tour. It was a few miles down the narrow mountain road from Kastania. Sitting inside an old olive press, eating some of the best comfort food created in the Mani seemed the perfect way to end our time together. 

After several meze plates we shared appetizers

But a trip to our part of the Mani isn't complete without a stop at Gregg's Platea in the heart of Agios Nikolaos. Some here say Gregg, his mom Freda, and his wife Kathy ARE the heart of Agios Nikolaos.  Freda saved the morning by figuring out how to make us coffee and toast while in the midst of a Sirocco wind and sand storm and power outage!  A perfect send-off for our friends who enjoy living abroad!

Those who Enjoy Living Abroad

Thanks for being with us this week ~ check out Karen and Rich's travels on her blog and we'll see you back here next week. Safe travels to you!

Linking this week with:
Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday

Greece ~ Where Life Gives You Lemons

In this part of the world, life does give you lemons ~ the good kind, of course! And when you think of  life in the Mediterranean doesn't images of olive and lemon groves come to mind?

Lemons growing at The Stone House on the Hill

Friends who know me well can attest to my daydreams of Mediterranean life and my love affair with olive and lemon trees. Over the years in our American Pacific Northwest life, I’ve purchased and managed to kill off more potted lemons and olives than I want to admit in my quest of having a taste – however small – of  Mediterranean life.

The Lemon Tree Patio - The Stone House on the Hill

Now here I am living in the Mediterranean surrounded by olive groves and have my own enormous lemon tree. It shades and shelters the patio named after it: the Lemon Tree (Wine)Patio. The scent of lemon blossoms are wafting in the garden and lemons are being grown at a pace with which we can’t keep up. . .roasted Greek lemon chicken and potatoes, lemon cake, lemon bread pudding, lemonade and lemon-water are all on the menu.

Lemon harvest - it is spring in Greece

We’ve stunned our local Greek and British friends when we tell them that a single – small – lemon back in the U.S. Northwest was selling for $1 at our local market when we left two weeks ago.  Here, where so many are grown, that we are having a tough time giving them away!

I’ve appreciated the suggestions from many of you on ways to use the lemons. I’ve got a growing file of lemon-flavored dishes and desserts to try. One friend suggested preserving them and taking them back to the States – nice thought but those agriculture-sniffing guard beagles at the airport would likely nail me even if they were in a jar - the smell is too aromatic to stay contained in a jar.

A friend told us the story of a Greek lady going to visit her son living in Florida who packed some fresh lemons in her suitcase for him. Not only was she ‘caught’ by the US authorities and her citrus gift confiscated but she was fined several hundred dollars.

We'll just have to 'preserve' them for use here and one of my favorite ways of doing that is to make Limoncello. . .

LIMONCELLO

The Messinian Bay from The Stone House on the Hill

Limoncello is a luscious liquor that can be consumed alone as either an aperitif or digestivo, or can  be splashed into champagne or served in tonic water, think L and T vs. G and T. Or it appears in recipes for main dish flavoring or as a dessert; it is a great topping on vanilla ice cream!

I’d wanted to tell you about the origins of Limoncello but, as 'frequently happens in these circumstances, the truth is vague and the hypothesis are many and interesting,’ according to one Limoncello source. For example:

This year's crop - lemons anyone?

One story tells that Limoncello was created at the beginning of the 1900’s in a small boarding house on the island of Capri where Maria Antonia Forace cared for a garden of lemon and oranges.  Her nephew, post-war, opened a bar nearby and served old ‘nonna’s’ recipe. Another version says fishermen and farmers used the liquor to keep warm since the Saracen invasion (the first half of the 8th Century).  Others say it was invented by friars inside a monastery to ‘delight themselves between prayers’. Another credits an innkeeper in Capri.

We are probably safe in saying its roots are somewhere in the Sorrento, Amalfi, Capri area of Italy. We know that Massimo Canale registered the trademark “Limoncello” in 1988. And we know it is easy to make at home. . .if you have the patience. . .

Here's the recipe I use:

Making Limoncello

What you will need:
* 15 –20 lemons – clean, unwaxed with the thicker and more unblemished the skin the better. They should give off that ‘lemon’ scent.
* 2 (750-ml) bottles of 80-proof vodka.  Some say that cheaper is better and others say to buy higher quality so it doesn’t freeze when you chill the liquor in the freezer. If you can find Everclear, us it instead of vodka because it is pure liquor and doesn’t have any sugar in it.
* 2 – 3 cups water
*2 – 4 cups sugar (a 1:1 ratio of sugar to water makes a classic simple syrup, but use more sugar if you want yours a little thicker or sweeter.  Less if you want it a bit tart like we prefer it.)
* For this recipe you also need a larger 2 – 3 litre) glass jar with sealed lid. Wash, rinse and sterilize it.  (Old-fashioned sun tea jars work well or olive jars as in our case in Greece).
*  You’ll also need some nice glass bottles in which to put your brew once it it done.

Zesting the lemons - step one

Step 1: Lemon in Alcohol
1. Wash and dry the lemons. Cut off any skin blemishes, spots, stems, and ends.
2. Remove the peel from the lemons with a knife, peeler or fine grater/zester. Avoid the bitter white pith.  If any white pith remains on the back of a peel scrape it off as it will make the Limoncello bitter.
3. Put the peels in a glass jar and add the vodka and/or Everclear, leaving at least two inches at the top.

My lemon peels

4. Leave the lemons to steep in the jar in a cool, dark place until the peels lose their bright color, at least two weeks.  (I have left mine for 2 – 3 months before adding the simple syrup, some recipes say leave it at this stage for a month and add simple syrup then let the mixture set for another month.) Every couple of weeks swirl the peels around in the jar to mix up the oils in the alcohol.

Step 2: Make the simple syrup and add it
1. Put the sugar and water in a saucepan, stir and slowly heat until it turns clear and all the sugar is dissolved completely. Let the syrup cool.
2. Put the cooled syrup in the jar with the lemons (if you used a small jar you may need to divide the batch into two at this step).
3. Put the jars back in the dark place for at least two weeks (here, is where some say to let it macerate longer).

Key ingredients of Limoncello

Step 3: Strain and bottle
1.  Strain out the lemon peels through a coffee filter or cheesecloth and pour the Limoncello into another contrainer. Squeeze to remove all the vodka and oils that you can from the peels before discarding.
2. Stir the liquid with a clean plastic or wooden spoon.
3. Put the liquor in the clean bottles, seal tightly and let it sit for at least a week before using. For the best flavor when drinking it straight, store it in your freezer. It shouldn’t freeze because of how much alcohol is in it. It is best served ice cold.
. 
That’s it from The Stone House on the Hill this week.  I started my batch of Limoncello the same day that we set out on The Road to Residency here in Greece. We met with our attorney and turned over our document packets (that you read about a few weeks ago) to her on Sunday morning and I started the Limoncello later in the afternoon.  Tick, tock the clock has started officially running for both. . .

Until next week, thanks for being with us and safe travels to you all.

Linking this week with:
Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday
Photo Friday
Weekend Travel Inspiration