Enjoy Karpathos from home 2020

1. Watch a movie

The comedy My Life is Ruins with actress Nia Vardalos, who also starred in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, takes you to the summer time in Greece. Nia plays the role of Georgia. She is a tour guide and has to take a group of American tourists sightseeing on a bus without air-conditioning and with a mysterious bearded silent driver. Georgia has to find her “kefi” (κεφι), as the Greeks call it. It’s un uplifting movie where you will recognize things from the Greek mentality in some of the characters. Sounds good? My Big Fat Greek Wedding is also a must if you haven’t seen it yet.

What’s your favorite Greek movie?

2. Prepare a Greek Meze platter

Who wouldn’t agree that Greek food makes us all very happy? So get the taste of Karpathos into your home and enjoy!
Prepare a platter with tzatziki, olives, fava (yellow split pea puree), some pita-bread, feta and all the other delicious things that come to mind. Check at your local supermarket or deli what kind of Greek products they have and don’t forget to buy some ouzo.
You’ll also need olive oil to drizzle everything with and oregano herbs to sprinkle on your food.

Makarounes

Another idea is to make your own makarounes plate. Simply take a pasta that resembles makarounes if you didn’t bring makarounes pasta home from your last holiday on Karpathos. Something like penne pasta works just fine. Boil it and combine the cooked pasta with sautéed onions, garlic, butter, and a generous amount of grated sheep’s or goat’s cheese and olive oil. Enjoy and don’t forget to zip from your ouzo!

3. Listen to Greek music

Put on some Greek music and get into the Karpathos mood. Open-up Spotify and start browsing for Greek songs or listen to classic taverna music. Here is a link to traditional songs from Karpathos via a Spotify playlist:

You can also learn to sing the Greek summer song To Kalokairi Mou! The video below even has English subtitles so now you’ll also know what you’re singing about.

4. Go on a self-guided virtual experience

Spend an afternoon at the Acropolis while at home through your internet connection. Simply open up your laptop or a smart device and buy one of the virtual tours in Greece from the company Clio Muse. Here is the link to the Acropolis Hill Self Guided Virtual Experience: https://cliomusetours.com/tours/acropolis-hill-self-guided-virtual-experience/.

Hopefully we can offer a similar virtual tour of one of the Art and Walk tours in the future.

5. Cheers with Raki

Go to the liquor store and buy some Raki (or Tsipouro). Raki is the local digestif that they almost always serve after a meal on Karpathos. It is a pure grape distillate, similar to Italian Grappa, but not to be confused with the Turkish Raki as that confusingly enough tastes like Ouzo.

Drink a Raki after dinner or have a shot of Raki in the afternoon. Enjoy the sun in your garden and call up your friends or family for a digital toast. Organize a WhatsAperitif or a FaceWine and toast to all things you are lucky enough to have! Just remember to enjoy but drink in moderation.

6. Get yourself a lemon or olive tree at home

Visit your local garden center and look for a beautiful olive tree. Why not try to grow your own olives and harvest them later on? You can also opt for a lemon tree and use the lemons for your dishes to squeeze them out on the food. You can also make limoncello with lemon peels and Greek Raki! Check with your garden center on how to take care of these kinds of trees at home.

7. Paint a stone with the Greek Evil Eye

Karpathian homes always have Greek Evil Eyes known as “mati” (μάτι) hanging around to protect them from evil thoughts. Take a stone and start drawing one big circular shape and paint it blue. Paint another circular shape inside of it in white and continue with more circles and different colors until you’re satisfied with your Evil Eye. This also works on a glass, bottle, or anything else you want to paint on. If you have mosaic pieces of tile or glass then you can also create a Greek Evil Eye mosaic.

Which activities will you try at home?

Let us know which you liked and how you brought Karpathos into your home.

We hope we can soon welcome you on Karpathos again.

Cheers, Thom & Renate

PS. If you haven’t heard about our November Olive Picking Holiday yet, here is a link: https://artandwalk.com/tour/november-olive-picking-holiday/