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STEVE
THURLOW.COM
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| Wine, enjoyed in moderation, is a healthy food which enriches life. Greece - Wine, Cuisine, History and Culture 11 Days - October 8 to 19, 2009 Crete, Santorini, Peloponnese and Athens Send Steve an email if this trip interests. Register | Price | Itinerary | Trip Extension
Visit wineries, see some of the world's best Bronze Age, Mycenaean and ancient Greek ruins, learn how to cook Cretan style, discover the importance of the Cretan diet to health, dine in splendid traditional settings at wineries with their owners and winemakers, bathe in the warm Mediterranean and soak up the warm autumn sunshine. Experience Santorini, one of the world's most beautiful places, wander in streets little changed since antiquity and shop in traditional markets for the freshest produce. In October each year after summer in Toronto, there is plenty of warm sunshine in southern Greece; daily highs of 25-27°C and lows of 16-18°C. |
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As well as tasting and dining at all the major wineries we will find time to visit Knossos and Festos in Crete, Akrotiri in Santorini, and Mycenae, Ancient Nemea, and Epidavros in the Peloponnese. Staying in three luxury seaside hotels near Malia on Crete, Thira on Santorini and Nafplion in the Peloponnese, the visit will culminate with a brief one day visit to the centre of Athens including the Acropolis.
Go here to see photos of a previous trip to Greece.
If all this sounds like too hectic a pace, don't worry. There will be time for relaxing by the pool in the warm sunshine and wandering around some of the beautiful towns and villages that lie along our route. |
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For those who can spare another few days we suggest staying on a while longer to visit Athens. We will arrange a hotel downtown Athens of your choice and delay the return flight to Canada for a small additional fee. Email: Steve Thurlow steve@stevethurlow.com or Telephone: Steve on 416-878-7955 and then Mail Steve Registration Form MSWORD or Registration Form PDF |
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The trip price assumes double occupancy and includes scheduled flights with Olympic Airlines from Toronto flying out to Heraklion via Athens and returning from Athens direct to Toronto. It also includes all hotels, continental breakfasts, winery visits and tastings, and 11 meals with wines. Also included is the flight from Santorini to Athens, and the high speed ferry from Crete to Santorini plus luxury coach transportation elsewhere. The price for the 11 day trip is C$4195 per person assuming double occupancy. |
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Thursday October 8th, 2009 Day 1: Friday 9th – Malia, Crete
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Located right on the beach the hotel buildings are surrounded by lush gardens. There is an olympic size pool plus all the amenities you would expect at a 4 star hotel.
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After a chance to rest after the flight at the hotel, in the evening there will be a welcome cocktail gathering followed by a relaxing dinner at the Kalypso Taverna across the street from our hotel.
A selection of wines will be served with a buffet designed to show off the diversity and richness of Cretan cuisine in the company of some of your winery hosts during the trip. |
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Day 2: Saturday 10th- Cooking School, Knossos and Boutari Winery, Crete After breakfast, the morning will be filled with a cooking class. Assist with the preparation of lunch at the Kalypso Taverna under the expert guidance of Christos Veneris and his team. |
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Learn about the range of fresh produce, herbs, fish, meat, vegetables and fruits that are available. Cretans are at the top of the world’s longevity list due to a low incidence of cancer, cardiovascular and neurological disease, largely attributable to diet and lifestyle. This will be explained in detail during the cooking class and over the lunch. | ||||||||
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| We will sample wines from the Lyrarakis Winery during lunch. | |||||||||
| The afternoon will be free for relaxing at the hotel or catching the sun on the beach. | |||||||||
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Late afternoon we depart for a visit to Knossos the world famous archaeological site from Bronze Age Crete.
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Afterwards we continue to the Boutari winery for a tour and tasting followed by dinner.
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Day 3: Sunday 11th– Festos and Dafnes, Crete Up early this morning to cross to the south of the island to visit the ruins of Festos before the heat of the day. This is the second most important Bronze Age settlement discovered on Crete. After Festos, we will visit Ktima Zaharioudaki Winery perched on top
of a hill nearby with a splendid view over the southern plain. There will
be a tasting followed by a traditional Cretan lunch.
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| We then head back to our hotel in Malia stopping briefly in Dafnes to visit the Dulufakis Winery. Evening will be free. | |||||||||
| Day 4: Monday 12th– Sitia and Moni Toplou,
Crete After breakfast we depart for a visit to the less developed eastern part of the island. We pass over the coastal mountains to Sitia and then to Moni Toplou. |
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| This monastery, in a remote corner of the island, is famous for its production of olive oil and wine. We will visit both facilities before taking a traditional lunch. The visit will conclude at the monastery church. | |||||||||
Abbot Filotheos will be our host. |
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The drive back to our hotel is towards the setting sun. The evening will be free.
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Day 5: Tuesday 13th – Crete to Santorini After breakfast we check out of our Malia hotel and depart for the ferry to Santorini, where we arrive at midday.
We check in to the Thallassa Seaside Resort on Kamari Beach where you will be free to explore the many local tavernas and cafes, to take a swim in the crystal clear waters or maybe to relax by the pool.
That evening the nearby Santos Winery will host a tasting of many of the wines of the island followed by a dinner. The winery is perched on the rim of the caldera and is famous for sunset views over the sea.
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Day 6: Wednesday 14th – Santorini
After a breakfast we depart for a visit to Fira town. Some will want to visit the museum of Prehistoric Santorini, some may prefer shopping or to wander the town. The ancient site of Akrotiri closed for several years may again be open to the public this October, in which case we will visit there instead. Late morning we will be at the Boutari winery for a tasting and lunch before returning to the hotel for a relaxing afternoon.
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Early evening we drive along the rim of the caldera to the north of the island towards the town of Oia, stopping for a tasting at the Sigalas Winery. | ||||||||
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| After the tasting at Sigalas it is time to visit the town of Oia and to experience one of the world most famous sunsets. | |||||||||
| That evening we will take dinner in a seaside taverna along with many of the winemakers of Santorini. | |||||||||
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Day 7: Thursday 15th- Santorini to Peloponnese Late morning we leave for the airport for our 50 minute flight to Athens. We then drive south into the Peloponnese region stopping for a tour and tasting at Domaine Skouras.
After Dom. Skouras we drive south and are soon in the port town of Nafplion where we check in to Pensione Marianna late that afternoon. |
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Day 8: Friday 16th– Mycenae and Nemea We leave this morning to visit the nearby ruins of the city of Mycenae.
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The city was the base for an empire that became the dominant power in the region including Crete and Santorini between 1400 and 1200 BC around the supposed time of the Trojan war. The civilization that flourished here established many of the principles that later developed into classical Greek society. We return to the hotel late morning for some free time to wander in Nafplion or maybe lounge on the beach.
Late afternoon we leave for the Koutsi region to visit 2 wineries Gaia and Semeli. We take dinner at the second.
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Day 9: Saturday 17th– Nemea
This morning we will visit the site of Ancient Nemea, one of the locations of the classical games that were the basis for the modern Olympic Games.
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We then go to Palivou winery for a tasting and light refreshment before we head over the hills with breathtaking views of the Nemea Valley to the Kartogi Winery for a tasting and late lunch.
Late afternoon we return to the hotel. Evening is free. |
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Day 10: Sunday 18th- Epidavros, Corinth and Athens After breakfast we check out of the hotel for the short drive to Epidavros. Here we visit the amazingly well preserved enormous open air theatre built in the 4th century BC. The original 34 rows were extended in Roman times by another 21 rows. The theatre is marveled for its exceptional acoustics, which permit almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken word from the proscenium to all 15,000 spectators, regardless of their seating.
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We then head towards Athens stopping
briefly to wonder at the Corinth canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth
with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnesian peninsula from the Greek mainland and therefore effectively making the former an island. The canal is 6.3 km. in length and was built between 1881 and 1893. The Corinth Canal is considered a great technical achievement for its time. It saves the 400 km. long journey around the Peloponnesus for smaller ships, but since it is only 21 m wide it is too narrow for modern ocean freighters |
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By lunchtime we will be in the centre of Athens in the famous Plaka market district for shopping and a bite to eat or to visit some of the ancient monuments.
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Late afternoon we gather at the Acropolis for a tour of the Parthenon.
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We then head to the airport to check into the 5 star luxury Sofitel Athens Airport Hotel. Our closing group dinner at the hotel will bring our trip to a conclusion. Day 11: Monday 19th October, 2009 – Athens/Toronto Breakfast will be served on the plane. |
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The main itinerary stops for only a few hours in the magnificent city of Athens to give a glimpse of what there is to see. Some travelers will return at a later date but some may wish to extend the tour by staying a few additional nights unaccompanied in downtown Athens delaying their return flight. When booking indicate this preference on the registration form and we can make the arrangements for your return flight to be delayed (for a small fee) and for accommodation in a hotel of your choice downtown Athens. Conditions The above itinerary is as planned. However we reserve the right to make adjustments depending upon weather and other constraints, to substitute visits to alternative wineries and to arrange accommodation at similar standard hotels in the towns mentioned. Prices are for double occupancy in twin and double rooms (single supplement on request), flights are in economy (business class upgrade available) on scheduled flights to and from Toronto. Air and hotels subject to availability. The price is C$4195 and covers flights, ferry to Santorini and ground transportation in Greece, bed and breakfast hotel accommodation, 11 meals with wine but does not include Airport Taxes and Fuel Surcharges which are subject to fluctuation (in February 2009 taxes and fees totaled $499.03). This price is correct at present but may change as a result of currency variations, airline surcharges or other circumstances beyond our control. In accordance with the Ontario Industry Travel Act, below is the registered name, address and registration number of the provider of the travel services: K. Walsh &
Associates, 1240 Bay Street, Suite 700, Toronto, ON, M5R 2A7 Home | Festivals | Tastings | Consulting | Qualifications | Reviews | About Steve | Contact Us | Events |
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The
evening will be free to explore this port town which was once the capital
of Greece. There are many restaurants to choose from, with the focus on
seafood.
