Weekly supplement by Insider Publications • insider-publications.com • facebook.com/insiderpublications • No 66 • Friday, June 19, 2015 MUSIC Robbie Williams
THEATRE Electra
Experience Electra, a masterpiece of ancient drama in a new and phenomenal production with subtitles in English, French and other languages. Until September 26. Badminton Theatre, Goudi. Badmintontheater.gr
Robbie Williams, the one-time bad boy of pop, and possibly future 007 comes to Athens as part of the Let me entertain you tour. June 20. TerraVibe Park, 37th km Athens-Lamia highway. rockwavefestival.gr
TRAVEL
Pocket-sized Paxoi
Αn enchanting Ionian hideaway
According to ancient Greek myth, Poseidon, the God of the Sea, created Paxoi, by striking his trident off the coast of Corfu, forging this paradise hideaway. It is said that both islands were the secret love nest of Poseidon and the sea-nymph goddess, Amphitrite. Christina Michele Rios travels to pocket-sized Paxos and its even smaller companion, Antipaxos. Unplug from reality, put down that mobile and leave your laptop behind, its time to recharge on ‘island time.’ Getting there From mainland Greece, take the ferryboat from Igoumenitsa, you can also bring your car onboard. Alternatively, fly from Athens to Corfu and take either the express flying dolphin or slower ferryboat to Paxos. Dining out Paxos has quite a few culinary aces up its sleeves; there is no shortage of delectable cuisine to say the least. Our favourite is Biros Taverna in Bogdanatika, birostavern.gr. Step inside a magical garden decorated like the quirky tea party in Alice in Wonderland. The menu is forward thinking with fresh and locally sourced ingredients and features Mediterranean cuisine with a playful twist. Carnayo Gold in Mongonisi is a delightful lunch spot on the island, located on
a picturesque sailing boat marina and is one of our preferred places to watch the sunset with a refreshing fresh lemongelato mojito in hand. The restaurant has delicious authentic Napoli pizza as one of the owners is from Naples. Insider tip: you can also hire your own speedboat for the day from the marina for as little as 60 euro a day, including petrol. Sunbathing and dipping Kipiadi Beach has a long, wide coast with large pebbles and amazingly clear waters. It is unorganized and there is no taverna, so come prepared with water and food in tow. Monodendri Beach in Loggos wins hands down as the best beach on the island. Ben’s beach Bar, owned by a GreekBritish family, that boasts delicious cocktails, friendly service and soothing lounge music, is a great pit-stop. There are
boardwalks, vibrant gardens, palm-leaf umbrellas, sunbeds, hammocks, paddleboards and kayaks - all available free to customers. For a lunch meze, head up to the neighbouring taverna, owned by the same family. Stay at: Bayview villas in Gaios, pitharivillas.gr and Adamantia in Bogdanatika just outside Gaios, adamantiahotel.gr/en are both rustic, quaint and romantic. Exploring the island and neighbouring Antipaxos Paxos can easily be explored by car, either hire a car there or arrange a taxi. Antipaxos is best explored by boat; there is a regular water taxi from Gaios or the option to hire your own boat for the day to explore hidden coves and the East side of the island. We recommend the latter. Antipaxos is a must-see. Specifically, Voutoumi Beach which is one of the most beautiful beaches in the whole of Greece. The water is simply majestic. High above the beach, 200 steps up, is Bella Vista Taverna, which like its name suggests, has incredible panoramic views. We recommend ordering the local white wine, a Greek salad, calamari and bringing a camera!
UPCOMING EVENTS Litterature Festival LEA The 7th edition of LEA, entitled ‘The magic of Ibero-American Literature captivates Greece’ features literary discussions and book launches. Until June 20. Technopolis, Gazi. lea-festival.gr
CULTURE FEST Light up the night
Exhibition
A four-day celebration at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation with activities through the night, including an evening run. June 21 to 24. SNF, Faliro Delta. snfcc.gr
Comicdom Con Athens A comic festival hosting international guests, including “Great American Comics: Highlights from the Cartoon Art to Museum Collection” exhibition. 24-26 April at Hellenic American Union, Massalias 22, Kolonaki, 210.368.0900, hau.gr
TV THIS WEEK
CITY LIFE
Tyrant 2
A bar, a view, a story
There are bars that quench your desire for something giddy and new, and then there are bars who combine their instinctive concoctions with an intoxicating view, but few weave a tale of their own that etch themselves permanently into your repertoire of experiences – the ones that will feature in anecdotes years later or as a chapter in ones memoirs. Point A at the Herodion Hotel qualifies in the latter category. The bar itself is a consistent cue of the proximity it shares with Athens’ best known landmarks – coasters and napkins have the numbers 289 and 85 marked on them like some secret code to remind us of the distance (in metres!) from the Acropolis and the new museum respectively. It is a fun trivia that transforms itself as a clever marketing strategy as well as a brand identity for Point A because here, you don’t need to crane your neck to see the sights or peer through a blurred silhouette of the famous temple – the Acropolis is smack in front of your face! While the setting is magical, the design elements at Point A get full marks too. A terrace with a wooden deck, subtle lighting and a casually elegant atmosphere, Point A is perfect for a drink to watch the sun loom over the temple before it turns into a fiery red ball or for a quiet moonlit dinner. The bar also serves as a gallery showcasing some of Greece’s most talented artists and sculptors, scouted from the neighbouring El. Marneri and Technohoros galleries. For those who’d rather nurse their drinks as veteran barflies, watching bartender
Bassam “Barry” Al-Fayeed, the youngest son of an infamous Middle-Eastern tyrant must now guide the new President, his brutal and unstable older brother Jamal. Every Wednesday at 21:20 on Fox
Bones 5
Lefteris Sofatzis, play alchemist, the high bar-stools prove to be a perfect perch to observe the sublime skills required to place a delicately-seared tapas on a chilled Greek-inspired cocktail. So expect to find a perfectly paired nibble to accompany your customised drink! Indulge in the power combos of Green Power and Beijing duck, Roselin and Crostini salmon or a Mojo Mojito and Shrimp tempura, or suggest your own variation. If you’d like to linger a little longer to savour chefs Manolis Mavrigiannakis and Marios Pirpiridis’s scrumptiously innovative summer menu, we’d highly recommend the smoked eggplant spread with caramelized baby onions and small tuna brûlée or the lightly grilled sea bass served with crunchy ‘almyra’. For meatlovers, try the slow-cooked lamb with noodles and ‘myzithra’ and ‘capricó’ pork served with lemon marmalade. A new watering-hole that offers so much more, Point A is a great excuse to play tourist for an evening to re-discover the city and to indulge in some serious story-telling! 5th floor, Hotel Herodion,4, Rovertou Galli street, Acropolis. For reservations: 210 9236832; acropolispoint.com
Bones covers the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth to forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan. Every Thursday at 21:00 on FoxLife Watch FOX on OTE TV
CINEMA THIS WEEK
Entourage
Movie star Vincent Chase, together with his boys Eric, Turtle, and Johnny, are back - and back in business with super agent-turned-studio head Ari Gold on a risky project that will serve as Vince’s directorial debut.
Spy
A desk-bound CIA analyst volunteers to go undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, and prevent diabolical global disaster.
Strange Cities: Athens An exhibition of images of Athens that seeks to arouse the curiosity and of artists and visitors alike. Until June 28. Onassis Cultural Centre, Syngrou Avenue. sgt.gr
Cinema Athens Open Air Festival The Athens Open Air Film Festival takes place for the 5th year in a row, with more than 20 hand-picked projections in the capital’s most prominent neighborhoods, converting Athens into a luminous film oasis.cinemag.gr/aoaff Until September 30.
FAVOURITE FIVE
The grape and the good
which the cork reseals. Voilà, a sneaky way meticulously selected from Greek and interto taste that Margaux you’d squirreled away national producers. And with wines offered in measures from 25ml, 75ml and 15ml, for posterity! you can try several!
By Cordelia Madden-Kanellopoulou Recently, wine bars have popped up aplenty in Athens. They follow a global trend, but also reflect increasing interest in Greek wines. Here are five favourite spots to quaff this country’s worthiest wines, either matched with regional cheeses, or sampled alongside some of the world’s most prestigious vintages.
Vintage: If decision-making is not your strong suit, the awe-inspiring 20 pages of wines offered by the glass (including such gems as Chateau d’Yquem and Cheval Blanc) could induce dizziness even before your first sip. But help is at hand in the friendly form of owner Panos, talking you through the list, arranging ‘flight’ tastings at a moment’s notice, and responding to your incredulous queries about storing such a vast number of opened wines. The answer is an ingenious device called Coravin, which syringes through the cork, draws out a glassful, and fills the space with argon gas, after
Oktana: Sideways brought Pinot Noir to the masses. But the delicate grape already enjoyed a loyal fan base: the brown bears of northern Greece. These discerning tasters so love Pinot that they sneak into vineyards and carefully pluck the grapes without disturbing the vines, so as to have more for next time. At Oktana, a friendly little Pangrati wine bar run by Katogi & Strofilia winery, try their limited edition Rossiu di Munte Pinot Noir from Epirus. Deliciously fruity and mature – no wonder the bears love it!
Winepoint: Well ahead of the trend, this was one of Athens’ first wine bars, opening in 2011. The emphasis here is on Greek wines, with a respectable list of the country’s finest, and owner Xenofon organises frequent events promoting local producers. When you need something more substantial than the delicious tasting platters here, stroll down the street to Aglio Olio & Peperoncino, serving arguably the best pasta in Athens. GB Rooftop: It’s not a wine bar as such, but the restaurant’s wine list won the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2014, and a good many are offered by the glass too. The view you enjoy across the sparkling city, day or night, as you sip, is stupendous. Plus they give complimentary macadamia nuts. It’s like Tiffany’s, nothing bad could happen to you here.
By the Glass: There’s so much to love about this classy wine bar. The sheltered arcade and courtyard; the high-ceilinged interior with shelves of resting wines; the superlative risotto with truffle; and, of course, the wines themselves. Owner Fotini works a dispensary system, so the list is not exhaustive, but
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