Jasmin & Olives

Heraklion
"The city of Hercules", is a city where the past and live together, and where in small classrooms sung with accompaniment of the lyre and santouri, the musical instruments of the island. The archaeological museum in Heraklion is the only museum in the world where pure Minoan art (finds from palaces of Knossos and Phaistos) are preserved, such as ceramics, utensils, jewelry, statues (including the snake goddess) and frescoes from the palaces. From the beautiful gold jewelry, many copies as souvenirs.

Knossos
The palace complex at Knossos, 5 km outside Heraklion is one of the archaeological sites where restoration and reconstruction variance has occurred. The whole complex of excavations, with an area of ??2.5 hectares includes the remains of a luxurious palace in ancient times perhaps five floors with nearly 1,500 rooms counted. The palace was decorated with colorful paintings. In huge stock cellars were beautifully painted jars for wine, grain and oil found. Most original finds are housed in the archaeological museum in Heraklion, the reconstruction is used replicas. The palace had such a complex layout that he believed that the archaeologist with the original labyrinth was dealing with. This labyrinth Several well-known figures from Greek mythology connected as Minotaur (a monster half man, half bull) the hero Theseus and princess Ariadne, Daedalus and his son Icarus.

Phaistos (Phaistos)
After the ruins of the palace of King Minos at Knossos, Phaistos is situated on the south coast of Crete, the second major city to Minos remember. Here are the foundations, walls and stairs to see a large Minoan palace and the accompanying civil settlement. Because these buildings were not reconstructed - as in Knossos - in Phaistos only foundations, walls and stairs to see.

Other interesting historical tourist places in Crete are:
* Gortys: Roman ruin city with a famous archaic inscription hundred meters (approx. 17,000 characters) on a wall, the so-called "Laws of Gortyna."
* Agia Triada: Excavations of the remains of a Minoan villa (sort of summer palace) with a wealth of artifacts.
* The birth cave of Zeus: One of the many caves on the Lasithi plateau, with now only a few of the thousands of windmills that once stood there.
* Idi Oros (2456 meters): Highest peak of the central mountains of Crete and part of the year covered with snow, where according to mythology, Zeus was raised by the goat Amalthea.
* Arkadi: The monastery at the foot of Mount Ida, museum and symbol of the Cretan struggle for freedom against the Turks because of the mass suicide of the besieged partisans.
* Rethymnon: Port town with Venetian fortress, old (Turkish) houses, small, intimate streets and minarets. Many nice restaurants and the oldest lighthouse in Europe.

Our house is an information book where many tourist tips are described (including some lesser known places and attractions, we describe).

From the Netherlands

Ryanair offers direct flights to Heraklion, departure from Amsterdam and Eindhoven: www.transavia.com

Martinair flies from Amsterdam to Heraklion: www.martinair.nl.

Arkefly offers flights from Amsterdam to Heraklion and the ability to Comfort Class or Business Class to book: www.arkefly.nl

From Belgium
Brussels, Liege and Ostend are departure points for Heraklion. Chania is to fly from Brussels. Rates starting at € 59.99 one way including airport taxes. www.jetairfly.com

From Germany
From Düsseldorf and Cologne / Bonn can be flown with Tuifly (www.tuifly.com) to Heraklion. Rates all in one way from € 869, -.
Chania is only possible to fly from Stuttgart and Munich.

With German Wings is possible from € 19, - one way including taxes to fly to Heraklion. Departure from Cologne / Bonn. Reservations are possible at www.germanwings.com

LTU flies from Dusseldorf to Heraklion. Prices start at € 115, - single trip, including taxes. www.ltu.de. It is possible for the flight in Economy or Business Class reservations.

The Greek carrier Aegean Air flies from Dusseldorf to both Heraklion and Chania. Prices start from € 69, - plus tax.

With Condor is possible to fly from Dusseldorf to Heraklion. Condor has occasional special offers which, for € 29, - one way excluding taxes can be flown. Website: www.condor.com

All destinations (scheduled flights)
Olympic Airways offers year round flights (with stopover in Athens). A return ticket Athens begins with departure from Dusseldorf at a rate of € 120, - (return, excluding taxes). From Brussels and Amsterdam to Athens is the rate from € 145, - (return, excluding taxes).

KLM also offers flights to Athens. Then it is possible for a flight to Heraklion or Chania books with Olympic Airways and / or Aegean Air.

It is advisable to use a rental car during your stay at Villa Adonis. Our property is poorly served by public transport. We use a car rental company with a good reputation and that almost 20 years. If you want to use this company you will be picked up at the airport and chauffeured to Villa Adonis charged. Also for the journey is to arrange this. The transfer to and from the airport and our house is a service of the car rental and this will be no extra charge. Like to indicate when booking. Of course it is also possible to Heraklion or Chania airport using one of the car rental companies located there.

Time:
In Greece, an hour later than in the Netherlands.

Language:
The official language is Greek. But with English and German, you can visit often.

Temperature:
Crete has a Mediterranean climate, with fairly mild winters and warm summers. In the months June to September there is almost no rain. In winter it rains regularly and can be cold. The best travel season is April to October. In April and the first half of May, the sea is still a bit on the cold side. In October it is still very pleasant to sit in the sea.

Voltage:
The voltage is 220 volts as in the Netherlands.

Water: It is not advisable to drink tap water. The taste of what the water tastes like chlorine, but it can not hurt to use the water when brushing teeth or cooking.

GSM:
A Dutch mobile phone also works in Greece. Please note that no provider 100% coverage. Please note that mobile phones can be quite expensive. The prefix for Greece is 0030 and for the Netherlands from Greece, 0031.

Travel documents:
You must be in possession of a valid passport or valid identity card.

Holidays:
January 1 - New Years Day (national)
January 6 - Epifania / Epiphany (national)
25 March - Independence Day (National) May 1 - Labor Day (national)
May 20 to 27 - Battle of Crete Remembrance 1941 Sports Festival & Chania
August 6 - Transfiguration of Christ
August 15 - Panagia / Assumption (national)
August 25 - Procession Holy Titus, Heraklion
28 October - Ochi Day
7 to 9 November - Remembrance Arkadi monastery fall of 1866
25 December - Christmas
26 December - Boxing Day

Variable holidays (national):
Shrove Tuesday (February / March)
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday & Easter (March / April)
Pentecost (May / June)

Dutch newspapers and magazines
Newspapers like The Guardian, the Algemeen Dagblad De Volkskrant and are well on Crete to obtain, especially in tourist places. The Dutch newspapers that are sold are a day old or even the same day. Furthermore also sold magazines such as the famous tabloids (Private, Weekend, Story, Party, Panorama, Loc, Nieuwe Revu, Libelle, Margriet and Flair).

Enjoying life in Greece is often associated with one of the delicious dishes. We have some examples on this site. To prepare for the holidays or to take the spot and ready.

Description:
Jemista - Tomatoes filled with rice for 4 people.
Preparation time: 145 minutes.
Ingredients:
12 medium tomatoes (or peppers), 1/2 cup oil,
1 cup rice,
3/4 pounds potatoes,
2 large onions, finely sliced
1/2 cup breadcrumbs,
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 tablespoon cumin,
salt and pepper.

Preparation: Wash the tomatoes dry. At the top cut off and keep the cap with a spoon all the pulp from the tomatoes and create separation. The tomatoes in salts. Peel the potatoes, wash and cut into quarters. The flesh of the tomato puree, and with the onion and 1 cup oil 5 minutes bud. The rice, 1 cup water, parsley, cumin, pepper and salt and cook until the rice is half cooked. The filling with a spoon, pour in the tomatoes without completely filling them in a baking dish. Put the caps back on. The rest of the oil in the tomato casting, and there is breadcrumbs on spreading. The potatoes with salt and sprinkle it between the tomatoes in the dish. A half cup of water in the bowl and in a moderately hot oven 45 minutes. Half to cool and serve.

Description: Tzatziki - A delicious Greek dip.
Ingredients:
Greek / Bulgarian yoghurt,
cucumber,
garlic,
salt,
dill,
olive oil and
vinegar.

Preparation: Clean the cucumber, remove the seed list and grate it. Add a pinch of salt and let it stand. Then squeeze the moisture from the cucumber, add yoghurt, squeezed garlic and dill. Small splash of olive oil there and stir well. Do not take too much garlic, if you look at let alone pull a little garlic very strongly by the yogurt. If necessary, add salt and season with a little vinegar.

Description: Choriatiki - A famous salad from Greece. Enough for 4 people.
Ingredients: 4 large (ripe) tomatoes,
1 small cucumber,
2 onions,
1 green pepper,
1 handful black or green olives or a mixture,
200 grams of feta cheese.

For the dressing:
(Fresh) ground pepper,
salt,
half teaspoon of oregano,
1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice,
6 tablespoons cold pressed olive oil,
1 bunch parsley,
oregano.

Preparation: Tomatoes and seek in thick slices, cucumber into thick slices, onion skins and into thick slices, peppers cleaning and into large pieces, all mixing and investing with olives and the (sliced) Feta cheese on record. Salt, pepper, oregano and lemon juice and stir until the salt has dissolved, stirring it add the oil. Pour over the salad with the dressing and sprinkle with parsley and oregano. Serve with bread.

Description: Pastitio - Oven dish of macaroni with mince.
Preparation time: 90 minutes.
Ingredients: 500 grams ribbon macaroni,
300 grams grated cheese and
4 tablespoons grated cheese,
1500 grams of meat,
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup butter,
1 onion, finely chopped
1 cinnamon stick,
1/2 kg red tomatoes,
1 cup bread crumbs and 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs,
2 proteins,
1 portion becamelsaus,
salt and pepper.

Preparation: The ribbon cook macaroni in boiling salted water. Half of the butter to brown in a pan and pour over the macaroni. The egg whites until stiff and macaroni do. Half of the grated cheese and stir to add a coherent mass. In a saucepan melt the remaining butter and fry the onion. Let it fry the meat, deglaze with the wine and let it boil. Then the pureed tomatoes, cinnamon, pepper and salt and everything about a half hour to cook until most of liquid has reduced. Remove the pan from the heat, the rest of the grated cheese and breadcrumbs and stir to do it. A casserole beboteren and half of the macaroni on the bottom split. Here the meat over and spread over the mince the rest of the macaroni divide. The top layer covered with bechamel sauce. Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons grated cheese and sprinkle with melted butter. The dish in the oven in 30 minutes to get golden brown.

Drink
A bottle of Heineken or Amstel is almost everywhere, but especially once try the local beer Mythos Alpha or who, like Heineken sold in pint bottles. Try one of the delicious Greek wines or the local liquor raki (tsikoudia).

Food
It is not uncommon in Greece until after midnight to find a restaurant. The best and often cheaper, but generally always find good food often outside the resorts, where the quality is more important than the beautiful view over the boulevard. Traditional food done in a taverna, which is often simpler and cheaper than a restaurant.

Olive oil
An indispensable ingredient in Greek cuisine is olive oil. The olive groves of Crete are among the best in the world.

Thalassographia, 33 Kefalogiannidon Street Fortezza, Rethymnon
Tel: 28310 52569
The seafront of Rethymnon, situated on the stairs to the Venetian fortress sits Thalassographia. The setting is romantic and there is a panoramic sea view. It's always busy and there is a choice of a very large assortment mezedes (= starters). In addition, some entrees. Greeks love to party with all kinds of snacks to enjoy. The entrees are very worthwhile, choose a piece or 4, maybe 5 and you have a full meal! One of our favorites: feta cheese from the oven!

Joselyne Arraou Spooner:
"A wonderful surrounding for this villa where you can relax and admire the country side! My best memories are the first night in the pool Admiring the starry sky and sipping a glass of white wine left in the fridge for us alongwith greek yogurt, fresh fruit etc. .. Other nights were spent star-spotting lying on the sun beds. Days were spent dico suspension local markets, beaches, walking in the gorges etc. .. You do need a car for staying in this house but the village of Perama is very near and people there are very friendly. If you go back to the Same shops every day you can actually brush up your shaft Greek people are very good teachers! Overall an expensive price to pay at least for us since we went in high season but worth it! Villa Adonis deserves its name too! "

Mr. Alain Robillard:
"We very much enjoyed our stay at Villa Adonis. We were there in the last week of June 2009 and everything was perfect. From the warm welcome or Adonis, the perfect setting and the wonderful island of Crete, we loved our visit to Villa Adonis . The house was perfect for our party of 6 (3 adults and 3 children) and the garden and the pool were great. The house was cleaned constantly the middle of the week and was well furnished. We did not lack of anything and we keep very good memories of our stay at Villa Adonis. We hope we will be bootable to come back to this beautiful island. Merci beaucoup et à la prochaine! "

Mr. Jan Gielissen:
"Space, equipment and comfort of a high level, the garden with pool and pretty good location for exploring the region, constitute a guarantee for a successful holiday. We thought it was definitely worth the money, and recommended it already to friends and acquaintances "