Princeton makes itself at home in Athens.,The Snow Queen,8th

Péché de chair
Le restaurant Flames se distingue comme une nouvelle addition
dans la longue série de steak houses qui bordent l’avenue
Vari-Koropi. Contrairement à ses voisins qui appâtent les
clients aux cris des tsolias (bergers épirotes) avec la
cuisine rustique des psistaria, Flames promet des plats
nettement plus sophistiqués.
Flames,
récemment
ouvert,
vous
propose
une
expérience
culinaire exquise où vous pourrez déguster de succulents
steaks, de tendres côtelettes et de juteux hamburgers, cuits à
la perfection. Flames s’est inspiré des tendances de la
gastronomie internationale et son équipement n’a rien à envier
aux meilleurs steakhouse de Paris ou d’ailleurs : grills au
charbon de bois, planchas, fours à bois, les flammes cuisent
soigneusement les viandes des meilleurs élevages pour le
plaisir des vrais carnivores. Tendres côtelettes d’agneau
arrosées d’huile d’olive corsée, picanha jurasco, steaks de
Black Angus, brochettes marinées, Flames est un paradis pour
les carnassiers avérés. Les habitués jurent que les steaks et
les rôtis à la broche sont tellement bons que même des
végétariens purs et durs pourraient tourner casaque ! Quelques
concessions ont été faites aux clients enclins à préférer les
poissons et les fruits de mer à la viande. Essayez le filet de
thon – savamment grillé à point ce qui lui donne une saveur
exquise, accompagné d’une sauce citron et câpres. Le paradis
dans l’assiette.
Flames, Vari-Koropi 102, Vari. Réservations au 210.899.6660.
Don’t Worry, Be Happy at the
“Hygge” Project
Join
the “Hygge” Danish Happiness Movement at a new interactive
installation in Athens that’s perfect for keeping those “back
to work” blues at bay!
Before the stresses and strains of another working year can
take hold, borrow a leaf from the Danes, who are consistently
voted one of the happiest cultures on earth.
“Hygge” – the wellness trend that has originated from Denmark
– (it’s often billed as the Danish secret of happiness) – has
arrived in Athens to brighten up our winter.
This month, (until January 23), you can boost your Happiness
Potential and get in the “Hygge” frame of mind for 2017 at an
interactive exhibition that introduces Athenian audiences to
the concept.
“Hygge” – pronounced hoo ga – is one of those words for which
there is no single translation, although it’s described by The
Oxford Dictionary thus:
“A quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that
engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.”
For the Danish, it’s the synonym of a ritual of enjoying the
moment, an experiential condition. It is an escape hatch
during the long winters facing the cold and stress.
Semantically the word encloses the concepts of prosperity,
comfort, relaxation, warmth and companionship – but much more.
It is a state of mind and, above all, an experience.
It’s about cherishing yourself and the simple cosy pleasures
of life. Like wearing cashmere socks to bed. Taking a
candlelit bath. Enjoying a soothing cup of tea by the
fireplace or meeting good friends for a meal without checking
your emails. (Single-tasking instead of multi-tasking is a big
part of the “Hygge Movement”.)
The “Hygge Project” at the closed exhibition space of the Art
Foundation (metamatic:TAF), in Monastiraki, takes the form of
an experiential installation which fills up the cold gallery
space creating a multisensory experience of intimacy, where
touch, image and sound work together. Special workshops are
held on mindfulness, meditation and free movement. Meanwhile,
the floor is covered with white mattresses*, that have been
converted to a unified soft surface. The light gets warm and
the sound creates isolation.
This space where art is exhibited and enjoyed, frequently
following the white cube aesthetics, forms a condition of unintimacy for the non- initiated audience. Hygge is an
installation that addresses mainly the absence of one’s
understanding, feeling and connecting to what is defined as
contemporary art. The exhibition space here acquires a new
use. It changes and invites visitors to spend time in it, so
that they can feel that it belongs to them and that they are
entitled to their presence there.
For timings and more information, visit HERE.
Conceived and curated by: Ifigenia Papamikroulea
Production: Flux Laboratory
*After the completion of the project, all mattresses will be
donated to a charity selected by Flux Laboratory.
Experience the Hygge Project, Metamatic:TAF, Normanou 5, Tel:
210.323.8757, (opening hours: Monday to Friday: 12:00 to
21:00; Saturday: 12:00 to 21:00; Sunday: 12:00 to 19:00.
Admission is free).
Insider Weekly, January 4, 2017
Happy Epiphany!
EPIPHANY EXPLAINED
Today – January 6 – marks one of
the most cathartic and cinematic
moments on the Greek Orthodox
calendar. Many visitors to
Greece at this time of year are
charmed
to
witness
the
millennia-old
spectacle
of
Epiphany. Men and boys, (traditionally, although women too can
participate), leap into icy waters to be the first to retrieve
the Cross thrown by an Orthodox priest, as part of the
Blessing of the Waters. The one who brings the cross up to
the surface will enjoy good fortune and health for the entire
year!
So what does it all mean?
The Epiphany celebration emerged in AD 361, initially as a
commemoration of the birth of Christ, and then, to recall the
three miracles that manifested the divinity of Christ. Taken
from the Greek word Epiphania, it means “to show, make known,
or reveal” – and officially closes the Twelve Days of
Christmas that commence on Christmas Eve.
Usually, a long procession is led by cherub icons and priests
dressed in their best “glad rags”, and follows whichever road
leads to a body of water.
The sea, a river or even a
reservoir. In bigger cities like Athens, the procession is
more elaborate with the addition of music and military
contingents. If there is no living water nearby, the Blessing
ceremony is held outside the church with a baptism font filled
with water. People take the Holy Water at home and sprinkle
their house, their fields, their animals. They also drink it.
The Greek Orthodox Church teaches that on this day, a miracle
occurs and the nature of water changes and becomes pure, as
the evil is drawn out of it.
Sprinkling
the
Theophany
Waters is also meant to cleanse
the world of the mischief-prone
Kalikantzaroi, the goblins
trying to torment God-fearing
Christians
throughout
the
festive season. In many parts of
Greece, the woman of the
household still pours out all the water on the eve of Epiphany
(usually old Holy Water), so that in the morning they can
replenish it with fresh Holy Water from the church, safeguarding their home throughout the year ahead.
If you happen to encounter noisy groups (or “agyrmoi”) of
carolling children wandering from house to house in your
street today and creating rather a frightful din with bells,
be thankful. The traditional purpose is also to scare away
those troublesome Gremlins!
Oh, and if you are a stickler for the rules, today is also the
last day for you and your family to enjoy your Christmas Tree.
Tomorrow, by rights, it should come down.
Happy Epiphany!
Free Lego Movie Screening @
SNFCC
WHAT:
Searching for a school holiday diversion that they’ll love –
and that will also get them out into the fresh air? The muchloved Lego Movie (2014) screens at the SNFCC, (dubbed in
Greek), as part of their 2017 free cinema programme.
WHEN: Tuesday, January 3, at 5.30pm.
WHERE: Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Kallithea,
Eyripidou & L. Syggrou, www.snf.org for more information.
Constantinos
Pittas:
Athenians & Parisians
WHAT: A
stunning collection of previously hidden-away black-and-white
photographs taken of a still-divided Europe in the late 1980s
by Constantinos Pittas. Pittas’ spin-off exhibition follows on
from his popular breakout show at the Benaki and runs as a
sideline to the GR80s event at Technopolis.
WHEN: Until March 31.
WHERE: French Institute Athens, Sina 31, tel: 210.339.8600,
www.ifa.gr
To see more of Constantinos Pittas’ evocative images of Europe
visit HERE