Happy 2018!

 Happy New Year, dear readers!

You may remember the Greek tradition of

baking a St. Basil's cake, to ring in the new year.

As always, our 2018 'vasilopita', or St. Basil's cake, scented the entire house with a sweet, lemon-y aroma, and added a serving of holiday cheer to the open shelving in the kitchen, which was fittingly and festively dressed in all its Christmas cuteness.

Thank goodness, just a few days earlier, Liberty and I had gone on a long walk uphill, through vineyards and olive groves, to the next village over, a kind of preventative measure against expected calorie damage,

since aside from the St. Basil's cake, there were other seasonal sweets that were enjoyed at Christmas teas and gatherings. Above, we enjoyed a Greek brew amid the spectacular views of the sky, sea and valley below - a lovely break before all the busyness that was in store!

And, although we didn't hike, but drove, up to a beautiful, mountainous village, inland, to celebrate 2018 with our annual  

New Year's day lunch, at one of our favourite restaurants,

we made sure to feast on healthy fare, amid some richer dishes. Doesn't this Cretan winter salad look divine? It was drizzled with an olive oil/honey/balsamic dressing, and featured farmer's cheese, dried figs, BBQ mushrooms and sweet peppers, a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds and a few honeyed sesame cubes... so refreshing and delicious!

 Hope you enjoy this short video of our exhilarating hike

 to that heavenly village in the sky. May 2018 be filled with 

happy horizons of clear, bright light, for you and yours!

Thanks for visiting!

xx

Poppy