July 16, 2025 • 42 mins
Welcome to our Winter Series!
This week we're taking you to Greece.
First up, host Kirstie chats to Andria Mitsakos, founder of Anthologist and global founder of AMPR, who takes us to some of the country's best artisans where she buys her artefacts, and shares insider tips on the best way to enjoy a Greek getaway.
Next, host Belle Jackson takes us to Greece and Bulgaria, travelling by rail on a slow food, slow travel journey of these neighbouring countries. She travelled on a Eurail pass, which crisscrosses 33 European countries.
And we are giving away a tropical holiday in Thailand! We've partnered with our friends at Avani Hotels and Resorts to celebrate our 100th episode with this great prize.
You can win four nights for two people in a deluxe room at Avani+ Khao Lak, with daily breakfast and dinner, airport transfers and a Muay Thai boxing class!
Just go to our competition post on instagram, like it and tag a friend, and follow both The World Awaits and Avani Hotels, and you're in for the win!
Entrants can be located anywhere in the world. Entries close on 31st July.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:00):
Welcome to The World Away, travel tales to inspire
your wanderlust.
Hi there, welcome to our winterseries.
This week we're headed toGreece.
First up is Andrea Mitsakos,founder of Anthologist and
global founder of AMPR, whotakes us to some of the
country's best artisans, whereshe buys her artefacts and
(00:23):
shares insider tips on the bestway to enjoy a Greek getaway.
Welcome to the show, Andrea.
Oh, thank you so much, Kirstie.
I'm thrilled to be here.
It's so great to have you on TheWorld Awaits.
Let's start by telling us a bitabout your background and how
you came to be an anthologist.
Oh,
SPEAKER_00 (00:42):
thank you.
I'm American,Greek-Armenian-American.
I grew up outside of Boston.
My parents, my father is acareer professor, my mother a
career designer.
I grew up in a really livelyhousehold of women creatives.
So my great-aunt was an antiquedealer.
One grandmother was a shoemaker.
(01:03):
My mom's mom was a shoemaker.
And my dad's mom actually workedin textiles before she emigrated
to America.
So let's say it was all acreative hub of space and
culture and travel.
So what made you move to Greece?
(01:23):
I was living in New York at thetime.
I was designing a handbag lineactually in Milan,
simultaneously running myinternational PR agency.
And it was the middle of thefinancial crisis in Greece, and
I was really interested to seewhat the manufacturing industry
was here.
I was manufacturing in Italy fora few years, and I decided to
(01:46):
come to Athens to check it out.
And one thing led to the next.
It was really kismet.
And unfortunately, I actuallyfell and I broke my rib.
And I was literally grounded forthree months here in Athens.
So that gave me the opportunityto live in a city I hadn't lived
(02:06):
in before.
It was the middle of thefinancial crisis.
It was winter.
So it was quite an interestingtime to be in Athens.
That was back in 2013.
And then once you start makinghandbags, then you're like, oh,
I need to make hardware.
Then you're making belts.
Then I'm getting an apartment.
Then I'm designing furniture.
And I really felt that Greece,although it was going through
(02:30):
this crisis, was going through avery creative time.
I really believe that crisisbreeds creativity and that in
many other parts of the world.
And it was just a time that Ifelt like, this was such an
emerging destination and why notsee what could happen here.
Also following a bit in thefootsteps of my ancestors.
SPEAKER_02 (02:51):
Yeah, amazing.
And obviously you're finding outand discovering some quite
incredible artisans in Greece.
And what makes the destinationthe best place to find those
local sort of makers and theartifacts that you're actually
now showcasing and selling aspart of your business?
SPEAKER_00 (03:10):
Oh, it's a great foundation.
It's so old world in that sense,much like other, I guess,
European cities and othercapitals.
But Greece has a deep connectionto its traditions, crafts like
ceramics, weaving, metalwork.
We happen to use a foundry thathas been in operation for three
(03:32):
generations, for instance, usingancient methods of pouring brass
through sand molds.
just doesn't happen in a lot ofplaces today.
Really, every region of thecountry has something unique,
whether it's ceramics in thenorthern part of Athens,
embroidery from different partsof the island.
(03:53):
I also feel like the pace hereencourages an appreciation of
that.
So for craftsmanship,authenticity, it really feels
like people take time toappreciate their work and So as
the world does, what I hope tomove a little bit away from fast
fashion, fast decor, going backto these traditions, and that's
(04:17):
really, to me, what culturalpreservation is all about.
SPEAKER_02 (04:20):
And living in Athens, where do you find the
local makers whose works thatyou feature?
SPEAKER_00 (04:26):
The beauty of Greece is that Greeks really like to,
let's say, I share theirconnections a bit.
So as I mentioned earlier, onceyou're making a handbag, for
instance, then you turn tosomebody who's going to make a
handle for you.
And then someone else is goingto introduce you to someone
(04:47):
who's going to make a belt.
But when it comes to just, let'ssay, the traveler who I think is
listening today, Neighborhoodslike Monastiraki, Thiri, here in
Athens, they had some of theseold workshops.
You'll walk by this greatbuzzing bar, restaurant, and
then on the next block, you'llfind some man who's hand
carving, hand hammering copper,right all in the center of
(05:12):
Athens.
So for me, I found everything onfoot and through connections,
really.
So I think the more you divedeep in some of those little
streets and alleys, Athens isreally good for that.
SPEAKER_02 (05:25):
How long did it take you?
Like, how long have you livedthere?
And how long did it take you tofind all these little places?
SPEAKER_00 (05:31):
It's been 12 years now.
So, yeah, it's a long time.
It is.
But it really depends whatyou're looking for.
Like, in Monastiraki, there's aSunday antiques market.
My tip is to really go see thoseantique dealers during the week.
So they're closed on Mondaysbecause they rest after Sunday.
But go check them out likeTuesday through Saturday.
(05:53):
That's more when the localsshop.
You can always ring a doorbellif it says it's closed, or you
can ask one dealer maybe wheresomebody else is.
And that's really my hint isdon't go on the touristy days of
Sunday morning when everybody isthere.
For instance, it's fun and it'slively and it's active, but
don't always see a city on aweekend.
(06:14):
I think people make that mistakewhen they travel.
So It's always important for meto see a city, how it lived, how
it is every day.
That's when I really find thereal treasure.
SPEAKER_02 (06:26):
Yeah, that's such a good tip.
And the sorts of things, whatare some of the sorts of things
that you can, like when you talkabout these places that you can
go and knock on the door andfind them, what are the sorts of
things that you can find thatyou can take home as a really
amazing keepsake from thatplace?
SPEAKER_00 (06:42):
Oh gosh, from antique embroideries,
hand-carved wood.
Lots of copper work.
There's a lot of copper workalso in the north of Greece, up
outside of Thessaloniki.
But there are quite a few placesin Athens that sell it here.
Brass work, any kind of metalwork, foundry work as well.
And jewelry.
Jewelry is renowned in Greece,obviously, for millennia.
(07:06):
So you'll see stores that sellbeautiful pieces that are
possibly copies, but obviouslyin the most positive way.
of ancient designs, one placethat I absolutely love is the
Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum.
It's actually behind my house.
And Lalaounis was, yeah, andLalaounis was actually one of
(07:29):
the most foremost jewelryhouses, is the foremost jewelry
house in Greece.
They're like the Cartier ofGreece.
And his workshop was actuallybehind my house.
And then his daughter turned itinto a museum.
So it's a foundation as well.
to help support emerging jewelrydesigners.
And it's just such a beautifulfaith and a great find.
You can just turn up there.
(07:51):
They have normal museum hourslike a lot of museums do.
They're usually closed one day.
They also have workshops.
So if you're interested intrying your own jewelry or
learning direct from an artisan,they do run workshops as well.
They also have apprenticeshipsfor emerging jewelry artists as
well that they help support.
They have a gorgeous littleshop.
(08:12):
Their main store, La La Onise,is one of my most favorite
places.
And when I was a kid, actually,my dad would always buy a piece
of La La Onise jewelry for mymother every Christmas.
And I'm 52 this year.
So back then, there was nointernet, obviously.
My dad would get jewelryphotocopied back to him.
(08:33):
And then we would sit on thesofa and have a cup of tea and I
would circle the pieces.
that I love from my mom, andthen they would mail it to her.
And the first time I came toGreece, I actually went to the
shop and I bought myself a pieceof jewelry to continue that
tradition.
And I met one of the daughters,a Katerini, and we're still
friends today.
And I carry on the tradition.
(08:55):
Yeah, I love buying a piece ofjewelry for myself every year.
I think it's really important.
SPEAKER_02 (09:00):
Oh, that's such a lovely thing to do.
What a wonderful story and awonderful way to carry on that
family tradition.
What are some of your other sortof favourite places to go to
find and also places for thecreative minded?
What are some of the otherplaces that people should make
sure they put on their list ifthey come?
SPEAKER_00 (09:17):
Oh, definitely Crete.
Crete is a country in and ofitself to be perfectly honest.
The textiles, traditional craft,there is incredible places.
My PR agency, we work with acompany called Faya there, and
they have two beautiful hotels,Faya Blue and Faya Crete and
(09:38):
Malia.
And they have curated thisincredible hand-picked secret
that the owners, these twofabulous sisters, put together
in East Crete.
And they'll take you toworkshops and factories where
they're still making beautiful,those huge ancient amphora pots.
(09:58):
by hand, little bakeries,olives, wine, of course, but
loads of little hidden secrets.
So Crete is really an incredibleplace to discover things.
Also Paros, where we have twoanthologist boutiques as well.
There's a gorgeous antique storethere called The Antique Store.
My friends Lydia and Petros ownit.
(10:19):
And Petros, he is a generationalantique dealer as well as a
furniture store owner.
Our house has some beautifulceramics as well as Sifnos.
It's an incredible destinationfor ceramics.
It's a beautiful hotel therecalled Verena.
And they have a beautiful shoptoo that has lots of local
ceramics.
What I try to do is alwaysdirect people also to the
(10:42):
Cycladic Museum here in Athens.
They have a beautiful shop whereyou can get a great education of
the Cycladic islands as well.
Santorini, even though peoplethink that, oh, there's crowds,
there's this, everyone's sayingthat.
So it's actually a really goodtime to go to Santorini because
everyone says the same thing andthen nobody shows up, right?
(11:04):
We have some beautiful hotels wework with there too.
Mystique, the Dama is in thisgorgeous little village with
like beautiful wine shops.
And I just think that a lot ofthe islands also, they replicate
what's been around for millenniain a modern way.
So I think it's always draw,your eye is drawn to really what
you love and then take it out ofthat setting.
(11:26):
When I'm working with designclients, I always educate them
on this to feel like, what isthat going to be like in my
space?
And how can I recreate that in amodern way?
SPEAKER_02 (11:36):
What are some of the maybe lesser known places that
people that may have been toGreece multiple times before and
that still offer thoseopportunities to engage with
some of those sort of ancienttraditions and buy some of these
beautiful artisan products?
SPEAKER_00 (11:53):
Throughout Crete, there's lots of places and
there's places that you can goto purchase ceramics or even
contemporary textiles.
Working with those artisans, youget so much insight in the
cultural heritage, but alsosupporting their work
financially, of course.
There's great pottery makingworkshops and also in Crete,
(12:15):
Thithnos, Paros, Also here inAthens as well.
There's plenty of places inAthens and hotels like Hotel
Grand Breton, which we have alittle corner in their shop
there.
They can direct you toworkshops.
As I mentioned, also the LalonaJewelry Museum here in Athens as
well has beautiful workshops.
That's all about storytelling.
(12:35):
So I think when you go homeafter you've bought something
that really is handcrafted andhas a story behind it, You're
sharing that experience thenagain with others.
I love when people come into myshowroom or into my apartment
and they always say, oh, what isthis?
Where is this from?
Where is that from?
So I guess, as you mentionedearlier, I am the original
anthologist by telling thosestories through objects.
(12:59):
And I think that's the mosttangible way of having a memory
from a holiday.
SPEAKER_02 (13:04):
Yeah.
And what are there some sort oflesser known places in, say,
Paris that people can go thatthey wouldn't normally even have
thought of that to get theseexperiences or encounters?
SPEAKER_00 (13:16):
Lefkes, which is a small mountainous village,
mountains, of course, it's notthe Alps, but it's the mountains
for the Cycladic.
There are some great studiosthere, small village.
It's important also to pokearound just at the beginning and
the end of season instead ofduring July and August.
Also in the south of theislands, there are some great
(13:39):
places that are tucked away.
I think if you do a little bitof research and rent a car,
that's the best way to seeParos.
And then there's hotels where wehave our shop, our Peruvian
flagship is at Cosme Hotel andPerilio Hotel, which is was
really the first proper hotel onthe island.
(13:59):
They run these beautiful tripsas well that will take you
throughout the island to some ofthese lesser-known studios.
SPEAKER_02 (14:05):
Amazing.
And I've seen that you've beenquoted saying about the
importance of us upholding theseage-old artisanal traditions.
Obviously, as you've explained,it's something that it's such so
incredible to be able to takethese pieces home and that's a
way of ensuring that when you'repurchasing from them that those
people can continue thosetraditions.
(14:25):
What are some of the other waysand how can travellers ensure
that we're a part of thatcultural preservation?
I
SPEAKER_00 (14:32):
always say collect, don't shop.
That's my mantra.
And I think that it's reallyimportant to support the local
community.
Sustainability is about beingeco or green all the time,
right?
And this is why pathologistsexist.
So when you're a traveler andyou go to a destination, I think
(14:53):
it's so important to be, ofcourse, respectful of culture
and tradition.
And at the same time, when youare purchasing something that is
a tangible representation of adestination, you're making a
contribution not onlyfinancially, but also to that
cultural preservation of adestination, right?
That's something that you'regoing to have forever, better
(15:14):
than any memory.
SPEAKER_02 (15:16):
So what are your future plans as far as being an
anthologist?
SPEAKER_00 (15:21):
This year, we continue our showroom in Athens.
We're doing by appointment here.
We're launching some reallyinteresting collections.
So we're launching a vintagetextile collection, which will
be online in the next 30 days orso, which we're really excited
about.
And I've collected so manytextiles over the years, so
(15:42):
they're really hard to partwith.
But I can't keep them all.
So we've decided to share themwith the world, which I love
textiles.
My grandmother made textiles.
So it's a really important partof me and what the company is
about.
We'll be opening our seasonalsummer shops in Paros.
So at Corilio and Cosme Hotel.
We're doing a really excitinginstallation in Crete at Faya
(16:06):
Blue, which is a new boutiquehotel that opened last summer.
So we're really excited aboutthat.
We have a big project in Athensthat I can't talk about yet, but
stay tuned.
So that will be done hopefullyby the end of the year.
We also are launching a rattanfurniture line.
So outside of Greece, but inDominican Republic, in the
(16:28):
Caribbean.
I recently just did my firstinterior design project, which
was at a hotel called Eastwindson the island of St.
Lucia.
And I created a rattan andbamboo furniture collection just
for them.
So we'll be launching that thisyear as well.
Quite busy.
SPEAKER_02 (16:46):
Yes, absolutely.
And for people who are comingover to Greece this year over
the summertime, what are someother places that you think
maybe they should go to?
Putting all of that aside, justgenerally, what are some of your
favorite places to holiday?
SPEAKER_00 (17:02):
Oh, Syros should be the top of everyone's list.
It's not a traditional beachdestination.
There are beaches.
It is actually one of the onlyislands that has 50% Greek
Orthodox and 50% Catholicism,which makes it really
interesting.
And in April this year, theEaster's fall on the same time.
(17:23):
So they're both April 20th,which doesn't happen too often.
And Syros has the mostincredible architecture,
unexpected architecture, Ishould say, of anywhere, I
think, in the entire country.
There are very famous architectsthat have built their opera
house as a mini version of LaScala in Milan, which was built
(17:47):
by an Italian architect.
And it's really, to me, I thinkone of the most culturally rich
and off the radar destinations.
It's also the capital of theCyclades, the Cyclades Islands
as well.
I would definitely head there.
And then the Peloponnese, Mani,which is where my friends or my
family is from.
I'm sorry.
(18:07):
Mani is south.
It's about four hours driving.
It is another side of Greece,totally.
It is like something you'venever seen before.
The landscape, the people, thefood, the attitude.
It's just, it's such a stunningplace.
So I think exploring more of themainland too.
There's a beautiful little hotelthere called Corona Suite.
(18:31):
It's actually owned by the samepeople that have the Cosme and
Perilio and Paros and the otherhotels in Santorini.
And actually, they got marriedthere.
It was their own home.
They developed it into aboutique hotel, and it's just a
stunning place.
So if you're inclined to stay onthe mainland a little bit, I
would definitely go to Mani.
SPEAKER_02 (18:50):
Amazing, fantastic recommendations.
Thank you so much for those.
And sadly, we're running out oftime.
I'm going to have to ask you thequestion that we ask all of our
interviewees, which is, what'sthe most bizarre thing that's
ever happened to you in yourtravels?
SPEAKER_00 (19:04):
When I traveled to Greece in January 2013, I
actually fell and broke my rib.
I was working on a project inMalaysia, so I had to fly to
Malaysia the next day and I wasgone for 10 days.
And I was in a lot of pain,obviously.
And I came back to Athens and Iwas staying at Hotel Grand
Breton at the time.
And I went to the hospital andthe doctor showed me the x-ray
(19:28):
and it was not even a fracture.
This was a full on break.
So I ended up living at HotelGrand Breton.
So I was the modern day Eloiseliving in the hotel for three
months.
And It was an incredible timebecause it was also the
financial crisis.
There were demonstrations inSyntagma Square every day.
(19:50):
And it was really a time that Iwas able to explore the city on
foot, alone.
And that's how I fell in lovewith the city.
I'd say that the ancients foundme, Greece found me.
And that's why I feel like Idecided to stay because I was
able to explore a city not as atraveler.
(20:11):
not even as someone who livedhere.
It was really like, okay, forcedentry in a way.
And I just loved that timebecause it was so soulful.
It was so peaceful.
It was winter, which is anincredible time to come to
Greece.
And I discovered so many thingsthat I normally wouldn't because
sometimes when you feel likewhen you're a traveler, you feel
(20:34):
like, oh, I need to do thesefive things on my list.
But when you're in a place foran extended period of time, you
get to explore a city adifferent way.
And it actually also happened tome in 2022 in Mexico City.
I was actually hit by a wave inOaxaca and I tore my ACL and I
ended up being in Mexico Citywith surgery for three months.
(20:57):
So hopefully no more injuries.
Touch wood.
Yes.
Oh, you've had your fish here.
I have.
But see, that's my best adviceis when you travel, take it
slowly.
The world is a big place and youshould always appreciate every
moment that you have on it andthe people that you meet and
those human connections and thestories that they tell you.
SPEAKER_02 (21:19):
Wow, that's so beautiful.
And yes, gosh, isn't itincredible that even though
through something so traumaticfor you and...
clearly challenging to deal withmedically what came out of that
SPEAKER_00 (21:30):
absolutely yes i'm very blessed to be here and i i
do this interview talking to youstaring at the acropolis and it
reminds me yes of why i'm hereevery day oh
SPEAKER_02 (21:42):
that's been so wonderful to chat with you and
thank you so much for coming onthe show and we will put all of
the links in the show notes Thatwas Andrea Mitsakos talking
about the value of culturalpreservation through the
purchases you make.
And you can find out more abouther at anthologist.com.
Next up, my co-host, BelleJackson, takes us to Greece and
(22:04):
Bulgaria, traveling by rail on aslow food, slow travel journey
of these neighboring countries.
SPEAKER_01 (22:10):
Hey, well, it's been an amazing trip, but it had two
parts.
So firstly, I was down, I flewinto Athens and then I drove
down to the PeloponnesePeninsula because I was
reviewing the new MandarinOriental Hotel in Costa Navarino
down on the south coast.
So this is mainland Greece.
And the Peloponnese has threepeninsulas and I was staying on
(22:34):
one of those.
The main towns in this areainclude Pylos and Mephone.
which are loaded with historyfrom ancient ruins to medieval
castles.
The super atmospheric MithoniCastle was built by the
Venetians in 1209.
Did you know the Venetians wereruling this part of the
coastline?
I know, right?
So they had it for about 300years until the Ottomans took it
(22:58):
over.
They came back in, went backout.
It's just the most beautiful,beautiful location.
And we don't talk about it thatmuch because everybody's so
focused on the islands and theytend to stay away from mainland
Greece.
SPEAKER_02 (23:11):
Yeah, that's it.
I mean, that's the thing that Ijust love hearing about these
sorts of places because, andthis is the great thing about
everywhere you travel, it'salways somewhere a little off
the beaten track.
And I just love the fact that...
You know, that you were in thisplace that some people wouldn't
have even heard of.
A lot of people would never haveheard of, actually.
And also, everyone knows theMandarin Orientals are great
hotels.
But what made that one standout?
(23:33):
What was sort of different andspecial about that one?
SPEAKER_01 (23:37):
Well, it's been open for just over a year.
It's got 51 suites and 48 poolvillas.
I was lucky enough to score apool villa.
So when I woke every morning tolook out over the pool, I was
then looking past it intoNavarino Bay, which, because,
you know, I love a good historyhit, it was the size of the last
naval battle fought by sailingships in 1827, which marked the
(24:01):
beginning of the Greek War ofIndependence.
SPEAKER_02 (24:03):
So cool.
SPEAKER_01 (24:04):
So cool.
So, you know, you just had thisincredible sweep of beach that
you looked at, or the bay, thisbeautiful deep water bay.
And one of the reallyinteresting parts of it is the
food side, because I was thereat It was all about food.
It was basically two weeks ofeating myself for second
vaccine.
So in the year.
(24:26):
What about the running?
Didn't you do a run while youwere there?
I did a run.
The first day I got up and wentfor a run with the personal
trainer, she did not even breaka sweat.
It was really like 29 degreesand she was just running along
lightly.
Where did you run?
Where did you run?
We ran around the perimeter ofthe Mandarin Oriental because
this Costa Navarino is a region,has been developed.
(24:50):
There's already a W Hotel there.
You know, there's been marinasdeveloped.
There's golf courses and stufflike that.
And the Mandarin Oriental islike the next stage of this.
So we went for a jog aroundthat.
We're literally, we go past, youknow, we went through the golf
course, but then we're goingpast these ancient olive groves.
And it's still really embeddedin that.
And the interesting thing aboutthose olive groves is that then
(25:14):
the olives and the fruit fromthese and the oils appear on the
table in the restaurant.
So even though you're at aninternational restaurant, it is
really grounded in the food fromthat area.
And I spent a lot of time withthe executive chef, Bertrand
Valgueras, and he has runMichelin-star restaurants in the
(25:34):
past.
He stayed on site before itopened to find local farmers and
fishermen so that he couldsupply everything from the most
spectacular sheep's yogurt I'veever eaten.
You know, that very Greek thingof having yogurt with honey and
walnuts as a breakfast.
It was just astonishing.
(25:55):
And local fish, all of theherbs, most of the herbs were
sourced from within a 200-meterradius of the hotel.
We're not talking kilometres.
Yeah, that's great.
All the fish came from the bay.
Like, you could see where thefish came from.
And it's not just
SPEAKER_02 (26:12):
important.
I mean, it's obviously vitallyimportant as far as when it
comes to food miles and, youknow.
But also, it means that thefood's just so much better
because it's just literally sofresh.
Oh, my God, the tomatoes.
SPEAKER_01 (26:25):
The tomatoes.
You know, we've just come out ofwinter here in Melbourne, so
we've got these– nasty, palelittle things.
We had a running tomato theme.
They are just perfect andprecious.
SPEAKER_02 (26:39):
Well, all the acidity from those tomatoes
would have broken down all thefood that you were eating.
I'm telling
SPEAKER_01 (26:46):
myself that.
Can I tell you, one of thethings, I mean, they have
spectacularly great food.
They also have a pizza amacaserestaurant.
So it's like having adegustation of pizza.
It was incredible.
The pizza is made on site.
There's only like 12 seats.
You're sitting around a barwhere the pizza oven is.
They've got a chef from Napoli,which, of course, is the home to
(27:08):
the best pizza.
And those tomatoes then appearedon it.
You have not had a margaritalike you would have.
It was just incredible.
So, yeah, the food, everythingis just so… Pizza to rival
Italy, you reckon?
Yeah.
Well, you know, the guy wasusing those techniques.
But he's just using all of thelocal produce that's there, you
(27:30):
know, the anchovies from nearby.
Oh, God, it was so good.
And we just stuffed ourselves onincredible pizzas and drank
local wines, which was really agreat experience.
And, you know, like all ofGreece, you have to make sure
you're somewhere fabulous whenthe sun is setting so you catch
that golden light on the water.
And I would have said go up tothe hilltop spa and watch it
(27:52):
from the infinity pool.
And you just see...
The sun sinking down over thebeautiful islands out behind
you.
Absolutely beautiful.
SPEAKER_02 (28:00):
So the next part of your trip, how did you end up
going from there to get toBulgaria?
And how long did that take?
Because I have a little bit ofinsider knowledge of how long
that took you.
And I was very impressed on youwhen you first arrived, the fact
that you drove that distance onyour own.
But then you drove back again.
So tell us about what thedistance was to get from there
(28:22):
back.
I
SPEAKER_01 (28:24):
did pick up a hire car in Athens and I was
thinking, gosh, I haven't drivenon the other side of the road
forever.
But, you know, how bad can itbe?
How bad can Athens traffic be?
With jet lag.
With a bit of jet lag.
I just had like a coffee thatyou could stand your scoot up in
and I was like, right, that'sit.
(28:44):
And just thundered on down theroad.
the highways down to thePeloponnese, which takes about
three and a half hours to drive.
So it's a solid clip.
And you just get into the swingof it.
And so I drove from Athens downto Costa Navarino, spent my
beautiful time in the MandarinOriental, drove back up.
(29:07):
And from there, I was on thesecond part of my trip, which
was this Slow travel, slow foodadventure.
So I ditched the hire car and Iteamed up with Eurail, who sells
rail passes all the way throughEurope.
So from there, I was catchinglocal trains from Athens to
Thessaloniki in the north ofGreece and then on to Bulgaria.
SPEAKER_02 (29:27):
Amazing.
So how does that Eurail passwork?
We did touch on that a littlebit because you said that those
kids were on those similarpasses, but tell us a bit,
obviously it works for 15 and 16year olds, so it must be pretty
easy to use.
SPEAKER_01 (29:42):
Well, yeah, you get an app.
So they're, of course, intuitivewith the app.
But what it means is you canplan your route.
And let's say you buy a pass.
The pass that I had was a firstclass pass for unlimited train
travel for 15 days.
And you've got either a month ortwo months to use.
So you've got 15 travel days ina one or two month period.
(30:02):
So you can hop on and hop offduring that day or you can use
it on overnight sleepers aswell.
And it goes to 30,000destinations across 33 European
countries.
So you can do– it's designed todo cross-border travel and take
the pain out of it.
So what I reckon that that mumdid was probably help her kid
(30:23):
plan his trip, you know, fromBrussels and Paris and stuff
like that.
You load it into the app andthen you activate your day
travel as you go.
So it's really quite amazing.
It does sound really
SPEAKER_02 (30:34):
easy.
And– And it's all about slowingit down, right?
So you put a slow travel inthere and then you don't have to
drive.
But what about when you'reactually in those places?
How do you get around then?
SPEAKER_01 (30:46):
Well, the aim of it was to try to keep the carbon
footprint down.
Australians, we've got to makethat initial flight over anyway.
But once you're there, usingpublic transport means you know,
using the metros when you're inthe cities, trying to avoid
using taxis.
So walking from the trainstations to the hotels.
(31:11):
And the great thing about, youknow, when you're on rail is you
don't have to check in oranything like that.
You just get to the station fiveor 10 minutes beforehand, get
into your carriage and you'regone.
You know, it doesn't have thatcan I say, incredibly onerous
level of bureaucracy thatairports have done because, oh
my goodness, I'm fried for theamount of passport controls and
(31:33):
customs checks and all of thatsort of thing.
The only time we did have acheck was when we crossed over
the border from Greece toBulgaria.
So, I mean, the whole thingkicked off in Athens, which has
just got such an incredible,huge energy.
You know, it's got the Acropolisand all of those other ancient
Greek sites, but then it's gotFabulous art galleries.
(31:54):
It's got a really vibrant streetscene.
And in the warmer months, whichwe're still in, everyone's on
the street, sipping coffee,eating simmet, which are these
sort of knots of sesame seedbread rings.
And there's a really strong slowfood scene starting to happen
here.
And then from there, we trainedup to Thessaloniki of a couple
of hours.
And look, what I love aboutThessaloniki, and when I put
(32:16):
stuff up on my Instagram, I hadheaps of people saying the same
thing.
Love this place.
Love it.
It's so layered.
It's Greek, but then it's gotBalkan undertones.
And then you see the Ottoman orthe Turkish influence in the
architecture.
You see it in the food.
And food, Thessaloniki is themost famous for being the home
of the bulgatsa, which is thatlayered, custard-filled pastry
(32:39):
that's usually eaten forbreakfast.
And it's home of the souvlaki.
Yay! So thank you, Thessaloniki,for bringing that to us.
You know, don't mind a little.
I don't know about you, Kirsty,but yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And look, interestingly,Thessaloniki's also got a strong
Jewish history.
And you'll find that in suchrestaurants as Olympos Noosa,
(33:01):
which was a brewery.
It's been a cinema.
It's been one of the bestrestaurants in town for 17 years
or so.
And, you know, we were exploringsome of the dishes from, you
know, from all of thosedifferent periods of history and
the people that have broughtthose dishes fruit traditions
together.
And this trip, you know, we didthings like we went to an
(33:22):
incredible village called Rachi,which is south of Thessaloniki.
And there we met farmers whoraise Greece's indigenous black
pig.
Stay with me here.
They feed them on olives tocreate this unique meat.
Think of it like, you know, howSpain has the Iberico pork,
which they feed the pigs acorns.
So this is like the Greekversion of it.
(33:44):
It's not well known.
It's something that the pigswere almost extinct.
They'd pretty much been huntedout.
They'd been bred out.
It was cheaper and easier justto get that sort of your
standard sort of domestic pig.
But this is a really unique, itis indigenous to Greece.
And so we met the owners of thisincredible pork farm.
(34:07):
And then we went to a localwinery and we sat beneath these
wild chestnut trees where thewinemakers and the farmers
shared this incredible foodspread out on long tables,
gorgeous local wine, pork beingcooked on an open flame fire.
And it was just magical.
And did the pork taste likeolives?
(34:30):
It was, you know, I'm not a bigpork eater, but it was the best
I've ever eaten.
Wow.
Absolutely hand on heart.
It was astonishing.
And then you had more beautifultomatoes and more gorgeous feta
and the wine matches perfectlywith it because everything is
from the same tabai.
It's from the same soil.
So it's all in absolute harmony.
(34:51):
It was just a magicalexperience.
magical experience.
You're making me
SPEAKER_02 (34:55):
very hungry.
And from there, you cross theborder to Bulgaria.
So tell us a bit about whatmakes Bulgaria such a great
place to visit.
SPEAKER_01 (35:03):
Well, I've got to say the last time I was in
Bulgaria was a really long timeago.
I was backpacking and campingand it was a whole different
ballgame.
It's really overlooked, areally, really overlooked part
of Europe.
But what you'll find now isRyanair flies in there.
So you'll find Brits are flyinginto winter for the cheap
skiing.
It's really one of the cheapestdestinations to ski in Europe.
(35:26):
And the Black Sea resorts areparty towns for the kids.
But we're all about the food andwine in the capital, Sofia, and
the second city of Plovdiv.
So, Sofia, you're in the land ofgold-topped domes of Orthodox
cathedrals, cathedrals.
You know, you can pick up alittle Soviet war memorial sold
in the street market.
So it's still got all of thathistory behind it.
(35:49):
The streets are dings of tramseverywhere.
So I felt very at home being aMelburnian.
And we went looking for– we werelooking for Bulgarian food.
So we went back to supertraditional foods like so many
different types of white andyellow cheeses.
I found it really fascinating.
(36:10):
The– Everybody eats a saladcalled shopska salad, which is
kind of like a Greek salad, butthey grate white cheese over the
top of it.
It was actually invented duringthe communist era as a national
salad because, you know, Greecehas got a national salad.
Bulgaria needs its own nationalsalad.
I don't know what Australia'swould be.
And they are also masters of theslow, slow, slow cooked lamb
(36:37):
dish, which is perfect for thisSlow
SPEAKER_02 (36:39):
food, slow travel adventure.
Yeah, maybe a bit of beetroot.
A bit of beetroot and egg on abit of four-leaf.
SPEAKER_01 (36:45):
See the Australian stuff?
It wasn't a big beetroot thing.
I was kind of like, it was kindof there.
But also too, so we were therecoming into autumn in the
harvest.
So things like those rootvegetables are going to, because
it's so seasonal, that's goingto be your winter.
You're going to see all of thoseroot veggies coming on in the
winter menus.
But we were still in the lastdays of summer.
(37:07):
It was great.
It was sort of hovering aroundthe 30 degree mark.
No, I'm talking about
SPEAKER_02 (37:13):
Australian's national salad.
You were asking
SPEAKER_01 (37:16):
what?
Oh, the
SPEAKER_02 (37:16):
beetroot?
Yes.
Speaking of the beetroot.
Beetroot, beetroot, bit ofbeetroot, bit of boiled egg, you
know, bit of boiled egg.
Mayo, put a mayo
SPEAKER_01 (37:25):
squeezed on the top.
There we go.
Yeah, the Aussie burger.
Why would you have like abeetroot and pineapple on a
burger?
SPEAKER_02 (37:32):
Anyway, back to it.
Tell us a bit more about Plovdivbecause it sounds amazing.
It sounds like it was such anincredible city to end your trip
on.
SPEAKER_01 (37:41):
Yeah, it's about...
three hours from Sofia by train.
And it's got this incrediblehistory.
The hotel I stayed at, theVizualisa Hotel, was a former
cigar factory because there's alot of tobacco grown in
Bulgaria.
And it's set up on the hillsoverlooking, looking across to
another hill where the gorgeousold town is built.
(38:03):
So it's a university city and soit's already vibrant, but it
really took off when it wasnamed the 2019 European City of
Culture.
And that prompted the city torenovate its 18th century old
houses, which you wanderthrough.
It's a real fire burner, so likeI was hitting my step counter.
And these gorgeous oldtownhouses, which then they've
(38:29):
got crafts and traditionalmusical instruments and things
like that.
So you go in and explore themand you meet the people that are
playing, you know, flutes orthey might be– blacksmithing or
embroidery and stuff like thatall through this old town.
But the whole city is stillbuilt around ancient Roman ruins
(38:50):
as well.
So it's got these just literallylayers.
You look down, you think you'relooking down a hill, but you're
actually looking down becausethere's a series of Roman
columns built onto the side ofthis the side of the town.
It's just gorgeous.
Yeah,
SPEAKER_02 (39:06):
it sounds amazing.
And it sounds like that wholepart, the Bulgaria part of the
trip would be suited to quite afew people because obviously, I
mean, obviously foodies, butpeople that love history and
culture and, you know, that sortof immersive cultural experience
as well.
Is that sort of the key, youthink?
SPEAKER_01 (39:28):
I think that, yeah, if you're looking for history
and culture, it really gets intodepth with that.
That's its key thing.
I mean, it's got fabulouscobblestone streets full of
outdoor restaurants and thepeople are so generous and warm.
I was actually really surprisedat how warmly we were welcomed.
(39:48):
And every time you said you'reAustralian, everyone's like, oh,
that is like mind-blowingly faraway.
But, you know, they're They'rereally innovative.
You know, they've got naturalwine bars, you know, with their
local wines because there's alot of indigenous types of grape
in this area.
But I think the history reallyis key for this area.
(40:10):
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (40:11):
Well, it's been so great to hear all about your
adventures, Belle, and we willpost the stories as they're
published in the media in thecoming months, probably starting
with how Belle took three and ahalf days to get home.
And we'll also put therestaurants in the show notes.
And for more information aboutEurail, visit eurail.com and
also visit Belle's Instagram,globa underscore salsa.
(40:32):
That was Belle Jackson talkingabout her rail adventure from
Greece to Bulgaria, and you canfind all her tips about where to
eat and sleep in our show notes.
Next week, we're talking to tworemarkable women adventurers,
one who was almost at the end ofa journey to walk the length of
the earth, and another who haspaddled the length of
Australia's longest river.
(40:53):
And for those who haven't heard,we have a trip to Thailand to
give away.
Our friends at Avani Hotels andResorts have partnered with us
to celebrate our 100th episode,kicking off the party with a
tropical holiday to give away.
You can win four nights for twopeople in a deluxe room at Avani
(41:13):
Plus Khao Lak with dailybreakfast and dinner, airport
transfers and a Muay Thai boxingclass.
And all you have to do is go tothe world Awaits Instagram
competition post, like it andtag a friend and follow both the
World Awaits and Barney andyou're in for the win.
Entrance can be located anywherein the world and entries close
(41:35):
on the 31st of July.
Thanks for joining us on theWorld Awaits Winter Series.
See you next time.
That's
SPEAKER_01 (41:42):
a wrap for the World Awaits this week.
Click to subscribe anywhere youlisten to your favourite pods.
Thanks for listening.
See you next week.
UNKNOWN (41:56):
Yeah.
Welcome to The World Away, travel tales to inspire
your wanderlust.
Hi there, welcome to our winterseries.
This week we're headed toGreece.
First up is Andrea Mitsakos,founder of Anthologist and
global founder of AMPR, whotakes us to some of the
country's best artisans, whereshe buys her artefacts and
(00:23):
shares insider tips on the bestway to enjoy a Greek getaway.
Welcome to the show, Andrea.
Oh, thank you so much, Kirstie.
I'm thrilled to be here.
It's so great to have you on TheWorld Awaits.
Let's start by telling us a bitabout your background and how
you came to be an anthologist.
Oh,
SPEAKER_00 (00:42):
thank you.
I'm American,Greek-Armenian-American.
I grew up outside of Boston.
My parents, my father is acareer professor, my mother a
career designer.
I grew up in a really livelyhousehold of women creatives.
So my great-aunt was an antiquedealer.
One grandmother was a shoemaker.
(01:03):
My mom's mom was a shoemaker.
And my dad's mom actually workedin textiles before she emigrated
to America.
So let's say it was all acreative hub of space and
culture and travel.
So what made you move to Greece?
(01:23):
I was living in New York at thetime.
I was designing a handbag lineactually in Milan,
simultaneously running myinternational PR agency.
And it was the middle of thefinancial crisis in Greece, and
I was really interested to seewhat the manufacturing industry
was here.
I was manufacturing in Italy fora few years, and I decided to
(01:46):
come to Athens to check it out.
And one thing led to the next.
It was really kismet.
And unfortunately, I actuallyfell and I broke my rib.
And I was literally grounded forthree months here in Athens.
So that gave me the opportunityto live in a city I hadn't lived
(02:06):
in before.
It was the middle of thefinancial crisis.
It was winter.
So it was quite an interestingtime to be in Athens.
That was back in 2013.
And then once you start makinghandbags, then you're like, oh,
I need to make hardware.
Then you're making belts.
Then I'm getting an apartment.
Then I'm designing furniture.
And I really felt that Greece,although it was going through
(02:30):
this crisis, was going through avery creative time.
I really believe that crisisbreeds creativity and that in
many other parts of the world.
And it was just a time that Ifelt like, this was such an
emerging destination and why notsee what could happen here.
Also following a bit in thefootsteps of my ancestors.
SPEAKER_02 (02:51):
Yeah, amazing.
And obviously you're finding outand discovering some quite
incredible artisans in Greece.
And what makes the destinationthe best place to find those
local sort of makers and theartifacts that you're actually
now showcasing and selling aspart of your business?
SPEAKER_00 (03:10):
Oh, it's a great foundation.
It's so old world in that sense,much like other, I guess,
European cities and othercapitals.
But Greece has a deep connectionto its traditions, crafts like
ceramics, weaving, metalwork.
We happen to use a foundry thathas been in operation for three
(03:32):
generations, for instance, usingancient methods of pouring brass
through sand molds.
just doesn't happen in a lot ofplaces today.
Really, every region of thecountry has something unique,
whether it's ceramics in thenorthern part of Athens,
embroidery from different partsof the island.
(03:53):
I also feel like the pace hereencourages an appreciation of
that.
So for craftsmanship,authenticity, it really feels
like people take time toappreciate their work and So as
the world does, what I hope tomove a little bit away from fast
fashion, fast decor, going backto these traditions, and that's
(04:17):
really, to me, what culturalpreservation is all about.
SPEAKER_02 (04:20):
And living in Athens, where do you find the
local makers whose works thatyou feature?
SPEAKER_00 (04:26):
The beauty of Greece is that Greeks really like to,
let's say, I share theirconnections a bit.
So as I mentioned earlier, onceyou're making a handbag, for
instance, then you turn tosomebody who's going to make a
handle for you.
And then someone else is goingto introduce you to someone
(04:47):
who's going to make a belt.
But when it comes to just, let'ssay, the traveler who I think is
listening today, Neighborhoodslike Monastiraki, Thiri, here in
Athens, they had some of theseold workshops.
You'll walk by this greatbuzzing bar, restaurant, and
then on the next block, you'llfind some man who's hand
carving, hand hammering copper,right all in the center of
(05:12):
Athens.
So for me, I found everything onfoot and through connections,
really.
So I think the more you divedeep in some of those little
streets and alleys, Athens isreally good for that.
SPEAKER_02 (05:25):
How long did it take you?
Like, how long have you livedthere?
And how long did it take you tofind all these little places?
SPEAKER_00 (05:31):
It's been 12 years now.
So, yeah, it's a long time.
It is.
But it really depends whatyou're looking for.
Like, in Monastiraki, there's aSunday antiques market.
My tip is to really go see thoseantique dealers during the week.
So they're closed on Mondaysbecause they rest after Sunday.
But go check them out likeTuesday through Saturday.
(05:53):
That's more when the localsshop.
You can always ring a doorbellif it says it's closed, or you
can ask one dealer maybe wheresomebody else is.
And that's really my hint isdon't go on the touristy days of
Sunday morning when everybody isthere.
For instance, it's fun and it'slively and it's active, but
don't always see a city on aweekend.
(06:14):
I think people make that mistakewhen they travel.
So It's always important for meto see a city, how it lived, how
it is every day.
That's when I really find thereal treasure.
SPEAKER_02 (06:26):
Yeah, that's such a good tip.
And the sorts of things, whatare some of the sorts of things
that you can, like when you talkabout these places that you can
go and knock on the door andfind them, what are the sorts of
things that you can find thatyou can take home as a really
amazing keepsake from thatplace?
SPEAKER_00 (06:42):
Oh gosh, from antique embroideries,
hand-carved wood.
Lots of copper work.
There's a lot of copper workalso in the north of Greece, up
outside of Thessaloniki.
But there are quite a few placesin Athens that sell it here.
Brass work, any kind of metalwork, foundry work as well.
And jewelry.
Jewelry is renowned in Greece,obviously, for millennia.
(07:06):
So you'll see stores that sellbeautiful pieces that are
possibly copies, but obviouslyin the most positive way.
of ancient designs, one placethat I absolutely love is the
Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum.
It's actually behind my house.
And Lalaounis was, yeah, andLalaounis was actually one of
(07:29):
the most foremost jewelryhouses, is the foremost jewelry
house in Greece.
They're like the Cartier ofGreece.
And his workshop was actuallybehind my house.
And then his daughter turned itinto a museum.
So it's a foundation as well.
to help support emerging jewelrydesigners.
And it's just such a beautifulfaith and a great find.
You can just turn up there.
(07:51):
They have normal museum hourslike a lot of museums do.
They're usually closed one day.
They also have workshops.
So if you're interested intrying your own jewelry or
learning direct from an artisan,they do run workshops as well.
They also have apprenticeshipsfor emerging jewelry artists as
well that they help support.
They have a gorgeous littleshop.
(08:12):
Their main store, La La Onise,is one of my most favorite
places.
And when I was a kid, actually,my dad would always buy a piece
of La La Onise jewelry for mymother every Christmas.
And I'm 52 this year.
So back then, there was nointernet, obviously.
My dad would get jewelryphotocopied back to him.
(08:33):
And then we would sit on thesofa and have a cup of tea and I
would circle the pieces.
that I love from my mom, andthen they would mail it to her.
And the first time I came toGreece, I actually went to the
shop and I bought myself a pieceof jewelry to continue that
tradition.
And I met one of the daughters,a Katerini, and we're still
friends today.
And I carry on the tradition.
(08:55):
Yeah, I love buying a piece ofjewelry for myself every year.
I think it's really important.
SPEAKER_02 (09:00):
Oh, that's such a lovely thing to do.
What a wonderful story and awonderful way to carry on that
family tradition.
What are some of your other sortof favourite places to go to
find and also places for thecreative minded?
What are some of the otherplaces that people should make
sure they put on their list ifthey come?
SPEAKER_00 (09:17):
Oh, definitely Crete.
Crete is a country in and ofitself to be perfectly honest.
The textiles, traditional craft,there is incredible places.
My PR agency, we work with acompany called Faya there, and
they have two beautiful hotels,Faya Blue and Faya Crete and
(09:38):
Malia.
And they have curated thisincredible hand-picked secret
that the owners, these twofabulous sisters, put together
in East Crete.
And they'll take you toworkshops and factories where
they're still making beautiful,those huge ancient amphora pots.
(09:58):
by hand, little bakeries,olives, wine, of course, but
loads of little hidden secrets.
So Crete is really an incredibleplace to discover things.
Also Paros, where we have twoanthologist boutiques as well.
There's a gorgeous antique storethere called The Antique Store.
My friends Lydia and Petros ownit.
(10:19):
And Petros, he is a generationalantique dealer as well as a
furniture store owner.
Our house has some beautifulceramics as well as Sifnos.
It's an incredible destinationfor ceramics.
It's a beautiful hotel therecalled Verena.
And they have a beautiful shoptoo that has lots of local
ceramics.
What I try to do is alwaysdirect people also to the
(10:42):
Cycladic Museum here in Athens.
They have a beautiful shop whereyou can get a great education of
the Cycladic islands as well.
Santorini, even though peoplethink that, oh, there's crowds,
there's this, everyone's sayingthat.
So it's actually a really goodtime to go to Santorini because
everyone says the same thing andthen nobody shows up, right?
(11:04):
We have some beautiful hotels wework with there too.
Mystique, the Dama is in thisgorgeous little village with
like beautiful wine shops.
And I just think that a lot ofthe islands also, they replicate
what's been around for millenniain a modern way.
So I think it's always draw,your eye is drawn to really what
you love and then take it out ofthat setting.
(11:26):
When I'm working with designclients, I always educate them
on this to feel like, what isthat going to be like in my
space?
And how can I recreate that in amodern way?
SPEAKER_02 (11:36):
What are some of the maybe lesser known places that
people that may have been toGreece multiple times before and
that still offer thoseopportunities to engage with
some of those sort of ancienttraditions and buy some of these
beautiful artisan products?
SPEAKER_00 (11:53):
Throughout Crete, there's lots of places and
there's places that you can goto purchase ceramics or even
contemporary textiles.
Working with those artisans, youget so much insight in the
cultural heritage, but alsosupporting their work
financially, of course.
There's great pottery makingworkshops and also in Crete,
(12:15):
Thithnos, Paros, Also here inAthens as well.
There's plenty of places inAthens and hotels like Hotel
Grand Breton, which we have alittle corner in their shop
there.
They can direct you toworkshops.
As I mentioned, also the LalonaJewelry Museum here in Athens as
well has beautiful workshops.
That's all about storytelling.
(12:35):
So I think when you go homeafter you've bought something
that really is handcrafted andhas a story behind it, You're
sharing that experience thenagain with others.
I love when people come into myshowroom or into my apartment
and they always say, oh, what isthis?
Where is this from?
Where is that from?
So I guess, as you mentionedearlier, I am the original
anthologist by telling thosestories through objects.
(12:59):
And I think that's the mosttangible way of having a memory
from a holiday.
SPEAKER_02 (13:04):
Yeah.
And what are there some sort oflesser known places in, say,
Paris that people can go thatthey wouldn't normally even have
thought of that to get theseexperiences or encounters?
SPEAKER_00 (13:16):
Lefkes, which is a small mountainous village,
mountains, of course, it's notthe Alps, but it's the mountains
for the Cycladic.
There are some great studiosthere, small village.
It's important also to pokearound just at the beginning and
the end of season instead ofduring July and August.
Also in the south of theislands, there are some great
(13:39):
places that are tucked away.
I think if you do a little bitof research and rent a car,
that's the best way to seeParos.
And then there's hotels where wehave our shop, our Peruvian
flagship is at Cosme Hotel andPerilio Hotel, which is was
really the first proper hotel onthe island.
(13:59):
They run these beautiful tripsas well that will take you
throughout the island to some ofthese lesser-known studios.
SPEAKER_02 (14:05):
Amazing.
And I've seen that you've beenquoted saying about the
importance of us upholding theseage-old artisanal traditions.
Obviously, as you've explained,it's something that it's such so
incredible to be able to takethese pieces home and that's a
way of ensuring that when you'repurchasing from them that those
people can continue thosetraditions.
(14:25):
What are some of the other waysand how can travellers ensure
that we're a part of thatcultural preservation?
I
SPEAKER_00 (14:32):
always say collect, don't shop.
That's my mantra.
And I think that it's reallyimportant to support the local
community.
Sustainability is about beingeco or green all the time,
right?
And this is why pathologistsexist.
So when you're a traveler andyou go to a destination, I think
(14:53):
it's so important to be, ofcourse, respectful of culture
and tradition.
And at the same time, when youare purchasing something that is
a tangible representation of adestination, you're making a
contribution not onlyfinancially, but also to that
cultural preservation of adestination, right?
That's something that you'regoing to have forever, better
(15:14):
than any memory.
SPEAKER_02 (15:16):
So what are your future plans as far as being an
anthologist?
SPEAKER_00 (15:21):
This year, we continue our showroom in Athens.
We're doing by appointment here.
We're launching some reallyinteresting collections.
So we're launching a vintagetextile collection, which will
be online in the next 30 days orso, which we're really excited
about.
And I've collected so manytextiles over the years, so
(15:42):
they're really hard to partwith.
But I can't keep them all.
So we've decided to share themwith the world, which I love
textiles.
My grandmother made textiles.
So it's a really important partof me and what the company is
about.
We'll be opening our seasonalsummer shops in Paros.
So at Corilio and Cosme Hotel.
We're doing a really excitinginstallation in Crete at Faya
(16:06):
Blue, which is a new boutiquehotel that opened last summer.
So we're really excited aboutthat.
We have a big project in Athensthat I can't talk about yet, but
stay tuned.
So that will be done hopefullyby the end of the year.
We also are launching a rattanfurniture line.
So outside of Greece, but inDominican Republic, in the
(16:28):
Caribbean.
I recently just did my firstinterior design project, which
was at a hotel called Eastwindson the island of St.
Lucia.
And I created a rattan andbamboo furniture collection just
for them.
So we'll be launching that thisyear as well.
Quite busy.
SPEAKER_02 (16:46):
Yes, absolutely.
And for people who are comingover to Greece this year over
the summertime, what are someother places that you think
maybe they should go to?
Putting all of that aside, justgenerally, what are some of your
favorite places to holiday?
SPEAKER_00 (17:02):
Oh, Syros should be the top of everyone's list.
It's not a traditional beachdestination.
There are beaches.
It is actually one of the onlyislands that has 50% Greek
Orthodox and 50% Catholicism,which makes it really
interesting.
And in April this year, theEaster's fall on the same time.
(17:23):
So they're both April 20th,which doesn't happen too often.
And Syros has the mostincredible architecture,
unexpected architecture, Ishould say, of anywhere, I
think, in the entire country.
There are very famous architectsthat have built their opera
house as a mini version of LaScala in Milan, which was built
(17:47):
by an Italian architect.
And it's really, to me, I thinkone of the most culturally rich
and off the radar destinations.
It's also the capital of theCyclades, the Cyclades Islands
as well.
I would definitely head there.
And then the Peloponnese, Mani,which is where my friends or my
family is from.
I'm sorry.
(18:07):
Mani is south.
It's about four hours driving.
It is another side of Greece,totally.
It is like something you'venever seen before.
The landscape, the people, thefood, the attitude.
It's just, it's such a stunningplace.
So I think exploring more of themainland too.
There's a beautiful little hotelthere called Corona Suite.
(18:31):
It's actually owned by the samepeople that have the Cosme and
Perilio and Paros and the otherhotels in Santorini.
And actually, they got marriedthere.
It was their own home.
They developed it into aboutique hotel, and it's just a
stunning place.
So if you're inclined to stay onthe mainland a little bit, I
would definitely go to Mani.
SPEAKER_02 (18:50):
Amazing, fantastic recommendations.
Thank you so much for those.
And sadly, we're running out oftime.
I'm going to have to ask you thequestion that we ask all of our
interviewees, which is, what'sthe most bizarre thing that's
ever happened to you in yourtravels?
SPEAKER_00 (19:04):
When I traveled to Greece in January 2013, I
actually fell and broke my rib.
I was working on a project inMalaysia, so I had to fly to
Malaysia the next day and I wasgone for 10 days.
And I was in a lot of pain,obviously.
And I came back to Athens and Iwas staying at Hotel Grand
Breton at the time.
And I went to the hospital andthe doctor showed me the x-ray
(19:28):
and it was not even a fracture.
This was a full on break.
So I ended up living at HotelGrand Breton.
So I was the modern day Eloiseliving in the hotel for three
months.
And It was an incredible timebecause it was also the
financial crisis.
There were demonstrations inSyntagma Square every day.
(19:50):
And it was really a time that Iwas able to explore the city on
foot, alone.
And that's how I fell in lovewith the city.
I'd say that the ancients foundme, Greece found me.
And that's why I feel like Idecided to stay because I was
able to explore a city not as atraveler.
(20:11):
not even as someone who livedhere.
It was really like, okay, forcedentry in a way.
And I just loved that timebecause it was so soulful.
It was so peaceful.
It was winter, which is anincredible time to come to
Greece.
And I discovered so many thingsthat I normally wouldn't because
sometimes when you feel likewhen you're a traveler, you feel
(20:34):
like, oh, I need to do thesefive things on my list.
But when you're in a place foran extended period of time, you
get to explore a city adifferent way.
And it actually also happened tome in 2022 in Mexico City.
I was actually hit by a wave inOaxaca and I tore my ACL and I
ended up being in Mexico Citywith surgery for three months.
(20:57):
So hopefully no more injuries.
Touch wood.
Yes.
Oh, you've had your fish here.
I have.
But see, that's my best adviceis when you travel, take it
slowly.
The world is a big place and youshould always appreciate every
moment that you have on it andthe people that you meet and
those human connections and thestories that they tell you.
SPEAKER_02 (21:19):
Wow, that's so beautiful.
And yes, gosh, isn't itincredible that even though
through something so traumaticfor you and...
clearly challenging to deal withmedically what came out of that
SPEAKER_00 (21:30):
absolutely yes i'm very blessed to be here and i i
do this interview talking to youstaring at the acropolis and it
reminds me yes of why i'm hereevery day oh
SPEAKER_02 (21:42):
that's been so wonderful to chat with you and
thank you so much for coming onthe show and we will put all of
the links in the show notes Thatwas Andrea Mitsakos talking
about the value of culturalpreservation through the
purchases you make.
And you can find out more abouther at anthologist.com.
Next up, my co-host, BelleJackson, takes us to Greece and
(22:04):
Bulgaria, traveling by rail on aslow food, slow travel journey
of these neighboring countries.
SPEAKER_01 (22:10):
Hey, well, it's been an amazing trip, but it had two
parts.
So firstly, I was down, I flewinto Athens and then I drove
down to the PeloponnesePeninsula because I was
reviewing the new MandarinOriental Hotel in Costa Navarino
down on the south coast.
So this is mainland Greece.
And the Peloponnese has threepeninsulas and I was staying on
(22:34):
one of those.
The main towns in this areainclude Pylos and Mephone.
which are loaded with historyfrom ancient ruins to medieval
castles.
The super atmospheric MithoniCastle was built by the
Venetians in 1209.
Did you know the Venetians wereruling this part of the
coastline?
I know, right?
So they had it for about 300years until the Ottomans took it
(22:58):
over.
They came back in, went backout.
It's just the most beautiful,beautiful location.
And we don't talk about it thatmuch because everybody's so
focused on the islands and theytend to stay away from mainland
Greece.
SPEAKER_02 (23:11):
Yeah, that's it.
I mean, that's the thing that Ijust love hearing about these
sorts of places because, andthis is the great thing about
everywhere you travel, it'salways somewhere a little off
the beaten track.
And I just love the fact that...
You know, that you were in thisplace that some people wouldn't
have even heard of.
A lot of people would never haveheard of, actually.
And also, everyone knows theMandarin Orientals are great
hotels.
But what made that one standout?
(23:33):
What was sort of different andspecial about that one?
SPEAKER_01 (23:37):
Well, it's been open for just over a year.
It's got 51 suites and 48 poolvillas.
I was lucky enough to score apool villa.
So when I woke every morning tolook out over the pool, I was
then looking past it intoNavarino Bay, which, because,
you know, I love a good historyhit, it was the size of the last
naval battle fought by sailingships in 1827, which marked the
(24:01):
beginning of the Greek War ofIndependence.
SPEAKER_02 (24:03):
So cool.
SPEAKER_01 (24:04):
So cool.
So, you know, you just had thisincredible sweep of beach that
you looked at, or the bay, thisbeautiful deep water bay.
And one of the reallyinteresting parts of it is the
food side, because I was thereat It was all about food.
It was basically two weeks ofeating myself for second
vaccine.
So in the year.
(24:26):
What about the running?
Didn't you do a run while youwere there?
I did a run.
The first day I got up and wentfor a run with the personal
trainer, she did not even breaka sweat.
It was really like 29 degreesand she was just running along
lightly.
Where did you run?
Where did you run?
We ran around the perimeter ofthe Mandarin Oriental because
this Costa Navarino is a region,has been developed.
(24:50):
There's already a W Hotel there.
You know, there's been marinasdeveloped.
There's golf courses and stufflike that.
And the Mandarin Oriental islike the next stage of this.
So we went for a jog aroundthat.
We're literally, we go past, youknow, we went through the golf
course, but then we're goingpast these ancient olive groves.
And it's still really embeddedin that.
And the interesting thing aboutthose olive groves is that then
(25:14):
the olives and the fruit fromthese and the oils appear on the
table in the restaurant.
So even though you're at aninternational restaurant, it is
really grounded in the food fromthat area.
And I spent a lot of time withthe executive chef, Bertrand
Valgueras, and he has runMichelin-star restaurants in the
(25:34):
past.
He stayed on site before itopened to find local farmers and
fishermen so that he couldsupply everything from the most
spectacular sheep's yogurt I'veever eaten.
You know, that very Greek thingof having yogurt with honey and
walnuts as a breakfast.
It was just astonishing.
(25:55):
And local fish, all of theherbs, most of the herbs were
sourced from within a 200-meterradius of the hotel.
We're not talking kilometres.
Yeah, that's great.
All the fish came from the bay.
Like, you could see where thefish came from.
And it's not just
SPEAKER_02 (26:12):
important.
I mean, it's obviously vitallyimportant as far as when it
comes to food miles and, youknow.
But also, it means that thefood's just so much better
because it's just literally sofresh.
Oh, my God, the tomatoes.
SPEAKER_01 (26:25):
The tomatoes.
You know, we've just come out ofwinter here in Melbourne, so
we've got these– nasty, palelittle things.
We had a running tomato theme.
They are just perfect andprecious.
SPEAKER_02 (26:39):
Well, all the acidity from those tomatoes
would have broken down all thefood that you were eating.
I'm telling
SPEAKER_01 (26:46):
myself that.
Can I tell you, one of thethings, I mean, they have
spectacularly great food.
They also have a pizza amacaserestaurant.
So it's like having adegustation of pizza.
It was incredible.
The pizza is made on site.
There's only like 12 seats.
You're sitting around a barwhere the pizza oven is.
They've got a chef from Napoli,which, of course, is the home to
(27:08):
the best pizza.
And those tomatoes then appearedon it.
You have not had a margaritalike you would have.
It was just incredible.
So, yeah, the food, everythingis just so… Pizza to rival
Italy, you reckon?
Yeah.
Well, you know, the guy wasusing those techniques.
But he's just using all of thelocal produce that's there, you
(27:30):
know, the anchovies from nearby.
Oh, God, it was so good.
And we just stuffed ourselves onincredible pizzas and drank
local wines, which was really agreat experience.
And, you know, like all ofGreece, you have to make sure
you're somewhere fabulous whenthe sun is setting so you catch
that golden light on the water.
And I would have said go up tothe hilltop spa and watch it
(27:52):
from the infinity pool.
And you just see...
The sun sinking down over thebeautiful islands out behind
you.
Absolutely beautiful.
SPEAKER_02 (28:00):
So the next part of your trip, how did you end up
going from there to get toBulgaria?
And how long did that take?
Because I have a little bit ofinsider knowledge of how long
that took you.
And I was very impressed on youwhen you first arrived, the fact
that you drove that distance onyour own.
But then you drove back again.
So tell us about what thedistance was to get from there
(28:22):
back.
I
SPEAKER_01 (28:24):
did pick up a hire car in Athens and I was
thinking, gosh, I haven't drivenon the other side of the road
forever.
But, you know, how bad can itbe?
How bad can Athens traffic be?
With jet lag.
With a bit of jet lag.
I just had like a coffee thatyou could stand your scoot up in
and I was like, right, that'sit.
(28:44):
And just thundered on down theroad.
the highways down to thePeloponnese, which takes about
three and a half hours to drive.
So it's a solid clip.
And you just get into the swingof it.
And so I drove from Athens downto Costa Navarino, spent my
beautiful time in the MandarinOriental, drove back up.
(29:07):
And from there, I was on thesecond part of my trip, which
was this Slow travel, slow foodadventure.
So I ditched the hire car and Iteamed up with Eurail, who sells
rail passes all the way throughEurope.
So from there, I was catchinglocal trains from Athens to
Thessaloniki in the north ofGreece and then on to Bulgaria.
SPEAKER_02 (29:27):
Amazing.
So how does that Eurail passwork?
We did touch on that a littlebit because you said that those
kids were on those similarpasses, but tell us a bit,
obviously it works for 15 and 16year olds, so it must be pretty
easy to use.
SPEAKER_01 (29:42):
Well, yeah, you get an app.
So they're, of course, intuitivewith the app.
But what it means is you canplan your route.
And let's say you buy a pass.
The pass that I had was a firstclass pass for unlimited train
travel for 15 days.
And you've got either a month ortwo months to use.
So you've got 15 travel days ina one or two month period.
(30:02):
So you can hop on and hop offduring that day or you can use
it on overnight sleepers aswell.
And it goes to 30,000destinations across 33 European
countries.
So you can do– it's designed todo cross-border travel and take
the pain out of it.
So what I reckon that that mumdid was probably help her kid
(30:23):
plan his trip, you know, fromBrussels and Paris and stuff
like that.
You load it into the app andthen you activate your day
travel as you go.
So it's really quite amazing.
It does sound really
SPEAKER_02 (30:34):
easy.
And– And it's all about slowingit down, right?
So you put a slow travel inthere and then you don't have to
drive.
But what about when you'reactually in those places?
How do you get around then?
SPEAKER_01 (30:46):
Well, the aim of it was to try to keep the carbon
footprint down.
Australians, we've got to makethat initial flight over anyway.
But once you're there, usingpublic transport means you know,
using the metros when you're inthe cities, trying to avoid
using taxis.
So walking from the trainstations to the hotels.
(31:11):
And the great thing about, youknow, when you're on rail is you
don't have to check in oranything like that.
You just get to the station fiveor 10 minutes beforehand, get
into your carriage and you'regone.
You know, it doesn't have thatcan I say, incredibly onerous
level of bureaucracy thatairports have done because, oh
my goodness, I'm fried for theamount of passport controls and
(31:33):
customs checks and all of thatsort of thing.
The only time we did have acheck was when we crossed over
the border from Greece toBulgaria.
So, I mean, the whole thingkicked off in Athens, which has
just got such an incredible,huge energy.
You know, it's got the Acropolisand all of those other ancient
Greek sites, but then it's gotFabulous art galleries.
(31:54):
It's got a really vibrant streetscene.
And in the warmer months, whichwe're still in, everyone's on
the street, sipping coffee,eating simmet, which are these
sort of knots of sesame seedbread rings.
And there's a really strong slowfood scene starting to happen
here.
And then from there, we trainedup to Thessaloniki of a couple
of hours.
And look, what I love aboutThessaloniki, and when I put
(32:16):
stuff up on my Instagram, I hadheaps of people saying the same
thing.
Love this place.
Love it.
It's so layered.
It's Greek, but then it's gotBalkan undertones.
And then you see the Ottoman orthe Turkish influence in the
architecture.
You see it in the food.
And food, Thessaloniki is themost famous for being the home
of the bulgatsa, which is thatlayered, custard-filled pastry
(32:39):
that's usually eaten forbreakfast.
And it's home of the souvlaki.
Yay! So thank you, Thessaloniki,for bringing that to us.
You know, don't mind a little.
I don't know about you, Kirsty,but yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And look, interestingly,Thessaloniki's also got a strong
Jewish history.
And you'll find that in suchrestaurants as Olympos Noosa,
(33:01):
which was a brewery.
It's been a cinema.
It's been one of the bestrestaurants in town for 17 years
or so.
And, you know, we were exploringsome of the dishes from, you
know, from all of thosedifferent periods of history and
the people that have broughtthose dishes fruit traditions
together.
And this trip, you know, we didthings like we went to an
(33:22):
incredible village called Rachi,which is south of Thessaloniki.
And there we met farmers whoraise Greece's indigenous black
pig.
Stay with me here.
They feed them on olives tocreate this unique meat.
Think of it like, you know, howSpain has the Iberico pork,
which they feed the pigs acorns.
So this is like the Greekversion of it.
(33:44):
It's not well known.
It's something that the pigswere almost extinct.
They'd pretty much been huntedout.
They'd been bred out.
It was cheaper and easier justto get that sort of your
standard sort of domestic pig.
But this is a really unique, itis indigenous to Greece.
And so we met the owners of thisincredible pork farm.
(34:07):
And then we went to a localwinery and we sat beneath these
wild chestnut trees where thewinemakers and the farmers
shared this incredible foodspread out on long tables,
gorgeous local wine, pork beingcooked on an open flame fire.
And it was just magical.
And did the pork taste likeolives?
(34:30):
It was, you know, I'm not a bigpork eater, but it was the best
I've ever eaten.
Wow.
Absolutely hand on heart.
It was astonishing.
And then you had more beautifultomatoes and more gorgeous feta
and the wine matches perfectlywith it because everything is
from the same tabai.
It's from the same soil.
So it's all in absolute harmony.
(34:51):
It was just a magicalexperience.
magical experience.
You're making me
SPEAKER_02 (34:55):
very hungry.
And from there, you cross theborder to Bulgaria.
So tell us a bit about whatmakes Bulgaria such a great
place to visit.
SPEAKER_01 (35:03):
Well, I've got to say the last time I was in
Bulgaria was a really long timeago.
I was backpacking and campingand it was a whole different
ballgame.
It's really overlooked, areally, really overlooked part
of Europe.
But what you'll find now isRyanair flies in there.
So you'll find Brits are flyinginto winter for the cheap
skiing.
It's really one of the cheapestdestinations to ski in Europe.
(35:26):
And the Black Sea resorts areparty towns for the kids.
But we're all about the food andwine in the capital, Sofia, and
the second city of Plovdiv.
So, Sofia, you're in the land ofgold-topped domes of Orthodox
cathedrals, cathedrals.
You know, you can pick up alittle Soviet war memorial sold
in the street market.
So it's still got all of thathistory behind it.
(35:49):
The streets are dings of tramseverywhere.
So I felt very at home being aMelburnian.
And we went looking for– we werelooking for Bulgarian food.
So we went back to supertraditional foods like so many
different types of white andyellow cheeses.
I found it really fascinating.
(36:10):
The– Everybody eats a saladcalled shopska salad, which is
kind of like a Greek salad, butthey grate white cheese over the
top of it.
It was actually invented duringthe communist era as a national
salad because, you know, Greecehas got a national salad.
Bulgaria needs its own nationalsalad.
I don't know what Australia'swould be.
And they are also masters of theslow, slow, slow cooked lamb
(36:37):
dish, which is perfect for thisSlow
SPEAKER_02 (36:39):
food, slow travel adventure.
Yeah, maybe a bit of beetroot.
A bit of beetroot and egg on abit of four-leaf.
SPEAKER_01 (36:45):
See the Australian stuff?
It wasn't a big beetroot thing.
I was kind of like, it was kindof there.
But also too, so we were therecoming into autumn in the
harvest.
So things like those rootvegetables are going to, because
it's so seasonal, that's goingto be your winter.
You're going to see all of thoseroot veggies coming on in the
winter menus.
But we were still in the lastdays of summer.
(37:07):
It was great.
It was sort of hovering aroundthe 30 degree mark.
No, I'm talking about
SPEAKER_02 (37:13):
Australian's national salad.
You were asking
SPEAKER_01 (37:16):
what?
Oh, the
SPEAKER_02 (37:16):
beetroot?
Yes.
Speaking of the beetroot.
Beetroot, beetroot, bit ofbeetroot, bit of boiled egg, you
know, bit of boiled egg.
Mayo, put a mayo
SPEAKER_01 (37:25):
squeezed on the top.
There we go.
Yeah, the Aussie burger.
Why would you have like abeetroot and pineapple on a
burger?
SPEAKER_02 (37:32):
Anyway, back to it.
Tell us a bit more about Plovdivbecause it sounds amazing.
It sounds like it was such anincredible city to end your trip
on.
SPEAKER_01 (37:41):
Yeah, it's about...
three hours from Sofia by train.
And it's got this incrediblehistory.
The hotel I stayed at, theVizualisa Hotel, was a former
cigar factory because there's alot of tobacco grown in
Bulgaria.
And it's set up on the hillsoverlooking, looking across to
another hill where the gorgeousold town is built.
(38:03):
So it's a university city and soit's already vibrant, but it
really took off when it wasnamed the 2019 European City of
Culture.
And that prompted the city torenovate its 18th century old
houses, which you wanderthrough.
It's a real fire burner, so likeI was hitting my step counter.
And these gorgeous oldtownhouses, which then they've
(38:29):
got crafts and traditionalmusical instruments and things
like that.
So you go in and explore themand you meet the people that are
playing, you know, flutes orthey might be– blacksmithing or
embroidery and stuff like thatall through this old town.
But the whole city is stillbuilt around ancient Roman ruins
(38:50):
as well.
So it's got these just literallylayers.
You look down, you think you'relooking down a hill, but you're
actually looking down becausethere's a series of Roman
columns built onto the side ofthis the side of the town.
It's just gorgeous.
Yeah,
SPEAKER_02 (39:06):
it sounds amazing.
And it sounds like that wholepart, the Bulgaria part of the
trip would be suited to quite afew people because obviously, I
mean, obviously foodies, butpeople that love history and
culture and, you know, that sortof immersive cultural experience
as well.
Is that sort of the key, youthink?
SPEAKER_01 (39:28):
I think that, yeah, if you're looking for history
and culture, it really gets intodepth with that.
That's its key thing.
I mean, it's got fabulouscobblestone streets full of
outdoor restaurants and thepeople are so generous and warm.
I was actually really surprisedat how warmly we were welcomed.
(39:48):
And every time you said you'reAustralian, everyone's like, oh,
that is like mind-blowingly faraway.
But, you know, they're They'rereally innovative.
You know, they've got naturalwine bars, you know, with their
local wines because there's alot of indigenous types of grape
in this area.
But I think the history reallyis key for this area.
(40:10):
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (40:11):
Well, it's been so great to hear all about your
adventures, Belle, and we willpost the stories as they're
published in the media in thecoming months, probably starting
with how Belle took three and ahalf days to get home.
And we'll also put therestaurants in the show notes.
And for more information aboutEurail, visit eurail.com and
also visit Belle's Instagram,globa underscore salsa.
(40:32):
That was Belle Jackson talkingabout her rail adventure from
Greece to Bulgaria, and you canfind all her tips about where to
eat and sleep in our show notes.
Next week, we're talking to tworemarkable women adventurers,
one who was almost at the end ofa journey to walk the length of
the earth, and another who haspaddled the length of
Australia's longest river.
(40:53):
And for those who haven't heard,we have a trip to Thailand to
give away.
Our friends at Avani Hotels andResorts have partnered with us
to celebrate our 100th episode,kicking off the party with a
tropical holiday to give away.
You can win four nights for twopeople in a deluxe room at Avani
(41:13):
Plus Khao Lak with dailybreakfast and dinner, airport
transfers and a Muay Thai boxingclass.
And all you have to do is go tothe world Awaits Instagram
competition post, like it andtag a friend and follow both the
World Awaits and Barney andyou're in for the win.
Entrance can be located anywherein the world and entries close
(41:35):
on the 31st of July.
Thanks for joining us on theWorld Awaits Winter Series.
See you next time.
That's
SPEAKER_01 (41:42):
a wrap for the World Awaits this week.
Click to subscribe anywhere youlisten to your favourite pods.
Thanks for listening.
See you next week.
UNKNOWN (41:56):
Yeah.
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