“The cooking, long meals, wine, weather, settings, adventures around the island were stellar. But what made our time with you stand out was the true hospitality that both of you exude,” wrote Beth—a guest in our late June program– in a warm and enthusiastic note she sent far from Kea, back in her South Carolina home.
Slide Show: Keartisanal Summer 2011
Renee, another participant, amazed us with the royal treatment on her blog, where she devoted not just one but four wonderfully detailed presentations to our activities. In our May group we were greatly surprised to welcome two ladies who joined us literally from the other side of the world: Danica, from Hawaii, and Chris from Rarotonga, Cook Islands, the tiny spots of land – not unlike Kea – at the exact opposite side of the globe from Greece. Guests from diverse backgrounds — from Canada, India, the U.K. and of course the U.S. — once more joined the conviviality of our outdoor table as we enjoyed the foods we prepared together, listening to the song of the cicadas.
We would like to thank you all for trusting us with your precious vacation time!
Nothing gives us more pleasure than spending time with you after the long months of calm and isolation on the island. Despite the serious financial difficulties and the constant negative press Greece has been getting, life here on Kea goes on as it always has, following the rhythm of the seasons and welcoming guests almost all year-round, and especially from April until the end of our very mild fall, which often extends well into November.
July and August are very busy months on the island, so we only arrange short, custom made one-day events, but we have great plans for the fall. Our September 19 to 24 program is sold out, while our planned five-day (October 3-7) olive picking and pressing group is almost complete. Besides harvesting the early fruits from our olive grove and pressing them to extract agourelaio—the very fruity extra virgin olive oil–we will do quite a bit of cooking, along with island explorations, Greek cheese and wine tasting, and most of our usual seasonal activities. Note that we offer this new opportunity at a special introductory price– just a fraction of the cost of our usual full-time programs.
