Piskopiano, Crete, A Family Travel Resort

Back in July the girls, my Mum and I  returned from a week's holiday in Crete, staying at the Piskopiano Village Apartments, in the village of the same name on the Heraklion side of the island.

This was my Mum Vicky's third time visiting these apartments in a couple of years, and aside from them being set in a lovely, picturesque resort, I think the owner's warmth and hospitality is what has drawn her back.

Piskopiano is one of three traditional Greek villages that are joined together in a triangular set of roads, the other's being Koutouloufari and Ano Hersonnisos - all slightly in-land, but only 1km from coastal Hersonnisos.To say they are pretty and traditionally Greek, is somewhat of an understatement; I love the islands of Greece and this was only my second visit to Crete, my first in a decade, and I'd definitely like to return.

A beautiful house in Piskopiano

Piskopiano Church by night

The Accommodation

Piskopiano Village Apartments

The apartments themselves, had a very welcoming reception and bar area, all modern in décor and to the 'shabby chic' style, a great place to enjoy an evening beverage before or after a nice meal out. There were two pools, one on each level, as the apartments are set out across two different levels. We were on the lower level, close to the snack bar area, and with the baby pool section inside, which suited us perfectly and we spent our time at this pool.

The apartments also had an area with Little Tykes play equipment, a house, a slide and some swings - which were great of an evening to keep Bridget entertained. The pools had a collection of inflatables, that it seemed everyone shared, which was nice, and there was a really good, friendly atmosphere throughout.

Mum and Beatrice enjoying one of the two pools

The room we had was lovely and spacious, a big, double bedroom with two sofa beds in the living area, a kitchen table and dining chairs and a huge patio terrace. As is the norm in Greece, there was no bath, just a shower, which was fine, we bought a little paddling pool on the first day, and Bridget and Beatrice had some lovely warm, al fresco 'baths' in these.

Bridget and Beatrice in our lovely apartment at Piskopiano Village

The snack bar  at Piskopiano Village is run in full by Maria, daughter-in-law of Mr George, the proprietor, and she works tirelessly, cooking everything from scratch in her immaculate, open plan little kitchen - I was impressed. The snacks on offer included English and continental breakfasts, a variety of toasties and pizzas and a few Greek options - I tried my first ever Dakos (a hard bread rusk topped with grated tomatoes and feta) at Maria's.

Bridget waiting for a milkshake at Maria's bar

Cretan Dakos

We enjoyed a really fun, 'Greek Night' BBQ with traditional bouziki playing and dancing, which was great, and almost the entire inhabitants of the apartments signed up, which I think is testament to how popular the family running the hotel are.

Our first day coincided with the opening of the hotel's new Spa service, and I enjoyed a fantastic 60 minute deep tissue massage in the tranquillity of the Greek hills, with the Mediterranean sea as my backdrop - bliss.

The Villages

Piskopiano Village, Koutouloufari and Ano Hersonissos are such beautiful, traditional Greek villages, I adored them. With a smattering of obvious tourism, there were still the odd touches that screamed old Greece to me. Picturesque blue doors, grapes and pomegranates growing, and of course, elderly Greeks gathered at doors and around tables, speaking animatedly. Just beautiful.

Koutouloufari village

Grapes lining the road on the walk into Ano Hersonissos

Postcard beautiful door

Rustic charm in Piskopiano

The Food

I'm a huge, huge fan of Greek food and Crete did not disappoint at all.

I over-indulged on the fantastic Greek frappe iced coffees every day - there is literally nothing more refreshing in the heat. My Mum and I massively OD'd on taramasalata too, we literally couldn't not order it in pretty much every restaurant.

Big shouts to our favourite restaurants in Piskopiano - Asposperida where the dolmades, calamari and taramasalata were second to none, and Kostas Taverna - quite possibly the most beautiful, traditional looking tavern I've encountered, with a very decent souvlaki and retsina.

Kosta's Taverna

Kosta's Taverna

One of many Taramasalata dishes

Ice cream in a taverna in Ano Hersonissos

In Koutouloufari we had two stand out meals - the first being at Emmanuel Taverna; firstly Bridget who was almost-three at the time, was having an absolute 'terrible twos' evening, and the staff were just fantastic with her and with us; which made a huge difference. Any parent knows eating out with toddlers can be an adventure, and often not a good one, but understanding staff and owners, who immediately told me about their children, nieces, nephews etc, really made us feel at ease with her strop-throwing. Aside from their general pleasantness, the meal we had was sensational, it didn't look the most appetising but tasted so good; their version of a 'Sunday roast' from what Maria at Piskopiano Village explained to me, they like many of the restaurants, had a wood-fired oven and the meats we enjoyed were the restaurant's specialities. I had the slow cooked pork in various herbs and spices, my Mum had the lamb and both were served with village potatoes and vegetables. Absolutely delicious - well worth a visit.

'Meat in the oven'

The other place, where we enjoyed a fantastic, gourmet meal was Gallini's. It's located at the far end of Koutouloufari, and we spotted it on the first day, all Greek pillars, and fine linen tablecloths, the décor was beautiful. The girls nodded off on one of the last afternoons during a walk, and we took our chance with them both safely ensconced in their buggies and I'm so glad we did. It was less 'traditional Greek' and more focused on a finessed style of making the most of the local produce in novel ways. We saw someone enjoying a gorgeous looking shrimp cocktail and had requested the same, but our friendly waiter persuaded us to try the prawns in honey, soy and ginger - what a triumph they were - like a tempura, and half dipped in this sticky, sweet yet sour, moreish sauce. Delicious. We also enjoyed a fine beef carpaccio, and a lemon sole baked in a cream and dill sauce with more prawns - delicious. Slightly more expensive than the other restaurants in the surrounding area, but the service and attention to detail was that bit better.

Beef carpaccio at Gallini's, Koutouloufari

Prawn Tempura, Gallini's

Gorgeous wine at Gallini's

In main Hersonnisos, we had a few meals too, a couple of casual ones, and then the meal of the holiday at the lovely Karavi restaurant. Karavi is a café-restaurant and lounge - with a section to the beach and then a pool and sun lounge area, very modern, and chic. Mum and I both opted for the Lobster Soup - which was absolutely gorgeous, served in a rich, tomatoey bisque and with a whole lobster tail, full of soft, perfectly cooked, sweet lobster meat, it was to die for. I followed mine with a seafood linguini which was also perfection - different to other seafood linguinis I've had elsewhere too, finished with a milder sauce with a hint of dill running through, and generous with the seafood, including mussels, clams and prawns - really lovely. Well worth a visit to Karavi if you're in the area.

Seafood Linguini at Karavi

Lobster Soup at Karavi

Family Activities

Star Beach 

Star Beach is a great Hersonnisos beach-front waterpark with lots going on for both older teenagers down to tots. Both of my girls really enjoyed the shallow splash pools, and Bridget loved the various toddler-sized slides, sprinklers and climbing frames set within the water. It's an inexpensive place to have a great family day or afternoon in the sunshine.

Hersonissos

Bridget enjoying Star Beach

Hersonisssos Train Tour is another hour-long activity which takes  you around the main tourist points in the area, and which we really enjoyed.

The beach itself, isn't the most sandy, but there is sand, there is sea and frankly with children of Bridget and Beatrice's age, what else do you need? Equally most places will allow you into their pool, so long as you are happy to buy some food or drink on their premises, so if you did fancy a day or a few hours away from your own pool, you can change the scene easily.

Greeks are notoriously good on hospitality and when children are involved, they're just fantastic. My two had a wonderful holiday and so did Mum and I - great memories to be treasured. I would thoroughly reccommend Crete and Piskopiano as a family resort and will undoubtedly return.

A wonderful family holiday

Gemistes - Greek Stuffed Tomatoes

I adore Greek food and this is a dish I first tried on the island of Crete, in a lovely little village called Gouves about six or seven years ago. I've since experimented and made my own versions of 'Gemistes' (stuffed vegetables) and I think this version is the definitive one. 

It goes down well with veggies and meat-lovers alike and you could of course adapt it to include some minced beef, pork or lamb or make it slightly more indulgent by including some feta cheese which will melt and make it unctuously delicious. 



You can also use bell peppers instead, but I prefer the texture that the tomatoes take on once baked. 





This is one of the many dishes I make for 'Greek night' at my house and my girlfriends love it - it transports us to sunny holiday memories.





This makes enough for six people and is best served with some 'horta' or salad leaves and some Tzatziki.

Gemistes Greek Stuffed Tomatoes


Gemistes as part of a Greek feast




6 beef tomatoes
1 red onion
1 large clove of garlic
1 courgette
1 green pepper
1 red or yellow pepper
1 tbsp salt
Pinch of black pepper
Handful of fresh mint
Enough rice to fill the tomatoes (will depend on the size - I used about 100g dried rice here) 
Fresh vegetable stock (optional)



Firstly place the rice on to cook - preferably in some fresh vegetable stock for added flavour but in salted water is also fine.
Next carefully slice off the tops of the tomatoes, retaining the green part as it just looks nicer at the end. Use a sharp knife to gently score around the inside of the tomatoes to loosen up the inside, then scoop out the flesh with a teaspoon and discard. Add a tiny amount of salt to the inside of each tomato then turn upside down on a plate to allow some of the moisture to trickle away.
Next dice the onion, courgette and peppers and crush the garlic and add to a pan on a low heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Gently saute for about five minutes until just softened
Chop the fresh mint finely.
Once the rice is cooked, drain away any remaining water, place into a bowl and use a fork to fluff up a little. Add the mint and the sauteed vegetables, the pinch of salt and black pepper and stir thoroughly so everything is evenly distributed. 
Place the tomatoes into a baking dish or tray, the right way up now, and scoop even amounts of the rice mixture into each, right up to the top. Use a spoon to tap firmly down so the tomato is completely full of delicious rice. 
Place the lids of each tomato on top and then loosely cover the whole dish with tinfoil to protect the skins from charring. 
Place into the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Allow to rest for a few minutes when they come out of the oven as they will be piping hot, and then serve with your accompaniments and preferably a crisp glass of white wine or a bottle of Mythos Greek beer and allow yourself to be transported to holidays gone by.