Bellevue Apartments, Keramoti, Greece

We've been staying at Bellevue Apartments, just about a block away from the beautiful beaches of Keramoti. Bellevue is owned and operated by a wonderful Bulgarian couple, Julian and Jenny(pronounced ga NEE) Genov. They are gracious, well informed, warm and multi-lingual (Greek, Russian, Bulgarian, French, excellent English and probably a few others, as far as I know). They don't live on the premises but are very close by and are a daily presence around the apartments, available at all times but never intrusive or inconsiderate of our time and privacy. They're fabulous folks and as helpful as they can be! They've turned out to be great new friends.

The apartments are new, fresh, immaculate and very comfortable. I don't have indoor shots today but I'll try to take some this week. We have a one bedroom, ground level apartment that has a very nice veranda in front, overlooking the entrance, a parking area, a beautiful garden with fountain, play area for the kids, two huge barbecue pits and a large family-size picnic table with canopy.

Out back is another veranda with a smaller table and chairs and some steps leading to a spacious back yard with two barbecue grills and a large picnic table. Here's what the place looks like (music from Zorba in the background again).



As you can see, the whole place is a wonderful oasis in a quiet part of Keramoti but not so far removed that we're isolated. We're about a fifteen minute walk from town (we go in once or twice a day) and have a nicely stocked supermarket just around the corner. Having the wonderful beaches so close is just icing on the cake.

Our air conditioned apartment is a one bedroom with kitchen, dining area and living room. It's absolutely ideal for the two of us on an extended stay here. The kitchen is fully equipped with all the plates, silverware and cooking utensils we need to cook up a great meal. There's a wide-screen TV with excellent satellite reception and a ton of channels. Our sofa converts into a bed, if needed. Our bedroom has a very comfortable bed, roomy closet and 2 night stands with a nice desk as well. We have a bath and a half. The doors have mega-heavy duty security locks, which I'm sure are unnecessary as the neighborhood is quiet and the folks are friendly. There are also great privacy screens built right into the patio doors. The walls are sound-proofed and the neighbors, so far, have been quiet and friendly.

As a matter of fact, tonight , there was an impromptu Bar-B-Q out in the front courtyard at about dinner time, 8:30 PM (we're still trying to acclimate to the eating/sleeping schedule). We were invited to join them. Although we had already eaten an early dinner (at 7:30 PM!), the food looked so good and everyone seemed so friendly, we decided to join them. Julian and Jenny were there as was Julian's mother, Amelia, and some of our neighbors.

Some things are the same all over. The guys man the grille. That's Chris and I "discussing" the finer points of Bulgarian Bar-B-Q.

Those are Bulgarian sausages. The long ones have no casing, as we are accustomed to and the round ones are ingeniously placed on a skewer making them much easier to grille. Aside from being easy to prepare, they were absolutely delicious.


This is Zdavro and his lovely wife, Lilia.

Amelia (front) and Chris' wife, Iscara.

In spite of the language differences, we had an absolutely wonderful time; nice folks gathered around an outdoor dinner table enjoying a delicious meal. Kelly and I brought a Greek Salad. We sampled the sausages and tried some of the expertly seasoned chicken. The meal went on until about 11:30, a leisurely and relaxed time as much for fellowship and friendly chat as for eating.

We love this place!