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The stunning natural beauty of Lefkada makes it a perfect place to choose your holiday in a luxury Greek villa.

Blessed with clean sandy beaches, lush green forested hillsides and the crystal clear waters of the Ionian Lefkada is an amazing place to relax amidst the tranquility of nature and enjoy a slower pace of life.

Whether you choose to relax around Villa Gabriella’s pool or gardens or if you choose to explore the island you will always find natural beauty.  At Villa Gabriella, colourful flowers abound in the garden and wild herbs scent the air creating a tranquil environment amidst the green of the Cyprus forest.  For so many people this is the absolute essence of holidaying in a  luxury Greek villa.

As you travel further afield try a visit to the waterfalls just a few kilometres from the villa.  Here you will find an oasis of cool pools in a shaded gorge – a wonderful respite during the heat of summer.  Or drive further into the hilly interior where green forest mingles with rugged pasture and small villages enjoy a slower pace of life.  Stop for a glass of wine or a cold beer and feel the stresses of modern life just fade away over a relaxed taverna lunch where no one is in a rush.

Try an early start to take in the sunrise across the Ionian from the Greek mainland.  Whether you do this from your bedroom window, from Villa Gabriella’s terrace or if you choose to drive down to the Nidri quayside you’ll enjoy the peace of the island before most people are awake.  And you’ll witness stunning colours as the sun rises over the distant hills.

However you choose to pass your holiday at Villa Gabriella you’re sure to go home from this luxury Greek villa refreshed and recharged by the natural beauty of Lefkada and the Ionian.

Villa Gabriella. Ionian Luxury. Immerse yourself.

Villa Gabriella is the perfect place to celebrate your Lefkada Wedding.  Earlier this month Helena and Gareth celebrated their Lefkada Wedding with their friends and family at Villa Gabriella.  They then spent the first days of their honeymoon enjoying the privacy of Villa Gabriella’s hillside location.  Overlooking the beauty of the Ionian sea and bathed in the warmth of the Greek summer sunshine it’s a fantastic place to start married life together.

All of us at Villa Gabriella were thrilled to host the wedding party and we wish the newlyweds every happiness in their life together.

If you’re looking for a stunning location for your wedding party or honeymoon then there’s nowhere better than Villa Gabriella.  A Lefkada Wedding blends Greek traditions with the relaxed atmosphere of an Ionian island.  Villa Gabriella offers you privacy, tranquility and luxury and of course those stunning views.  A perfect combination for a very special occasion.

Please get in touch with us if you’re thinking about celebrating your wedding on Lefkada.  We can help with not just Villa Gabriella’s luxury accommodation but with event logistics and catering if needed.

Villa Gabriella.  Ionian Luxury.  Immerse yourself.

 

A real delight for any luxury villa holiday in Greece is the chance to have a relaxed evening dinner on the terrace.  You’ll find a fine selection of fresh, largely locally sourced, ingredients offered on the island.  There are all the usual Greek offerings; fabulous feta cheese, tasty locally grown tomatoes and cucumbers, freshly baked bread and local honey and island wines.

By way of advice you’ll also find a truly beautiful butcher in the centre of Lefkada.  Even better it’s conveniently situated next door to the most wonderful patisserie.  We would heartily recommend stocking up on the beautiful meats available and firing up Villa Gabriella’s barbecue.  Wash your barbecued meat down with some excellent local wine from the Lefkas Earth Winery.  You’ll find this in some of the shops in Nidri.  Or try a trip to the winery itself located on the road down to Sivota that’s both a beautiful drive and a charming visit.

Accompany your barbecue with a freshly made Greek salad and then conclude dinner with some beautiful deserts from the Gazis patisserie.  This little gem is located by the corner of the streets of “Politechniou” and “Koutoumpi” in Lefkas town.  Their contact details are on the card in this post.  We’ve also added a small screenshot of the Lefkada map that might help you to find them.  That said, a gentle wander around the centre of Lefkas town is a pleasant way to spend an hour in the morning.  After all, you’re on your luxury villa holiday in Greece so what’s the rush?

And a few hours later as you’re enjoying dinner, soak up the warmth of an Ionian summer evening and take in the stunning night time view from Villa Gabriella’s terrace.  The lights of Nidri are below in the foreground, the Princess Islands sit in the moonlit Ionian and the Greek mainland frames the horizon.

Good food, good wine, good company and a view to die for! The essence of relaxation during your luxury villa holiday in Greece.

Villa Gabriella.  Ionian Luxury.  Immerse yourself.

A luxury Greek villa holiday with a difference?  The 2016 Lefkada half-marathon is this weekend on May 7th.  This annual event is run on one of the fastest courses in Greece.  The route is completely flat making it a great chance for regular runners to set a personal best.  The route includes 17 km around the Lefkada lagoon with the remaining distance completed around the town of Lefkas.  The lagoon is a protected natural area meaning that you’re running amongst some truly stunning scenery – perhaps some solace for the less serious runners!

Greece is of course the historical origin of the marathon.  The event was started to commemorate the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides who carried a message from the Battle of Marathon to Athens announcing the defeat of the Persians.

So where better to run your half marathon?  Surrounded by natural beauty. Enjoying the great weather in early May.  And in the country that gave birth to marathon running.  This event is a great introduction to distance running or a wonderful addition to your running diary.

In 2017 why not consider combining a stay at Villa Gabriella with an entry to the Lefkada half-marathon? A luxury Greek villa holiday with a twist!  And after your efforts, and hopefully a new personal best, what better way to relax than with a refreshing swim in Villa Gabriella’s pool.   Or reinvigorate yourself with a lazy soak in the bubbling hot tub whilst overlooking the beautiful Princess islands.

You can check the date for the 2017 race with the organisers at “info@runningreece.com” and then secure an early booking at Villa Gabriella at low season rates.  This will make your luxury Greek Villa holiday an inexpensive trip and the chance to run a (half) marathon of a lifetime.

Villa Gabriella.  Ionian Luxury.  Immerse yourself.

With the Greek Orthodox Easter falling next weekend it’s going to be a wonderful time to be in Greece and on the beautiful island of Lefkafa enjoying a luxury Greek villa holiday.  There are some details of what will be happening over the weekend at the Lefkada Slow Guide site and with the weather forecast currently predicting sunny skies and temperatures of 21-24C the island will be splendid in all it’s natural beauty.

In the Orthodox church Easter is very much the most important spiritual time of the year so you’re set to enjoy a fantastic few days.  Easter can trace its’ roots to the pagan rituals that accompanied the arrival of spring. And it is of course linked with the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach.  In Greek, Easter is called Pascha, meaning passover.

One common religious symbol associated with Easter is the lamb and this is doubtless the root of the popularity of lamb as an Easter food. In Greece it is often cooked whole, on the spit, for Easter Sunday.  The traditional Easter egg traces its’ roots to pre-Christian springtime fertility symbolism and in Greece the eggs are traditionally coloured red signifying the blood of Christ. You’ll often see them, as in our picture, baked into twisted sweet bread loaves.

If you’re fortunate enough for your luxury Greek villa holiday to include the long Easter weekend watch out for a Good Friday evening “procession of the bier”, a representation of Christ’s funeral.  This sees a band or choir preceding the bier and playing or singing solemn music. The bier will be followed by the local clergy and congregation. Along the route people typically scatter flowers and perfumes on the bier whilst holding lit candles.

On Holy Saturday evening resurrection masses take place in churches across the island. The midnight ceremony to light the candles is traditionally seen as the most significant religious moment of the year. All the lights are extinguished in the church and the priest comes from behind the altar doors with a candle. He walks to someone in the front row and lights a candle. The candlelight is passed from candle to candle throughout the church with the light progressively filling the church.

People leave the church just before midnight, singing a song the words of which mean, Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. With many multi-generational families present in these traditional areas there’s a real sense of history.  These same prayers have been said unchanged for centuries.

During your stay the following traditional Greek greetings might be helpful.

Καλό Πάσχα “kalo Pascha” (Happy Easter) is normally used in the run up to Good Friday followed by Καλή Ανάσταση! “kali anastasi” (meaning “happy resurrection”) until Saturday midnight.  After midnight Χριστός Ανέστη! “Christos anesti” (meaning Christ is Risen!) is used to which the answer should be Aληθώς ανέστη! “alithos anesti” meaning “Truly He is Risen!”

If not this year, then perhaps one year in the future you’ll be fortunate enough to enjoy Orthodox Easter on Lefkada during your luxury Greek villa holiday at Villa Gabriella. If you do we wish you an interesting and joyous stay.

Kalo Pascha!

Villa Gabriella. Ionian Luxury. Immerse yourself.

We’ve been busy preparing the gardens at Villa Gabriella for the summer season so your luxury villa rental Greece lives up to your every expectation.  Between the complete luxury inside Villa Gabriella and the stunning views across the Ionian or the cypress forested hillside behind, lie our upper and lower gardens.

Our stunning location means we’re not blessed with the finest natural soil so after the expected post-winter weeding and tidying we’ve been improving the soil before planting out a stunning section of annuals. These will add vivid splashes of colour amidst the lush natural greens of the location throughout the season.

They will need a few weeks to settle and flourish but they’ll will soon surround the upper garden terrace and the lower pool terrace with a blaze of colours that will provide one finishing touch to the luxurious surroundings of Villa Gabriella during the 2016 Greek summer.

Of course we’ve restarted the automatic watering system as the winter rains are well and truly behind us now and it’s important we keep the gardens fed with a gentle trickle of water for 15 minutes both morning and evening.

It’s a little overcast today on Lefkada but the forecast promises warm spring weather will be with us by the start of the coming week. What better excuse  to focus on your villa rental Greece for your perfect summer holiday in 2016.  Choose the beautiful Ionian island of Lefkada and we’d love to welcome you to Villa Gabriella Lefkada.  By the time you arrive the garden should be a blaze of colour and just one more perfect place to relax at Villa Gabriella.

 

Villa Gabriella.  Ionian Luxury.  Immerse yourself.

 

During your Greek villa vacation at Villa Gabriella Lefkada, if you’re travelling around the south of the island, one tranquil little spot you might try for a refreshing drink is the Watermill Lefkada.  This charming little oasis nestles on a hillside close to the village of Sivros and features a beautifully restored, original watermill.

It’s a perfect place to stop for a morning coffee, a cool drink in the afternoon, some meze in the early evening or a night time espresso and Metaxa.  Any one of which should form a part of anyone’s Greek villa vacation.

During the day the views towards Vasiliki are lovely from under the shade of the mature trees.  At night the Watermill’s terrace is beautifully lit and, depending on season, it can either be peaceful or buzzing with life.

The drive there takes you through the usual narrow twisty roads on Lefkada but you’re always surrounded by beautiful scenery or passing through fascinating villages.  There’s parking on site, although it can get a little busy sometimes during high season.

The Watermill is a perfect short stop on another day on the beautiful island of Lefkada during your Greek villa vacation at Villa Gabriella.

Villa Gabriella.  Ionian Luxury.  Immerse yourself.

Greek Villa Holidays summer season 2016 has started with high levels of bookings at Villa Gabriella (and we understand for Greek Villa Holidays across the island in general). As at today our remaining availability for the season is as follows.

May 11th to June 8th. These “early bird” and “low season” weeks tie in nicely to the new for 2016 Wednesday to Wednesday Easyjet flight schedule from London Gatwick allowing you to enjoy lower flight costs and lovely early summer weather.   The beauty of your Greek Villa Holidays at Villa Gabriella and Lefkada is enhanced by the quieter off-peak pace of the island. Prices for these weeks start at just 1,995 Euro for up to eight people.

June 22nd to July 10th. These weeks are heading into high season but still offer great value ranging from 3,495 to 4,895 Euro before the true high season and full heat of summer. Flights could be linked to either Wednesdays or Sundays depending on your preference.

We have just two peak season slots left. The week of July 17th – 24th (Sunday to Sunday) at the rate of 5,795 Euro.

And an interesting option for someone wanting a ten day holiday from 31st July to 10th August at a rate of 827 Euro per day (minimum 7 days).

We’re really looking forward to getting our third season underway and welcoming new guests to Villa Gabriella for their Greek Villa Holidays in 2016.

After our last blog about our trip up to the wonderful Profitis Ilias church we’ve compiled a short video of the 360-degree views from this stunning location on the top of Lefkada.  A visit to the church really does deserve to be a part of your luxury Greek villa holiday at Villa Gabriella.   With views like these at the end of the enjoyable 45-minute drive it’s well worth the effort.  Especially when the drive itself takes you through some timeless locations and some stunning scenery.

Views to soothe the soul

We talk a lot about why Villa Gabriella is such a luxury experience.  But luxury isn’t only about the quality of your surroundings.   It’s more often about space.  In the modern, crowded and bustling world there are few greater luxuries than the space and tranquility to enjoy such stunning natural views.  We’re sure that an hour amidst the space and tranquility of this beautiful location, just soaking up the views, is a truly restful experience for your soul!  And surely that’s a big part of your luxury Greek villa holiday?

Space to breathe, tranquility and of course it’s own stunning views are a big part of your holiday at Villa Gabriella.  Along with the multitude of other luxuries on-site they’re just some of the things that really make your luxury Greek villa holiday so special.

60 seconds will take your breath away

We invite you to take just 60 seconds to watch the video.  We’re confident that those 60 seconds are all you’ll need to decide that a visit to Profitis Ilias, at the top of Lefkada, is a must-do during your stay at Villa Gabriella for your luxury Greek Villa holiday!

Villa Gabriella.  Ionian Luxury.  Immerse yourself.