Lavender cupcakes & the way things work here

So last week I was all excited. I thought that I would have some thrilling news about finally securing our location for the store this week. We had three hot possibilities in the old town of Nafplio and were thinking over the advantages & disadvantages of each one. Before that, we had to make a trip to the Town Planning authorities to check out the licensing laws for the specific buildings, since we know that not all buildings can receive a permit in the old town. It turns out that none of our possibilities were suitable. It also seems highly unlikely that we will be able to find something appropriate within the old town anytime this century.

A law was passed in 1989. It was obviously supposed to protect the old town's character, but it is quite likely that it is now smothering the economy, too. The law states that, to open some sort of food establishment, you have to find a building to buy or rent which back in 1989 held the same sort of permit that you want to get. For example, if you want to open a taverna you have to find a building that was a licensed taverna in 1989; if you want to open a café with a food preparation area you have to find an available place which was a café with a food preparation area in 1989. One of our possibilities has always been some sort of food establishment but, apparently, it was operating without a license all those years...

The kind people at both the Mayor's office and the Town Planning authority have been very helpful, trying to find some sort of way we could do things right, such as changing the nature of the shop, getting a patisserie license instead of a café and so on. But each one of their suggestions brings with it its own set of drawbacks.

We feel a bit sad and frustrated about it all. We have something exciting and innovative to offer the town. We're not asking to open a rowdy night club. It's a shame that the law was written in such a way that they can not consider applications based on their merits instead of just having to refuse anyone trying to do something positive.


C'est la vie. So now we are back to searching. We're now looking for somewhere as close as possible to the old town but that does not fall under the fateful law of 1989! We can't sit around and wait for some building that falls into the category we need to become available. Of course, it doesn't mean that we won't find a way to open something or other in the old town! But for now that will have to wait.

Let's talk about cupcakes. These are one of my latest experiments. They look beautiful but I can't really say they were a success.


We have lavender in the garden now and I thought 'why not?'


Τhe lavender was a bit too overwhelming. If I try them again, then I'll definitely have to try to give them a more subtle taste.

This post is a bit depressing but it is pretty, don't you think?


Liz Cupcakes