Ierapetra

The sea view is good, as we are up on the hillside in Koutsounari. The wind is really blowing this morning, so we just enjoyed a breaky and listened to the footy back home.

The beaches here are nothing like what we are used to back home. They are fine pebbles and black sand. We tried to take a beach walk on Long Beach, but it was just too windy. The water is so beautiful with shades of blue.

Took a drive up the coast but even the little Fiat was getting blown around, so we decided to take refuge by our pool.

We saw a local family taverna called Rodis with great reviews, so we walked about 150 metres from our room and there it was. Not all that flash from the outside.

Rodos is a traditional Greek, family-owned taverna since 1989. The name "Rodos" comes from Vasilis' (the owner) hometown who was born on the Greek island of Rhodes but relocated to Crete when he fell in love with his wife and restaurant's cook, Aristea.

He greeted us at the door and gave us the choice of the restaurant for where to sit. We were the first customers, and it was 7pm. He then takes you into his tiny kitchen and shows you what is on offer. Just two mains and some appetizers.

He is locally known for his home-made Greek cuisine specializing in traditional recipes. We were also given a wee drop of his home brew. He called it something and said, “like schnapps”. It was ok.

The appetizers were spring rolls filled with feta & vegetables, zucchini fritters and 5 cheese biscuits. For main we tried both which were beef patties in tomato & capsicum mix plus rice. The other was chunky braised pork with wedges of potatoes. To finish off he served us a light creamy strawberry dessert.

By the time we finished our substantial meal his taverna had plenty of customers. As there was no menu or wine list, we discussed what we thought it would cost and came up with💲 60+. Nope. He only charged $27.50 and that included a wine and a soft drink. Too cheap so I gave him more.

It was fabulous experiencing traditional food this way.Read more