South Aegean

I didn’t sleep well last night. My system is probably jet lagged. I did rest enough and feel good today. I am up bright and early at 2:45 AM to get my things together and head downstairs for a coffee before I have to get the bus back to the airport. The flight is going to take off at 5:50 AM and boarding is at 5:20. Yeah and you all know how much of a morning person I am!

Off I head to the airport. I am supposed to fly out of Terminal 2, however when I get to the airport that has been changed to Terminal 1. The Munich airport has an underground tram that takes you from one terminal to the other. Efficient but a pain in the butt with escalators up and down and up again. We actually board on time and take off on time. This means that I should be in Rhodes by 9:30, yeah!

Business Class in Lufthansa’s A320 is not as spacious as their bigger planes. That being said, you still have plenty of legroom and the seats are wide enough as well. I have a window seat which allows for some neat camera shots of the morning. The middle seat is empty so that is extra storage space. It is a bright and sunny day here today and the puffy clouds look like marshmallows.
Breakfast is wonderful. I have not had enough coffee or food today. They served a cold breakfast of cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, smoked salmon and a salmon pate. They also served what I think was like a rice with cream and pineapple. Some warm buns and a croissant with cherry jam (Yes Leslie, they have cherry jam on this flight!). Coffee and orange juice rounds out breakfast just nicely.

The flight is good and I should be able to get some knitting done. Yes, I brought my knitting. Keeps me busy in the airport and on flights. Hey Kate, your socks are being knitted in three different countries so far. Now you need to travel as many kilometers as they are!

I’ll catch up with you later when I land in Rhodes and get settled in.

After a pleasant flight, we landed with no issue. You walk through Customs and out the door. Rhodes is a small airport. You exit onto the tarmac and get bussed to the Customs Building. Taxi's are waiting for you right outside. It is a 30 minute drive to the old city but you get to drive along the coast and see the newer part. (Which is still old, but 1960's old). My hosts father, Marcus was waiting for me at the entrance to the old city. He is probably close to 70 (maybe older?) and speaks better English than I do Greek! He gallantly carried my bags through the streets all the while pointing out where to eat and where to buy groceries.

The place I'm staying at is on a quiet little narrow street. When you walk in you have to insert the key to get the hydro working. We had to do that in the Dominican Republic as well. This is a good way for the owners to save money. This place is large. It actually has two sleeping areas and a little balconey. I have some shots (before I unpacked) for you to take a look at.

After unpacking a bit and changing into something cooler, I went for a walk. The little streets are amazing! Some are slate but others are just pebbles in concrete or something. You could quite easily stumble and break an ankle! I am wearing my trusty sandals so that won't happen. This part of town has been consistently been lived in for over two thousand years. You can tell that it was built back when goats and donkeys were the prime mode of transportation. Some of the streets are about 1.5 meters wide and some are just little alleyways that meander in no particular direction. It is quite enjoyable to walk these streets and turn a corner to find a restaurant or some beautiful flowers growing on the side of the buildings. The best part for me is when you look up and see some structure that you just knows dates back hundreds of years. As with all old towns there is a center square that opens up into a large open area. I would imagine that this is where the markets and traders came to sell their wares. Now it is filled with little shops that sell everything a tourist could want. They have a lot of leather shops for shoes, bags and belts. There are many womens clothing shops, hat shops, jewlery stores etc. I like to look but I'm not much of a shopper.

After all this walking (won’t be hard to make my step count here!), I realize that it is time for some lunch. I have been waiting for months now to try the Greek salad. It is tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, oniions, olives and feta cheese. I stop at one of the outdoor cafes where there is plenty of shade. This restaurant has benches with cushions under the spread of some big trees. What could be more inviting? I order the Greek Salad with a bottle of water and a glass of the local wine. The wine is a very nice white wine that is very aromatic but light and crisp to the taste. A perfect paring with the salad. The olive oil and olives taste different here. They have more depth to their flavour. I don't know if it is a different kind of olive (looks like Kalamata) but they taste like the ancient Greek Gods harvested them just for me. They don’t rush you or try to oversell either. As I sit and people watch, you realize that there are already many, many tourists here. This is supposed to be shoulder season but the old town is already bustling with tourists. I hear a lot of German and some French. Since this place was only 3 hours from Munich that makes sense.

I finish my lunch and head to the bakery I saw earlier. Sorry I didn’t get any pictures but I was too busy checking out what they had. I went with a couple of traditional Greek baklava and left before temptation took over. I get lost on my way back to my place. (I passed the same restaurant 3 times, just from different directions!) I wanted to go to the local market store but they are closed on Sundays, I guess.

I finally find my way home and take a nap. All that exploring is exhausting! Tonight, I will try the restaurant at the foot of my street as was recommended by my host.

I went for a stroll down by the harbour tonight as the sun was setting. It was a beautiful evening and there were plenty of people out enjoying it. I went to a restaurant named Dafni which is the one that my host recommended. I told the waiter that Marcus had sent me and he said he was talking to him already. He knew about me getting delayed in Munich and that I missed one day on the island. I was stunned that the owner would actually go to the restaurant and talk with the owner to let him know I was coming. Talk about looking after your guests. I told him that I didn't like seeing the heads on my fish and that I didn't like beets. Check out the pictures to see what he came up with. It was delious! The sea bass was cooked perfectly and the horta (green leafy greek side dish) was a perfect match. So was the glass of local wine. I met a young man from Ohio and we started talking. Between the owner and us we talked the evening away! I had company for dinner as well. The 'locals' seem to know when you have fish.

I'm absolutey worn out. Time for bed.Read more