Go fourth to Symi

[Fina]

Lovely to meet up with Silverfox on Thursday down in the Yialos thanks for the advice. As we are 1st time visitors to Symi we needed all the help we could get.The ladies at the Olive tree were very helpful too, they told us we would soon get our bearings. I did doubt it but can honestly say after 3 days we are doing quite well.

We are staying at the Taxiarchis, nice place lovely views of Pedi bay. Had lunch in Tolis taverna yesterday in Pedi. Absolutely delicious Kalamari. We did watch the grandmother cleaning it in sea, knew it would be nice and fresh.

Very hot today been down to Yialos again lunch at Tholos recommended by Silverfox and Katherine from Secret Garden. Very nice I had stuffed aubergine other half had Symi shrimp both delicious.

Think We might try and find Haritomeni tonight..wish us luck.

Nearly forgot to say loving Symi so peaceful, people so friendly, food good.

Fina

[Lisa B]

Look forward to hearing your report on Haritomeni and how to find it

[Pollychops]

Lovely to meet up with Silverfox on Thursday down in the Yialos thanks for the advice. As we are 1st time visitors to Symi we needed all the help we could get.The ladies at the Olive tree were very helpful too, they told us we would soon get our bearings. I did doubt it but can honestly say after 3 days we are doing quite well.

We are staying at the Taxiarchis, nice place lovely views of Pedi bay. Had lunch in Tolis taverna yesterday in Pedi. Absolutely delicious Kalamari. We did watch the grandmother cleaning it in sea, knew it would be nice and fresh.

Very hot today been down to Yialos again lunch at Tholos recommended by Silverfox and Katherine from Secret Garden. Very nice I had stuffed aubergine other half had Symi shrimp both delicious.

Think We might try and find Haritomeni tonight..wish us luck.

Nearly forgot to say loving Symi so peaceful, people so friendly, food good.

Fina

Hi Fina,

Good to hear from another first timer and sure it wont be your last visit. We also stay at Taxiarchis with Frank and enjoy the views over Pedi valley. If you do manage to rise before the sun do try and get up to enjoy the sun rising over the hills in Turkey it is spectacular and worth the effort. I hope you find Haritomeni as the food is good and the view down to the harbour are again spectacular. Enjoy your first time in Symi.

[Pollychops]

Hi Silverfox,

We have never tried To Spitiko so I have it on the list for this years visit. Looking forward to tomorrow blog.

[Lisa B]

And so say all of us!

[silverfox]

Saturday 23rd

Apparently I won the the international Symi snoring competition overnight with an extra merit award thrown in! I got a few kicks and elbows for a prize. Ps at least I don’t snore from both ends!

Great to hear that Fina and her partner are enjoying this magical place...it will capture your heart and mind! It was so nice to meet you both and i’m sure you will return.

I’ve not done my Fitbit stats so:

Wednesday: 4.5 miles
Thursday: 7.38 miles
Friday: 7.84 miles
Saturday: 5.11 miles

Pathetic!!!!!

It has been a little cooler so good for walking but i’m unfit this year so will see how I go.

We woke late which seems to be happening a lot, we never sleep well at home but we could sleep all day here, not sure if it’s the fresh air or the beer, wine and Metaxa?

Liz rustled up some eggs, bacon and tomatoes for a simple but very enjoyable breakfast.

I need certain fixes on Symi and one is to seek out new paths or sights up in Chorio so I had a good walk filling my senses….a few sad sights of the paths washed away in last years floods but also new life with young chicks, of the feathered variety I might add.

Little Chicks

We had decided to have a very lazy day so I headed back to the square and down to the kiosk for a water, noticing the cat feeding tubes in the car park and also noticing that I was wrong about Manteos, that plenty of work is taking place….don’t know how I missed that!

I met Liz in the square where a few young lads were playing music on their phone very loudly and made the short trip to the Olive Tree where we had a simple lunch of cheese toastie and cheese and tomato sandwich with a wonderful beetroot chutney, Amstell Radlers followed by some homemade lemonade….oh and the usual laughter from Jenine and Tina.

We were at Yiannis Rainbow bar a little earlier but soon had good company from the many people who meet up there...always good and lots of laughter, oh and a few beers!

A quick walk up to Sevastis before we are on our way back down again to make our way to Haritomeni Taverna with its superb views.

We were early so managed to get a great table by the edge with the greatest of views, even better than Mythos sadly now closed.

Neil had raved about the Courgette Balls so they were the first in order and I had the Lamb Chops and Liz went for fillet steak. We also had a spicy cheese dip and superb bread.

Simply the best ever Courgette Fritters!

I must say that the Courgette Balls (fritters) are the best i’ve ever tasted and there were more than enough lamb chops to feed 2 people! Liz’s steak was still ok but slightly overcooked.

Lamb Chops

A litre of the house white went down nicely as we watched a setting sun over the hills.

We did enjoy the setting and the food so booked again for Liz’s birthday next week. They booked us a taxi which picked us up on the corner in no time and we were soon dropped off up top where a few Metaxa night caps followed staring at the stars.

You can’t put a price on these lazy lazy days!

[silverfox]

Symi moon:

Goodnight!

[Pollychops]

I agree Haritomeni has one of the best views of the harbour especially when you catch the sun setting in the hills. Great photo

[silverfox]

Sunday 24th June

Yet another late morning with so much sleep to catch up on. Too late for breakfast so I set off through the upper lanes of the village and ventured down the old steps whilst Liz took her time getting ready with a plan to catch the bus down later.

The steps seem to get steeper, or is it me who gets older – half way down I gave advice to an american couple about either getting lost in the lanes or go down the road to the square. Down in Yialos at the back of the square another family asked advice on how to get up the hill – feels light i’m part of the Symi tourist information.

The old steps

I headed for the clock tower and bought water at the kiosk, sat on a bench and watched the boats coming and going for a while. For the first time since we have been coming the clock seems to be working and even chimes on the hour. Although as we are in Greece there still seems to be confusion with the buses, the yellow one was parked up so hopefully the silver one will transport Liz down the hill to meet me.

The silver bus

The silver bus did indeed appear a little late and Liz was soon around the harbour to meet up by the clock tower. A very slow walk round by the boat yard and on to Tholos by Nos beach for our much needed lemon potato fix accompanied by Spicy meatballs with tomatoes and yogurt sauce, Symi cheese saganaki and garlic bread, large and small mythos and water.

The view

As usual there was far too much food and the fish had the advantage of some of the garlic bread. It did seem to be quitier than we have seen in the past and there does seem to be a lot less boats in the harbour at the moment.

Quicker than usual stroll around the harbour to ensure Liz caught the bus back up top. Once again to add to the confusion it was the yellow bus! I took my usual walk up the road, Liz taking the bus to the kiosk rather than the Windmills due to the road down into the village being resurfaced.

I managed to get down the newly resurfaced road which is almost completed and we met at Yiannis for a much needed beer. It soon got very busy inside and out and up at Lefteris as the England match was being shown. A few cheers whilst we sat there, well six at least as England were well worthy winners and kept Neil busy with the beer flowing.

All the alternative chat was about a very nasty insect bite on my leg with discussion and suggestions of visit to the doctor and even of amputation. Nurse Anne took a look and mentioned something about me being puffy but being a typical Yorkshire bloke I self prescribed 3 or 4 metaxa’s.

Does Andy do an emergency Helicopter timetable?

Slow walk back up to the apartment followed by quiet night in with a simple meal of bacon, egg and tomatoes followed by my prescription.

I'm supposed to keep my leg elevated but it was bandaged up to stop any weeping onto the bed clothes....i'll not add pictures of said bite in case you eating!

I did weep as the Metaxa ran out!

[Fina]

Thanks Pollychops, not sure we will ever be awake before dawn,definitely just after thanks to the dawn chorus. Not complaining love it.

We didn't get to Heretomeni we went for a drink in the Rainbow got talking and decided it was too late. Tonight we intend to go straight there.

We went to Agios Nickolias beach yesterday, nice beach taverna was ok. We like Tolis is on Pedi beach which is we're we are head e d for another lazy day.

Fina

[Gemma1]

Another great report and those courgette fritters look delicious

[SiobhanMarie]

really enjoying the blog and your fantastic pictures. I will be visiting Symi next week for the second year running. Symi is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited and the food is gorgeous!

[silverfox]

Thanks Pollychops, not sure we will ever be awake before dawn,definitely just after thanks to the dawn chorus. Not complaining love it.

We didn't get to Heretomeni we went for a drink in the Rainbow got talking and decided it was too late. Tonight we intend to go straight there.

We went to Agios Nickolias beach yesterday, nice beach taverna was ok. We like Tolis is on Pedi beach which is we're we are head e d for another lazy day.

Fina

Hope you made it to Haritomeni....great food and wonderful views!

[silverfox]

Another great report and those courgette fritters look delicious

You have to try them Gemma....they are so good!

[Lisa B]

Was on the list already now it's underlined!!

[silverfox]

Monday 25th

Yet another late start but the leg is still in place.

We both woke up early with the intention of going to the beach for the morning but I then decided that I needed more sleep so it around 10am before we left for the beach heading down the road to Pedi. Decided to do a spot of relaxing at the Tolis Taverna side of the beach and soon set up camp with Liz settling down to read and I decided on a walk around up the path all the way to St Nics….as you can see from the picture the delivery of pebbles has added a nice feature as well as the many more sun loungers. I would have got some great pictures of the many lizards but forgot my SD card so carried my camera about for most of the day not taking any pictures. The wonders of beer and Metaxa!!

My walk was soon over and back on the sunbed it was nice and peaceful to begin with until a group of people arrived at the Taverna and decided to set up on beds very close to us and then into the taverna we decided that lunch would be at Katsaras where we decided we wanted something light and asked for omellettes, the young chap taking our order wasn’t sure if that would be possible as it was on the breakfast menu but soon came back to confirm that indeed we could have our cheese and ham omelletes and fried potatoes, beer and fresh orange juice. The food was delicious and certainly hit the spot although I wouldn’t class it as a light lunch as the omelletes were very substantial and very very nice!

Lunch finished and walked back along with Liz waiting for the bus back up to the village whilst I walked back up topping up the water for the cats on the edge of the car park just up from the kiosk. I still got to Yiannis before her! Very quiet today, no football crowds and some of the regulars had gone on a boat trip for the day. Nonetheless had a nice relaxing few hours chatting with Jo, Pete, Neil and Toby.

We had talked about possibly going down to the bottom for a meal this evening but as we were still quite full from lunch decided to have another lazy evening on the balcony with a simple snack of crackers, feta cheese, ham and tomato.

These balcony nights are pretty damn good though...so chilling!

Same again tomorrow no doubt!

[silverfox]

Tuesday 26th June

So yet another day on Symi starting late...Liz had a cough through the night and has been having tests for breathing and possible heart problems for the last year it was never going to be an energetic day. They still haven’t confirmed she has a heart by the way!

Ps...I’m not trying to cash in the insurance and it is actually good for Liz to be walking the hills as long as she takes her time.

No breakfast today as we are eating far more than at home but it’s as you do on holiday, we did have coffee and attempted a shower but there was a lack of warm water this morning as is sometimes the case on the island and indeed in the whole of Greece. You can always use the cold water.

We have found that you don’t always find luxury in Greece but you certainly find a great welcome, friendship and indeed paradise...I know we are biased but there you go!

We have got plans for the next couple of days but today was going to be another lazy one. The weather has been a little cooler than we have been used to and there was cloud around this morning but the humidity has gone up making everyone a little more sweaty.

Random wildlife picture

We’d decided on a lunch down so I set off for the road down up past the windmills and a pause on the first bench. Now if you never do the full walk it’s such a great view from this point, i’ve even heard of people sitting with a bottle of wine and just taking it all in.

If people are unsure where this is I’ve posted about an app i’ve found called What3words which allocates 3 words with dots in between for every 3 metre square in the world.

The words for this bench location are flumes.soundman.exaggerated

I’ve not checked out the navigation with this and I know how difficult it is to see a phone screen in the sun but I think this could be quite useful if people got the hang of it.

https://what3words.com/

If you go to that site and search for the words as typed you will see the location of where I was stood taking this next picture.

Liz caught the yellow bus, which now seems to be working fine, and we met at the bus station (just a few benches) in the harbour. 1.70 Euro for any journey.

Just before the daytime boat trips arrived we were sat in the soft seats with our cafe lattes and watching the world go by and content with our lot. Vitamin D was calling so we made our way round over the little bridge and had a nice half hour sat on a bench just past the bank.

We could see the workers of Manos and Aris blocking the tourists trying to get them into spend their cash...I just hope the rest don’t follow these tactics as it certainly puts us off….Jordana at To Spitiko should run courses on how it should be done with a cheery smile and chat even if you don’t eat there.

A few brolly passes later we headed for lunch, having decided, after many being thought of, to Merakles on the back streets. It was very quiet with only one other table being occupied as we ordered the beetroot salad (served hot) Mushrooms a la Creme, Mousaka, pitta breads, beer and coke.

Beetroot salad

Mushrooms a la creme

Looked overdone but actually very nice

Just enjoying our quiet lunch when the place was soon taken over with some German daytrippers who filled every seat….so good for Symi but a little noisy for us and a test for the Taverna as they all arrived together. After waiting a while for the bill we made off for the new bakery by the square for Symi pies for later but they had sold out so we need to be aware we need to shop earlier if we want them.

Although this may sound strange to those who have followed my ramblings but we have made plans...first of all tomorrow night we have planned a meal out with Toby and Neil of Symi Dream fame and the lovely Jo.

http://www.symidream.com/

We have also booked a trip to Toli beach on Thursday so I’m on strict orders to take it easy tomorrow night…..she’s having a laugh!

A quick beer stop at Alegrito before Liz went for the bus and I did a power walk (you have to laugh) up the road and we met up...almost co-ordinated at the Rainbow….I mean time wise not matching outfits!

Another random wildlife picture

Quite busy today with the usual laughter and a funny moment as the clouds came over and the locals asking for the fans to be turned off. What can only be described as a “Morecambe and Wise sketch combined with Benny Hill, Neil and Toby tried to work out how to switch off the fans at the bar…..it did remind me of the Greek guy on the ferry on our arrival!

Slightly sad as a few of the “Symi family” leave tomorrow so some hugs with Colette, Richard and Nurse Ann who had one last check of my bite and had brought Antihistamine tablets for me to take although the Metaxa seems to be doing the trick. There are such nice people we meet on Symi and it’s always a comfort that you will probably meet again soon.

The supermarket has stocked up on Metaxa so all is well in the well and a night up on the balcony yet again with Ham, egg and tomato sandwiches.

Liz caught up on video chat with the family back home and the need for sleep kicked in.

So tomorrow….

[Gemma1]

Just loving your reports - and adding to my 'Symi 2018' notes every time I see something on the menu that I fancy. It just shows you don't have to rush around everywhere to have a great holiday - Symi is all about relaxing and enjoying the superb views - plus eating and drinking of course

[Lisa B]

Gemma, is your list getting as big as ours!? We seem to add something every day!

[Fina]

We found the Haritomene, just one mistake. We carried on down when we past the school instead of bearing right. Ended up be in someones garden. They Didn,t mind put us back on track. Food was ok we had courgette fritters to start, they were good. I had beef with pasta for mains, my husband had rabbit, he loved his , I thought the beef was tough. Think I was expecting beef kokinisto slowly cooked and tender......enough said. Would I go back yes . No such thing as a bad meal in Greece bad choice I think. Wine was good. The view is fantastic.

Today is stormy and humid. Had lunch in the Yialos. Did see silverfox walking past.
Having a quiet night on the balcony.

Fina