Yamas Yialos

Archived trip reports

Yamas Yialos

Postby D and E » 10 Oct 2019, 08:59

Yamas Yialos

Monday - Wednesday : The Journey Over

On a wet Monday morning Zoé the cat was waiting for D when he went down at 7am and knowing her powers of sensing what we are up to he sensibly blocked the cat flap. The sight of a suitcase and there is every chance Zoë would go into hiding.

Her normal holiday home which is only 10 minutes from where we live closes for most of October and so we had her booked into a new cattery some 40 minutes drive south. Usually she doesn’t like the car but she was much better this time so fingers crossed she is getting more accustomed as she gets older - she’s only two.

She took to her new surroundings quite happily and so we were home by 10am and started the packing.

G, who had been with us to Symi in June and who lives closer to the station than we do, is providing parking and a shuttle service to the train plus he gave us some super tasty home made sausage rolls for the journey. And so on Tuesday morning we caught the 11:30 supposedly direct train from Aberystwyth to Birmingham International, but as is often the case with the recently established Transport For Wales, they decided to swap trains in Shrewsbury. Despite this we arrived on time.

E needed to pick up an item from the Amazon Lockers on the airport so she headed over on the monorail and made it back just in time for us to catch the Holiday Inn courtesy bus which was just pulling away but he heard our shouts. A five minute journey and we were checked in by 15:30.

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Birmingham Original International

The item E had to pick up was a wallet that ensures her insulin is kept cool. E has an excellent social media support group for her Type 1 Diabetes and a long term online buddy who lives close to Birmingham Airport offered to lend her his wallet. After reassuring him that Amazon had come up with the goods they still agreed it would be great to meet up so T came over to the hotel and we had a very enjoyable hour over a drink with him.

We had booked dinner in the Marco Pierre White Italian / American themed Brasserie in the hotel. It was very busy and we started with a rather large crab cake and lovely blackened shrimps that came with a mustard mayo. We both decided to have the ribeye steak which was good enough but not that good to justify the £25 price tag.

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Crab Cake & Blackened Shrimps

We hit the sack around 10:30 but as usual when we know we have a 4am alarm slept fitfully. The alarm came far too soon and as ever with D we had time to spare to catch the first shuttle bus at 5am. A very friendly driver took us the short hop to the station where we jumped on the monorail and then down in the lift to the check-in desks on the ground floor.

TUI’s desks were relatively quiet and having done all the necessary online we simply used the self-service bag drop and then headed up to security. E’s medical lanyard that she got back in June when we went from Manchester did the business and we were put through the express lane and had absolutely no problems with all E’s medical equipment. Birmingham outshone June’s experience in Manchester.

After getting a few last minutes bits and pieces - there’s always something - and a quick visit to the Jo Malone shop our gate was announced and off we trotted. We were boarded and doors closed by 06:50 and were taxiing down the runway at the allotted 7am.

A full Boeing 737-800 gave us a very smooth flight. The passenger beside us mentioned that they had switched to TUI when Thomas Cook went bust so as ever one business’s loss is another’s gain.

The usual fare of an early G&T and cheddars got the journey going. Flying over the Alps never fails to impress and with clear skies the views were amazing. Then the usual smellies trolley and then the last bar service as we started our slow decline over the most beautiful of blue seas accompanied by Merlot and Pringles.

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Flying In Over Symi

After a perfect landing we were bussed and through passport control relatively quickly - perhaps for the last time as EU Citizens which we both regard as a a tragic misjudgement - but let’s not go there in this blog.

The ATM spat out the first of what will inevitably be several transactions and charged us €3 for the courtesy. Diagoras is undergoing a make-over and the toilets are looking superb. By the time we had inspected them and had the obligatory can of ice cold Mythos from the vending machine the cases were there; we picked up our pack from the Olympic Desk and were on the X10 bus with a handful of others, most who were dropped off in Ixia.

We were dropped at the Mouragio Taverna which we adore. A first ouzo and a half kilo bottle of a new brand of very nice retsina accompanied a superb lunch of oven baked peppers stuffed with cheese, fried squid and a very good tzatziki that was mopped up with toasted garlic bread. Superb value at just cents over €30.

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Stuffed Peppers & Tzatziki

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Fried Squid

Just as we finished lunch another bus arrived and at long last we met our fellow blogger Silverfox and the lovely Liz. We headed off to the port to allow them to have their lunch in peace and agreed to see them on board. We went to the cafe just opposite the harbour side for a frappe and found that it has a Blue Star counter so we were able to give them the Olympic letter in exchange for our tickets.

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Akantia Cafe

The Blue Star Patmos arrived around 17:30 and we were one of the first on and headed up to the upper deck to watch the usual “chaos”. We were soon joined by S&L and spent a very pleasant crossing under the moon kissed sea exchanging stories over a couple of drinks as you do.

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Tricky !!!

As S&L were heading up we were taken round to Iapetos and depending heavily on D’s memory of over 10 years ago set off to find Irini Apartments. Of course it was dark and so we left the big bags opposite the Opera House and set off up the twisting stairs and after knocking on a few doors - apologies if any of those guests are reading this - found Room 2 which is a bit of a disappointment as we had correspondence with Olympic and our confirmation suggests Room 1 which we paid a small supplement for and of course it has the full view of the harbour whereas we have a view of the left hand side of the harbour sitting in effect below the Vigla which does look very dramatic.

It was bags dropped and back down the stairs to Cafe Alegrito where the ever pleasant Dimitris had the ouzo and retsina served in seconds with a quick hello to Manolis and Debbie who now has her shop opposite. After a second drink to compensate for the energy expended on the climb up to Irini’s (any excuse) we popped round the corner to Trata who with only one table taken looked set to shut but then this is Symi and the waiter who we have known for many years welcomed us in and we had a wonderful dinner of a shared plate of dolmades to start followed by E having chicken souvlaki (note the homemade chips S&L :D ) and D had the moussaka and with a couple of bottles of water to go we headed home and were asleep within minutes after a lovely trip over.
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First Night in Trata
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby silverfox » 11 Oct 2019, 06:38

What a fantastic start to your Blog! (The Masters are back!)

Great to meet you both at last and I'm finally up and running after computer problems.

We need to meet up somewhere soon for another beer!

:D
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby D and E » 11 Oct 2019, 07:26

Thursday - First Day On The Rock

The 4am to 11pm (less 2 hours of course) previous day had taken its toll and it was around 9am before D got going. His first job was to unpack which gave E longer to recover. Whilst E did her unpacking D went out on the balcony, which has amazing views down to the harbour and up to the churches in Chorio with the Vigla as a stunning backdrop which feels right above us, and this allowed him time to start the blog.

And by the way many thanks to those who say they anticipate and welcome our ramblings and to those who take the trouble to read the thing.

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The View From Our Balcony - Room 2

The Welcome Meeting was scheduled for 10am in Iapetos but we felt our time would be better spent getting the day one photos sorted and then heading to Cafe Aiglios for the morning frappe at around 11:30. By this time the taxi boats, which are on the end of season reduced service, were gone and the Poseidon, which was doing one of its private hires, was also out at sea.

Over our frappe E called Nancy, the Olympic Rep, and explained the position regarding our room. Being slightly defensive she explained that there was clearly a communications breakdown as she had not received the proper information from the UK. Alas Room 1 is now occupied by someone who is staying two weeks until the Saturday before we leave so Room 2 will have to suffice. D is on the case through email with Olympic central.

It was a beautiful day with blue skies and sun, and the temperature was a very pleasant 28C. We walked to the new ferry port and on the way back stopped off in the very new and very nice Cafe Rementzo where the girl who used to work in the Stella Bar is now working. It has a very simple drinks and snacks menu and has lovely views across to Nos and back into Yialos and worth the walk out that way to visit. Upstairs there is a roof terrace with tables and E was very impressed with the Ty Bach.

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The View From Cafe Rementzo

First day is always a “chill day” that allows us to just wander about and acclimatise and so it was. We headed back into the port and had a small beer with Giorgios and Yannis in the Corner Cafe and watched the day trippers, of which there were quite a few, avoid the slipway.

We will of course want to dine in Tholos so knowing how popular it can be we thought we would walk out to the restaurant and book face to face rather than phone. On the way we passed Odyssia - well you can hardly pass and we were invited in for a beer and chat with Manolis and Chef Stavros who is now working there until the end of this season and again next year. This is quite exciting and the mood was very upbeat.

After booking a table in Tholos we sauntered back around the harbour and could not resist the lure of Elpida’s where the carafes of retsina and ouzo were accompanied by a mezes of lightly curried mussels and meatballs with oven baked potatoes. Having devoured those another small plate of meatballs this time in a tomato sauce appeared - to die for.

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Elpida’s Mezes To Die For

E wanted a look in a shop (nothing new there regular readers will say to themselves :-) )so a rendezvous in the Stella Bar was agreed and D spent time catching up with Vasilis who had been in Rodos when we visited in June due to his late father being very unwell at that time. The conversation took an interesting turn when the Mooring Man sat down beside us and we gained a much better understanding of the refugee issues that face Greece, especially in view of the breaking news coming from Turkey - all very worrying, even frightening for places like Symi that are on the “front line”. Takis came to say hello in his own way - thank you so much Takis :-)

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Some Familiar Boats

Our intention was then to head for the supermarket to stock up, but that morning D had noticed that the Opera House has a sign up for a €10 breakfast, and as we had missed the intended visit to the Nireus Buffet Breakfast that morning, we should perhaps think about going there the following day and thus avoid the shopping trip.

So we climbed back up to Irini and whilst E had a short siesta D wrote the first half of the blog.

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The View From Irini At Night

It was soon time to head back down from the heights of Irini and with no plan for dinner once again descended on Cafe Alegrito for the nightly ouzo and retsina, or two. We then decided that too often we miss going to Meraklis, which had been a firm regular in the earlier visits, and it was just starting to quieten down as we got there. A shared plate of a very good tuna salad where the tuna played first fiddle to the creamy background was followed by E having a very good sized (set price) silver bream and D had the beef stiffado which comes direct from the often in a deceptively sized bowl. The melt in the mouth beef with small sweet onions with a herby sauce and nothing else got a huge thumbs up.

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Meraklis Beef Stiffado

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Meraklis Silver Bream

After a complimentary raki and piece of cake it was time to head up to the apartment with the moon above the Vigla and that satisfied feeling that is quite unique to this magical place.
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby D and E » 11 Oct 2019, 07:32

silverfox wrote:What a fantastic start to your Blog! (The Masters are back!)

Great to meet you both at last and I'm finally up and running after computer problems.

We need to meet up somewhere soon for another beer!

:D


Many thanks & loving those photos of yours.
Glad to read that you have settled in.
We are sure to converge on each other but if too much time passes we will fix it for a Fix :D
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby Gemma1 » 11 Oct 2019, 08:53

What a great start :D I stayed in room 2 at the Irini on my first visit in 2007 and although I agree the view from room 1 (which I stayed in the following year) is better, the view from room 2 isn't bad and better than the views from the rooms in the block behind. Glad you managed to get your luggage up there as it can be a challenge - unless you travel light which is something I have not yet mastered :P I'm drooling at the thought of all that delicious food and a pleasant 28 degrees sounds wonderful :D
Have a fabulous day and I can't wait for the next instalment :)
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby rockbottom » 11 Oct 2019, 22:38

Really enjoying both your blogs D and E and Silverfox. We've been back two weeks now and we're missing the sunshine! We also stayed at Irene studios where we've stayed many times before. We were in the back building so not such a good view as we've had previously and we counted 95 steps up to our apartment but sadly we didn't lose a single pound in weight!! We also discovered that the landlady had employed a chap to carry cases up to the apartments but we didn't see him at all! No matter we've already booked for September 2020 to stay at Taxiarchis (not stayed there before). In the meantime we'll enjoy your blogs!
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby D and E » 12 Oct 2019, 07:04

Friday - Meandering Again

We fell asleep the night before with the plan of going to the Opera House for breakfast but we both agreed we would not do it justice after the fine food of the evening before. We also agreed that we had to get to Taxas Supermarket and get provisions in.

But before heading down D was determined to stick with his routine and get the blog up and posted so he sat out on the balcony taking in the wonderful views and started with sorting out the photos. Over the years we have developed a system - we both take photos with E normally getting the best ones and these have to be put onto the iPad either by text, email, Twitter, iCloud or Airdrop and, if from the camera, by wifi or with the adapter. D does a first draft in the Pages word processing App and cuts and pastes it into the Forum. E is Editor in Chief and whilst she does that D resizes the pics in an App, inserts them and that then hopefully helps tell the story of the day. After we are both happy with it the Submit button is pressed. It takes around 30 minutes.

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The View From The Shared Balcony

As the blog was being finalised E received a message from our long time Symi friend M inviting us to Tolis the following day which is ever so kind of her. We jumped at the chance and then headed down for the daily frappe in Cafe Aiglios and low and behold just as we sat down M passed on her bike and stoped to join us, catching up with family news and finalising times for the next day.

Whilst that is happening S&L arrived for their morning coffee and then N&J joined them so we were given our usual warm welcome and all is good with the world.

Before we could face the supermarket we decided a small beer would be in order and so we installed ourselves in the renamed cafe next door to the pharmacy where Yiannis, the perfect gentleman, served us. The place was very busy with many Greeks having just arrived on one of the day boats. One beer turns to two and before we knew it the clock had passed noon and we had still to do the shopping !

E wanted a simple black T-shirt so with the end of season knock-down prices she got one in the shop next door to Cafe Aiglios and then we finally headed to Taxas and as we did we passed S&L and N&J having what looked like an excellent lunch in Meraklis (see our co-blogger - Silverfox’s postings to learn more about what they had hopefully).

We left Taxas with two carriers and a 6 bottle pack of water and climbed back up to Irini and stowed the goods. D made the fatal mistake of lying down -“just for a couple of minutes” and an hour or so later we summoned up the energy to head out for a short walk and watch the day trippers return to Rodos from the comfort of the Nireus.

We wanted you get some fruit and D had forgotten to pack his swim shoes which he had bought specifically for this trip - the old boy needs to start using lists :-) So we wandered back to where E had bought her T-shirt and got fruit from across the road. It was that time of day when the sun starts to go down and Yialos is bathed in that wonderful light so we just had to have a small beer and a retsina in Cafe Aiglios to absorb that.

Then it was back up these keep-fit steps and whilst E was getting ready the blog got partially drafted. For a change we knew where we were dining so we got ready and headed to Elpida’s for our retsina and ouzo and then onto Odyssia as we were advised by Manolis the previous day that he was intending to close this weekend.

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Friday Night Cats On The Town

There was the usual Friday night buzz around the port with the Blue Star arriving and lots of meeting and greeting. Our ouzo & retsina was accompanied by firstly a mixed plate of minted couscous, tomato & cucumber, cheese & salami and then a place of lightly curried chicken. As we were finishing our second round Elpida’s son arrived back off the Blue Star and we had a chat and just as we stood to go one of those mysterious ouzo & retsina’s appeared with a Yamas.

We walked round to Odyssia past a rather busy Kavos and were greeted warmly by Manolis and Katholiki who was home for the weekend celebrating her dad’s birthday. Stavros was resplendent in his immaculate chef’s whites and without asking a small bottle of retsina arrived to say welcome. We say it every time but the generosity of this small island is remarkable.
There is a very interesting and comprehensive menu to choose from and so we started with the tempura prawns that came in one of the best tempura batters we have tasted. An expensive dish at €15 but for 5 good sized prawns cooked this well it was worth it. They came with a little herbed sweet jam, could have been fig, and was a true stand out dish. The hand of Stavros was plain to see.

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Tempura Prawns

We followed this with E having the chicken in a Gorgonzola sauce which was amazing. A well seared piece of chicken that was as moist as could be with the amazing sauce served with garlic mange tout and the thinnest of home made fries - wow, just wow.

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Chicken Gorgonzola

As there was no amberjack Manolis suggested the sea bass for D and this was another standout dish. Two fillets cooked with not a bone to be found, the skin cooked crispy, yet the flesh still melt in the mouth as clearly it had been finished off in oodles of butter. Again with the lovely garlicky mange tout, the fries and just to give it some sweetness, some grapes. Superb cooking.

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Sea Bass

A complementary sweet of a custard with fig jam looked professional and ended one of the top five meals we have ever had on Symi. We have to say that Stavros Mezes when he was at Mythos above the gym would also feature in that top five.

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An Amazing Sweet

After politely turning down offers of more retsina and a glass of ouzo we took one final glass of lemoncello, complimented the chef and said our good nights. A truly memorable meal and as D said to Manolis as we left - you will need more tables next season :-)

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What a Backdrop - Odyssia

As we walked back the lights from the super yacht had attracted the usual shoal of small fish and this has attracted a barracuda that the guys from Los were trying to spear. We stood and watched and whilst we didn’t see the fish landed we did see the impressive creature swim by.

And with that bit of excitement we headed up to Irini and ended a great day on the rock.
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby silverfox » 12 Oct 2019, 07:31

Sounds like you had a great day and that food by Stavros means we will probably have to make the effort to go there soon!

Stunning pictures by the way!

:)
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby D and E » 12 Oct 2019, 07:34

Well worth the visit but check out if they are closing after today or perhaps tomorrow.
:)
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby Gemma1 » 12 Oct 2019, 08:47

Another great blog and sounds like a wonderful day catching up with people and eating more delicious food. I'm ashamed to say that I've never visited Odyssia so maybe it's somewhere I should try next year. 15 euros for a starter is definitely out of my budget but the chicken looks delicious and I often just have a main course when I'm dining solo - with a glass of wine as my starter ;).

I really appreciate how much time and effort you put into your blog. I take a notebook on holiday with me and make notes during the day and then usually type them up on the netbook late afternoon / early evening. Adding photos has always been a bit of a challenge for me and as most of my trip reports have been for Tripadvisor I have usually added them in afterwards but will try harder next year when I have a full 2 weeks on Symi for the first time since 2008 :D
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby D and E » 13 Oct 2019, 08:09

Saturday and Tolis Sunset

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Close It Quietly

With provisions now in the fridge there was no excuse for D not to go on the bread run. So at 07:15 he set off down the steps and without any chance of him emulating the walking prowess of Silverfox made it to the Clocktower for a few moments of quiet contemplation watching the sun starting to firstly bathe Chorio and then Yialos in its warming glow.

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Gone Fishing

The shops a round the harbour were being swept, cleaned and the stock put out as they have each and every day of the season. Waves and kalimera’s give that feeling of welcome and of well being and another day gets going.

Before buying a still warm small bread with sesame seed crust from the baker by the bridge the Alpha Bank near Elpida’s was needed. This was a free service in June as we recall but now the ATM charged us €2.50 for a withdrawal from our preloaded CaxtonFx card. Will try the ATM beside the bridge next time and see what it does.

As we were “on the clock” E had already cut up some fruit and added the yoghurt and honey. This with coffee, bread, cheese and ham is the daily breakfast. Irini’s apartment takes us back in time as there is no kettle and water has to be boiled in a pan. On the subject of the apartment the big plus is the size of the room and the private balcony. The shower on the other hand struggles with both flow and heat and trying to soak or wash out clothes is proving tricky but all part of the charm. D has also commented on how he thinks the room has warmed up after the first night and that buying the aircon may be needed.

With beach bags packed we headed down to the seats beside Vasilis Taverna by the bridge leaving a trail of small bundles of cat crunchies for the numerous small families that we have seen.

Spot on 10am M, with her cousin, picked us up. Her cousin’s husband has decided to walk over and D gave a tiny shudder at the thought :-)

It was another beautiful day of clear blue skies and sun with an early morning temperature of around 27C as the 4x4 climbs out of Chorio and we take in all those amazing views. Never fails to be stunning.

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Good Morning Tolis

We were the first to arrive in Tolis and had the choice of where to sit ourselves for the day. We chose sun beds (they are free of charge) beside a well matured eucalyptus tree which would afford us shade as the day progressed. Also we had been told that eucalyptus kept the mozzies away but no one appears to have told the Symi mozzies and as Silverfox says they are having an end of season gorge and are joined with small biting flies. D is a magnet - ouch.

We were having the morning frappe when our intrepid walker arrived looking like he had been for a stroll in the park - something for D to aspire to perhaps :-) After a couple of hours of swimming in the lovely warm water and lazing around it was time for lunch in Taverna Daphne. We had an excellent Mezes of considerable proportions that lasted and lasted. There was imam, Greek salad, tzaziki, courgette fritters, saganaki, garlic bread, spiced chicken with yoghurt & pita bread, saganaki prawns and tuna salad, washed down with retsina, and served in that wonderful location overlooking the bay. With lots of reminiscing in Greek, Austrian, Welsh and “Scottish” and so many laughs, lunches do not get better than this.

With lunch lasting well into the afternoon followed by a siesta it was well beyond 5pm before we thought about a frappe for the road and then the opportunity to stop above the bay and watch the magnificent sunset over Turkey.

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Sunset Tolis

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Kali Nichta Tolis

We got back into Yialos around 7pm and we needed to change our booking for Tholos as it had been made before our invitation to go to Tolis. This was not a problem and from there we wandered back to the apartment, got changed and headed down to Cafe Alegrito. It had been a relatively abstemious day so after a couple of ouzo’s and retsina’s we were not that hungry so walked the 10 steps to Tou Gianni gyros grill where E had a grilled pork gyros and D had the lamb chops that had somehow entered his consciousness perhaps subliminally through a certain Silverfox’s blog :-) With a small bottle of retsina and a big water the “logariasmos” came to €24 - great value.

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Gyros Grill

Watching all the youngsters congregating on a Saturday night we reflected on the vibrant youth of this magical place and hope that they will prosper in the decades to come.

Once again we climbed our steps and although it was quite late, in our terms, we saw that our landlady’s door was open and so we decided to ask for the control for the aircon - alas with such a big room and quite an old unit the effectiveness is marginal but welcome.
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby Gemma1 » 13 Oct 2019, 08:58

Sounds like another wonderful day and I'm amazed that air conditioning is needed in mid October when I'm sitting here with the central heating on :o Keep enjoying that glorious Symi weather :)
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby Jan » 13 Oct 2019, 11:26

If you can persuade a 'native' guide' to accompany you, do try the walk to Tolis, outbound at least. By far the worst part is the ascent of the concrete road out of the back of the square but after that the views make that first effort worthwhile. And the glow of self-satisfaction when you arrive justifies the first and possibly second beers.
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby D and E » 14 Oct 2019, 07:17

Sunday - The Day of Rest

Perhaps we took this biblical reference too literally :-)

The Symi Alarm Clock went off as usual.

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The Symi Alarm Clock

The first plan was to go on the Poseidon but then we noticed it was mainly a BBQ at St.Emelianos so we thought we would wait for the more usual “Round the Island” trip.

The next plan was to head for Pedi.

But before all that D couldn’t remember if the bakery by the bridge was open on a Sunday so once the first cacophony of bells calling folk to worship came to an end he set off down into Yialos to find out.

He did his usual and walked to the Clocktower and on the way encountered a very friendly duck which he christened Gemima.

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Gemima

Then he noticed the Coastguard landing another inflatable with 6 young male refugees. After a stop for a chat with Takis, and a few Kalimera’s later, a small bread and a croissant were purchased for the grand sum of €2.

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The 8am from Symi

By now the Poseidon was off the agenda so we had a leisurely breakfast watching over the super yachts leaving the harbour.

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The Daily Breakfast

The blog was completed and posted and the beach bag was packed ready for Pedi but as D was doing the breakfast dishes he wondered why the floor was so wet. A quick investigation showed that we were having a power cut and the freezer was thawing. As E needs to keep her insulin cool she nipped downstairs and found our landlady and between her and D spotting that a fuse had tripped all was sorted quite quickly.

We could not resist Comfy Chairs for our regular frappe stop and is often the way on a Sunday there were many Greek families meeting up and the place was buzzing.

We headed off to walk up the Kali Strata and E popped into one of her favourite shops to discover that it was closing this week, possibly for the last time, as the Italian girl who runs it is looking at other ventures - but there is still a week of opening and presumably a closing down sale.

As we walked up we came upon a very interesting sight - a “fight” between a cat and a snake. Worrying about the fate of both creatures we tried to tempt the cat away but it was having far too much fun.

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Not So Much Cat And Mouse ....

So we continued up the Kali, shouted in to say hello to Jenine and Tina, and at the same time bumped into Noula and said a quick hello to her too before we spotted Yiannis encouraging us up the final few steps :-)

After the warmest of welcomes, too ice clad beers arrived with his “posh” Mezes of cheese & ham, cherry tomatoes & cucumber & olives. One beer led to two and then another Symi friend who now works in the Old Markets Hotel was passing and sat down and had a beer with us and we caught up with all his news. We could not resist one final small beer and by then had decided Pedi should wait and we returned to the port by the lazy steps. Just as we stood up to go L arrived but as we were heading for a Yialos lunch, we just missed the arrival of her better half Silverfox.

We came down into a very busy port where many Greek visitors had been to Panormitis and were now lunching and enjoying the numerous cafe bars. We grabbed a table in the Corner Cafe where we shared a very tasty cheese & ham omelette and a couple of ouzo’s and retsina’s. Before catching the ATM at the bank beside the bridge which also now applies a charge.

E went to get a ceramic house for our friend’s collection and could not resist looking in on the end of season sale in the harbour front clothes shop - a white bag appeared from there.

Then it was back to the apartment for a coffee and a short siesta and watching from the balcony as the sun started going down over the harbour.

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Early Evening Yialos

We knew we were heading to our rearranged dinner date at Tholos so the ouzo & retsina stop was in Elpida’s where a very large charter yacht was mooring. The same salad mezes as our previous visit was accompanied this time by some grilled sardines. Our second round of drinks came with a small plate of beans gigantes which D agreed was just the right size for this potentially explosive foodstuff.

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Symi Arrival

We watched the moon rise over the windmills with the hills giving the impression of this happening at an amazing speed as the taverna started to fill up with locals for the music evening.

We walked towards Tholos and D spotted a dark pair of Haviannas with a boat pattern in the Duty Free Shop that he could not resist.

Tholos had a good crowd but there were plenty of tables available. We were given a seaside table and we are sure the grilled prawns were already written down before our order was taken - we are such creatures of habit. And so it was with the mains where D went for his favourite goats liver with thinly sliced raw onion and the amazing lemon potatoes and E went for the soutzoukakia this time with rice. Both dishes were up to their usual high standard. A complimentary sweet of yoghurt with a sweet jam ended dinner.

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THE Prawns with Lemon Potatoes

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Soutzoukakia

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Goat Liver

We walked home, past a very busy Elpida’s, under a full moon and were asleep before 11pm after a very restful day.
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby D and E » 14 Oct 2019, 07:25

Jan wrote:If you can persuade a 'native' guide' to accompany you, do try the walk to Tolis, outbound at least. By far the worst part is the ascent of the concrete road out of the back of the square but after that the views make that first effort worthwhile. And the glow of self-satisfaction when you arrive justifies the first and possibly second beers.


We reckon that if D achieved this he would drink the Daphne Taverna dry :shock:
Maybe next year ;)
:D
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby D and E » 14 Oct 2019, 07:27

Gemma1 wrote:Sounds like another wonderful day and I'm amazed that air conditioning is needed in mid October when I'm sitting here with the central heating on :o Keep enjoying that glorious Symi weather :)


Maybe it’s because D comes from the North East of Scotland but anything above almost freezing and he struggles to get to sleep :D
Thanks for all the kind words Gemma.
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby D and E » 14 Oct 2019, 07:31

rockbottom wrote:Really enjoying both your blogs D and E and Silverfox. We've been back two weeks now and we're missing the sunshine! We also stayed at Irene studios where we've stayed many times before. We were in the back building so not such a good view as we've had previously and we counted 95 steps up to our apartment but sadly we didn't lose a single pound in weight!! We also discovered that the landlady had employed a chap to carry cases up to the apartments but we didn't see him at all! No matter we've already booked for September 2020 to stay at Taxiarchis (not stayed there before). In the meantime we'll enjoy your blogs!


We think we could be tempted back to Taxiarchis where we first stayed on Symi all those many years ago. We love the different perspectives the different accommodation we have stayed in has given us and D is very tempted by a return to the “two centre” Pedi & Nos that we did last year - but it does need three weeks.
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby Gemma1 » 14 Oct 2019, 08:28

Another great read and I was wondering if you'd make it down to Pedi for a swim after one beer led to another - and then another ;) I hope the snake wasn't poisonous and the cat didn't lose to the snake - sorry but I can't find any sympathy for the snake.

Talking of Taxiarchis - I thoroughly enjoyed my stay there a few years ago, the accommodation is excellent and Frank is a great host but I am a creature of habit and do love the location of Anastasia which is ideal for a solo traveller being so handy for the village, the Kalistrata and even in the medicane I could make down the steps to Secret Garden for dinner ;)
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby silverfox » 14 Oct 2019, 21:05

What a superb blog you both do and you do so much for the island.

We spent a little time, mostly drunk in our case, with D&E tonight and we have to say what a great couple they are!

I'm now so behind in blogging and these two didn't help!

Love to you both!

:D
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Re: Yamas Yialos

Postby D and E » 15 Oct 2019, 08:42

Monday - Pedi At Last

There were still some bread stocks so D just rolled over.

When he got up he did his bite count :shock: Normally the plug-in, copious spraying of Jungle Formula before bed plus keeping the room cool with the aircon protects him. Alas the aircon is not that powerful. Anyway he got his own back on one of them -

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One Down Billions To Go

As the blog was being written two new guests arrived into the rooms in the other building behind us, accompanied by Nancy the Olympic Rep. Strange thing is that there is no sign of them last night or this morning and the place looks closed up again !

As the plan was to get to Pedi we knew we had to avoid the temptation of the ice cold beer in Yiannis. We of course did not pass Cafe Aiglios and had our morning frappe in the comfy chairs as the 11am taxi boat headed out towards Marathounda.

We decided to walk over to Pedi and as we walked along the harbour towards the inappropriately named “Lazy Steps” we bumped into Silverfox who had already done a marathon walk and was on his way to rendezvous with L in “Comfy Chairs”.

It was 30C again as we walked past the Village Hotel with a real feeling of belonging in the village as that is where we have spent most of our time on Symi over the years.

We then headed down a very quiet Pedi Road and landed in Katsaras Beach Bar for a much needed cold beer. The beach was like the old days with only one other couple on it at noon as we took to a sunbed, which by the way are €5 each.

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We Opted For Beer Rather Than The Sham Pain

Then the 12:30 bus arrived and several families and other folk seemed to be attracted to our little piece of beach so it wasn’t until 15:30 that peace was restored and we had our final hour in the most perfect sun. The sea at Pedi was warm and so inviting.

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Made Us Think Of Dinner

We caught the 16:30 bus back over to Yialos and after picking up some water and cat food from Taxas climbed our steps. We had decided to go UP for the first time of an evening but had still to decide between Zoë’s, Giorgios, or Scena that Silverfox had written about.

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Evening Ferry

There were three taxis waiting at 06:45 so we jumped in one and it whisked us up to the Village Hotel with the early evening glow over the mountains making Symi look more magical than ever.

The familiar stroll past Sotiris Supermarket and around the corner to the Rainbow Bar where our usual seats were waiting for us. There was a table in full swing opposite us and two came over to join us and that long awaited Blog Conference finally took place :-)

As it did the other, or should we say the original, S&L came into Lefteris next door, on their way to the Open Mic Evening in the Secret Garden. Lovely to say hello and see them both looking so well and fit - Symi life is certainly suiting them.

The “Conference” taught us that it is not just in the walking game that we are out of our league as yet another round of drinks took us beyond our normal quota of ouzo & retsina. It was getting close to 10pm before S&L headed to Giorgios and us to Zoë’s. Nikos and Zoë welcomed us and we made quick work of the menu and chose to share the grilled prawns to start followed by hare stifado for D, and E had the chicken with cashew nuts.

The prawns with their marie-rose sauce were succulent and the hare meat just fell of the bone and was in that delicious tomato based sauce that makes Zoë’s stifado so good. The chicken was moist and came with delicious waxy potatoes. As the last in the restaurant and it being quite late for this time of year we had a quick catch up with family news and then set off down the Kali Strata towards home.

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Zoë’s Prawns

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Hare Stifado

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Chicken With Cashew Nuts

It was clear that any plans for the following day would have to be rethought ;)
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