Komotini, Greece

Arrived at Munich Airport in plenty of time to catch my flight to Thessaloniki, Greece.  I flew on a Greek airline, and the lady who checked me in was lovely, so in all, I was very happy with the flight. For some reason this flight stands out from all other flights, and all I can put it down to is the woman at the check-in who was friendly, helpful and chatty. Customer service certainly can, and does, make a difference.

I arrived quite late in Thessaloniki, but Vivie was there to meet me despite the late hour. We then waited for Anne's flight from Amsterdam to come in, which happened to be delayed. Vivie had this neat app on her phone where we could track where Anne's plane actually was so we knew when to go downstairs to get her. We sat in the cafe talking until then. I was feeling quite miserable with a cold, and poor Vivie was tired!

We then caught a bus back to Vivie's apartment in Thessaloniki, and didn't waste too much time going to bed as we knew we had a long day the next day.

In the morning Vivie took us to a local restaurant for this amazing food for breakfast where we had mpougatsa, a pastry made from cheese. Both Anne and I thought it was divine. We then all caught the bus back to the airport, and the rental car company picked us up. We did the necessary things like fill out forms and pay some money, then we were off on our road trip.  The plan was, Thessaloniki, Komotini, Plovdiv, Rila Monastery, Sofia, Macedonia, then back to Thessaloniki.  Four days of driving. I had my GPS loaded with a European map to help us out.

The Drive to Komotini was mainly on highway, and nothing really stood out. We got to Komotini about midday or just after and met Vivie's parents, Stelios and Victoria Moraiti. They asked us whether we would like a seafood lunch or something else. We all picked seafood, and were taken to this amazing restaurant called Petrino in the main centre of Komotini.  Petrino means 'made of stone'.  The Greek word for stone is Petra.


 As we walked to the restaurant, I noticed the fish shop with a wide variety of fish available....

Komotini is a very pretty town and is a city in Thrace, in Northeastern Greece. It has a large muslim community which makes up about 45% of the population.

I had to get some cash from the ATM, so got a little 'fast' walk through the town. Colourful stalls, cobblestone walkways and the Minaret, make it a very pretty place, and one I'd like to explore again further. I wished we had had more time.

Petrino's food was excellent. Beautifully cooked with a wide variety. I had the BBQ'd squid which was very tender and very tasty.

On the table were salads, Sardeles (sardines), and Tzatziki. Tzatziki is my favourite dish of all in Greece. I had it for the first time in Santorini and have craved it ever since. Vivie knew this and it magically appeared on our table. (swoon!).  I was told that the sardines you ate bones and all, everything, and the other fish dish that was ordered, you didn't.

This is Barbounia, the fish dish that you weren't supposed to eat the bones. I got so confused, I ate them anyway! It was still very tasty, and I enjoyed them immensely.

We also had the Greek Aperitif Tsipouro. Whew - that was strong, as well as some red wine (separately, not mixed!) The staff at the restaurant were fabulous. The service was excellent and they didn't bat an eyelid when we were feeding some of our 'leftovers' to the stray cats. Vivie's Dad started the stray cat feeding. As soon as he did that, I knew he was a great person. Anyone that is a softie is a good sort in my book!


Here they are waiting for some scraps.... And begging...

Being friendly...

And waiting for more...

One obviously has just given birth to more stray kittens...

Vivie, Anne, Stelios and Victoria at Petrino Restaurant. I got to work the camera!

After the fabulous meal and great company, we were given a quick tiki tour of Komotini, then back home for a coffee Greek style. I had water - I find Greek coffee a bit too strong.

We said our goodbyes and Anne, Vivie and I hit the road for Bulgaria. I was very sad to leave. Vivie's dad gave us presents of Stragalia and Soutzouk Loukoum. Stragalia are toasted chickpeas, which come in normal, spicy or coloured. We had a pack of normal and coloured. I loved them. Really beautiful. The Soutzouk Loukoum is is a large, oblong delight containing sugar, glucose, nezeste, water and nuts (tied in string). The nuts can be substituted for the lack of sugar as a sweetener. The soutzouk loukoum originally appeared in the harems of the sultans, and served in cafes with coffee and traditional treat the Orthodox monasteries. It has an aroma of rose, clove and cinnamon. Both these treats are a specialitiy of Komotini. I absolutely loved both of them and while writing this, crave them both. I'm even wondering if I could toast my own chickpeas. Must look into this!

The drive to Plovdiv, Bulgaria was beautiful. Mountains, rivers, forests, farms. The scenery was stunning.

A farmer herding his sheep or goats - couldn't really tell what they were..

Flat farmland with a small lone tree. This was the last photo I could take before it got dark.

We arrived in Plovdiv quite late - about 11pm. Found our hostel, and once again was on the top floor. By this time my 'cold' had gone down to my chest and I felt most unwell, so took myself straight to bed. A great day-  the highlight meeting Vivie's parents. A heartfelt thanks for your hospitality.

Rhodes - Day 2 - Old Town

I fell asleep doing my blog last night I was so tired.  But I got a good long comfortable nights sleep, although it hurt to move in just about every part of my body from my two falls yesterday!

We got up and headed downstairs for our free breakfast, then headed out to Rhodes Old Town – the walled city.    It was absolutely fascinating with old buildings, alleyways and a really really friendly cat.  I wanted to take it home.  It snuggled into me for a while and wanted to be carried around.  Anne found some cats with one blue eye, one green eye and managed to take photos, but they kept running away from me!

We wandered around these historic buildings within the medieval walls, and it is apparently one of the most beautiful towns in the Mediterranean.  The citadel is one of the best preserved medieval towns in Europe and in 1988 was designated a World Heritage Site.

We wandered past the the Street of the Knights (Ippoton), one of the best preserved and most delightful medieval relics in the world.

We then wandered over to the Ancient Windmills to take some photos, then headed back to take the car back to the rental company.  No mean feat as the city is a maze of one way streets and hard to get around, let alone your bearings.  I think Anne was amazing to find it!

Back to the hotel for a rest, before catching the bus to the airport – to find our flight to Pisa, Italy is delayed for 2.5 hours.  Such is the life of travel.

Rhodes is a really interesting island and has some lovely beaches too, but the purpose of our trip was the history not the beaches.  The funniest thing which I saw is the interest in the lovely cats that are running around, when in the middle of one of the most historical sites in the world.  Everyone was taking photos of the cats, (including me), instead of the castle!!  Made me chuckle.  I’m going to miss Greece and it’s lovely laid back atmosphere, beautiful towns, lovely people, and great food.  I’d like to come back one day and explore some more – although I will never attempt a donkey ride again !!

Rhodes - Day 1 and Near Death by Donkey!

We arrived in Rhodes, Greece from Athens after 3 hours sleep.   We got a taxi from our hostel in Athens to the airport as the trains weren’t running at that time of the morning (5am).  The taxi ride was fine, but very fast, although the speed limit was 50, I don’t think anyone on the road stuck to that speed at all.  In any case, we were at the airport in record time.

Our flight was on time, but the weather was bad.  We had to drop 2000 feet to avoid bad turbulence, and the clouds were massive, although very pretty as the sun was rising, but at the same time, lightning was lighting them up as well.

Very windy when we landed at Rhodes was the landing was a bit hairy!

We caught the bus into Rodos to the City Hotel where we were staying.  Very pleasant here – I’m typing this up in their garden bar while Anne is sitting in the sun reading her book.  We’re just taking a short break before we head back to the airport to catch our flight to Pisa.  We still have to check in at the right time, but our flight is delayed by 2.5 hours.

We arrived at our hotel in Rhodes at about 9.00am, checked in, and then they offered us breakfast, so we filled up on boiled and poached eggs, toast, yoghurt, honey, sausages and bacon.  We then dropped our luggage in our room, then went around the corner and hired a car for 26 hours for 40 euros for unlimited km.  So we then headed out of Rodos City to see the sights the rest of the island could offer us.

We first went to the ruins of Apollo Temple at the Acropolis of Rhodes which dates from the Hellenistic Period (3^rd-2^nd c.BC).  Just 3 km away from where we were staying.  It consisted of the Temple of Apollo of which below was a stadium and a small theatre.  A bus tour of high school students from Prague were there visiting at the same time as us.

We then got in the car and drove to Lindos – weather was patchy rain and very hot and humid.  We arrived at Lindos about 1pm.  Lindos is both a town and an archaeological site on the east coast of the island about 55km from Rodos City.  Took the free shuttle bus to the entrance of the town and walked through the alleyways boasting lots of tourist shops.  Above the town rises the acropolis of Lindos, a natural citadel which was fortifified successively by the Greeks, Romans, Byznatines, Knights of St John, and the Ottomans.  This makes the site difficult to excavate and interpret. 

Once in the town we had to start walking upwards to reach the citadel (castle) and was definitely an effort to do with my sore foot.  We managed to haggle a better price with my deafness and anne’s student ID card!

Took lots of photos – of the Relief of a Rhodian  Trireme (warship) cut into the rock at the foot of the steps leading to the acropolis.  The stray cats living there.  The Hellenistic Staircase (2^nd c BC) leading to the main archaeological area of the acropolis.  The Remains of a Roman temple.  The castle of the Knights of St John built some time before 1317 on the foundations of the older Byzantine fortificaitons.  The walls and towers follow the natural conformation of the cliff.

After wandering around for some time, we decided to leave and get back to the car to get to our next destination – the ancient city of Kamiros.  Because my foot was so sore, I was adamant that the donkey ride down would be a great experience.  Anne was just as adamant that it would not be – so she decided to walk down, and I rode on the donkey.  All went well and I even managed one photo, until we got down to where the cobblestones and steps were.  Anne thinks the donkey slipped.  I felt the saddle move a bit.  Whatever happened, the donkey decided it no longer wanted me on it’s back so bucked me off.  My foot (not the sore one) got caught on the saddle, so I forced my shoe off.  I ended up falling onto a step.  The woman helped me get my shoe on and stuck around until I asked her for my money back.  She took off after that and left me high and dry barely on my feet and in pain.  Anne took off after her and kept saying ‘give me our money back’ which the woman refused to do.  They completely disappeared.  I shakily started walking down but then starting crying – shock.  Eventually another donkey operator came down, realised what had happened and took my hand and led me down the hill.  He said that the woman should not have left me, and should have given our money back to us, and that he would help us when we get to the donkey station.

Last photo before the donkey bucked!

Meanwhile Anne got to the donkey station and tried to explain what had happened, and the angry Greek woman and donkey operator who had left me lied and told the guy that Anne had pushed her (which she hadn’t).  However, the woman finally gave Anne our money back and Anne came back triumphant!

I thanked the kind Greek man for his help and we went on our way.  By the time we had got back to the car we had calmed down sufficiently to laugh about it, but realising that it could have been a lot worse had I hit my head on the stairs.  We then wondered if we were wise to insist on our money back, as the important thing was that I was okay, and we were now worried that this woman may be in trouble for bringing the donkey down the hill without any money.

An interesting afternoon for sure – and I have lovely bruises on my legs, arms and back – big ones, and ones that hurt!

We left Lindos and took off over to Kamiros – where there is an ancient Hellenistic city (ruins) to wander around.  The drive there was interesting and pretty – quite a bit of pine forestry where the leaves were so bright yellow/green they almost looked unreal.  Villages with houses that were run down, and some completely deserted.  I stopped to photograph some.

Kamiros was a city lying on a peninsula on the northwest of the island 30 km west from Rodos Town.  It used to be one of the three large Doric powerful cities which in the 5^th Century unified with Ialyssos and Lindos to form the powerful state of Rhodes.

The ancient city was built on three levels.  At the top of the hill was the Acropolis with the temple complex of Athena Kameiras and the Stoa.  A covered reservoir having a capacity of 600 cubic meters of water, enough for up to 400 families was constructed about the 6^th century BC.  Later the Stoa was built over the reservoir and it consisted of two rows of Doric Columns with rooms for shops or lodgings in the rear.

 Lower Doric Temple

 Baths

Hellenistic housing

 Main Street

Water Reservoir

The main settlement was on the middle terrace, consisting of a grid of parallel streets and residential blocks.  On the lower terrace are found a Doric Temple, probably to Apollo.

The town was in the heart of an agricultural region.  Shipment of agricultural produce such as olive oil and wine required lots of pottery and even today one can observe immense number of broken pieces of pottery spread over the area.

Kamiros decline was the result of the gradual abandonment by its residents, who moved to the City of Rhodes (Rodos) established in the late 5^th century BC.

After leaving Kamiros it was getting late, we headed back to the hotel to shower and change.  By now the rain was bucketing down,  but in spite of this we decided to go to Old Town for Dinner.  We shared one umbrella and walked along under a huge Lightning and Thunder storm – was quite spectacular.  We got to the old town and the heavens just opened – such heavy rain it was unbelievable.  I was soaked to the skin.  We found a Greek Restaurant, and the lady lent me a towel to try and dry my clothes which was lovely.  We ended up staying for dinner and wine – beautiful Greek fare.  Anne ordered Chicken with Feta, and I had the Lamb with feta.  We also had Dolmades and Tzatziki  and pita.  I’ve fallen in love with Greek food.  If I stay here any longer I’ll soon be as big as a house!

By the end of our dinner, the rain had stopped so we decided to walk back to the hotel rather than taxi.  Unfortunately the stone roads were very slippery and I took a tumble.  Ended up lying on the road in pain for a while, before being able to attempt to stand.  The stones on the road also dug into my knee.  So now I have a sore knee and a sore foot!  We got back to the hotel okay though and iced it thoroughly.  I’ll live another day!!  I am hoping I will get to Morocco in one piece!

Lightly Salted in Santorini

It was our last day in Santorini and after a rip roaring time on quadbikes the day before, we decided to head to Perissa Beach for the day.  We caught a bus out there, then quickly found a spot, rented some chairs then settled in for the afternoon.  I even went for a swim and the water was beautiful (one you were in!)

Eat your heart out....!!

The people where we were staying took us out to the airport at 6.00pm  A short 45 minute flight to athens, then a tripon their metro and train service to Athens where we stayed in a hostel near the Acropolis.  This was the view from the 5th floor.  We only got 3 hours sleep as it was an early start to fly to Rhodes this morning.

QuadBike Exhilaration - Santorini

Anne, Jay and I roared around Santorini on quad bikes.  It was the most exhilarating fun I’ve had for years.   Anne and Jay were on one, and I drove the other.  Easy to drive, and once again I had no problem with driving on the right hand side of the road.  It was a great way to see a lot of the island.

Santorini isn’t huge so it was a great thing to do on the first day to get your bearings, as then we were able to choose what we wanted to do the next day.

We first went over to Kamari Beach – Black volcanic ‘sand’ which wasn’t really sand at all, but pebble.  Very pretty setting with huge cliffs as a backdrop – and it was close to the airport.  We then went up this switchback road that took us up about 300m to Ancient Thera.  

The view looking down from the top - you can see both the switchback road, Kamari Beach, and  the airport in the distance...

We wandered around this ancient city, now all in ruins.  It was hard to believe that  thousands of years ago people once thrived here, on top of a cliff.  We wandered around the ruins for an hour or so, then got back on the bike and headed over to Perissa Beach. 

To do that we had to backtrack the way we came, then turn left to come through the middle of the island via a little village called Pygos.  We stopped there for a drink and a wander through the alleyways.  Fascinating doors , art shops, churches and a castle.  It in the end became my favourite place of Santorini.

Perissa Beach was beautiful – black sand again, and deck chairs and umbrellas you can ‘rent’.  Gorgeous Greek young men calling you to come into their restaurant.  I tried to negotiate a kiss for Anne and Jay from one, but he would only do that if we bought a drink.  We keep having to fan ourselves because the men weather is so hot!

On to Red Beach where massive red lava cliffs hung down onto a black sand beach with blue blue water.  Unfortunately there was a bit of a walk so we decided to bow out because of my foot and carry on. 

Out to the lighthouse with views over the volcanic Caldera, Fira and Oia in the distance.  By this time it was getting quite late so we hightailed it back to Fira to pick up another flash card and battery for my camera as I had forgot to pack spares that morning.

By this time it was getting on, and we were in a hurry to get to Oia for the sunset,  so it was a mad dash to get the battery and cards, then back on the bike to hightail it to Oia which was 25 minutes away.  We got there just as sun was setting – incredibly beautiful.  Oia itself is a bit more upmarket than Fira with beautiful marble walkways and gorgeous houses.  Very colourful. 

This was the crowd of people just at this spot out to watch the sunset - there were many more at other vantage points around Oia!

We headed back to Fira for dinner and an early night.  I am now totally in love with Santorini!