Greek Food – Page 5

Rhodes Town (Greece): Indigo

November 10, 2013 mmm-yoso Greece, Greek Food, Rhodes, Travel

We'd been enjoying our time in Rhodes Town, ut had yet to experience what I'd call a good, solid meal. For dinner we decided to head past the Hora, now quiet after the tourists and day trippers had left and head out to the area called the "New Market".

Since things had been fairly plus/minus in he Old Town, we decided to try our luck out here. The New Agora seemed a bit touristy, full of fast food and tourist fare. But a little bistro-ish ouzerie named Indigo caught our eye.

We found the super bright and loud colors a bit gaudy…and yet charming in its own way. It was so somewhat tacky that it looked quaint and interesting.

The prices weren't bad and this place just looked so different from the others that we had to stop here.

We started with a favorite of the Missus; the Fava Skordalia.

The flavor was right on, nice and beany, perfect amount of salt and seasoning. The texture however, was kind of weird and glue-like.

The Missus went with what seemed like a simple roasted eggplant salad. It turned out to be quite a bit more than that.

This was one of the more memorable dishes we had on the trip. We loved the contrasting textures, the soft roasted eggplant, with the crisp fried filo dough and crunch greens. The addition of the crisp fried "noodles" would have usually thrown us off, but in this case it worked fine. The salty feta, offset with the acid in the dressing and tomatoes.

I ordered the grilled calamari.

I loved the vegetables which were nicely seasoned and had a good combination of tangy-sweet-salty flavors. The calamari had a nice grilled flavor, but was on the tough side.

Overall, this was decent meal, perhaps the best we'd had on Rhodes to date.

Indigo
New Market 105
Rhodes Town, Greece

As we walked back to our room, we couldn't help but be impressed with the imposing and grand walls of the "Old Town" at sunset.

And yet, I was still in the dark with regards to the food here……

Avo’s (Gyros-Burgers-Philly’s-Salads)(Spring Valley)

September 6, 2013 Cathy Greek Food, Salads, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for dropping by mmm-yoso!!! on this overly hot weekend. Cathy is writing today, while Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are doing other things.

The other day, The Mister and I were out in Spring Valley, just across the street from Santa Sophia Catholic Church, which is undergoing some reinforcing construction. The tower and barrel roof can be seen from most of the Casa de Oro area.

We were looking for a place to eat after running our errand and saw this storefront-

So, we walked over…

Stepping inside the small ordering area which had two tables inside and two tables out in front, it was obvious this used to be a business which sold grab and go pizza.

Those three posters are the menu and the specials. Simple.

We ordered two gyro sandwiches ($7.50). The bread is made fresh here- in those pizza ovens. The meat was the standard gyros meat, sliced thck and grilled to give it a bit of a crust, which I very much enjoyed. The sandwiches were topped with onion, tomato and a fresh sauce. The sandwiches were quite large.

The Greek Salad ($5) was great on this warm day; crisp and cool mixed greens topped with cucmber, tomato, onion, Feta and a good size portion of a tangy, creamy dressing.

Another great find. Stay cool this weekend!

Avo's 9735 Campo Road, #250 Spring Valley, CA 91977 (619) 337-2334

Rhodes Town (Greece): A walk outside the city walls, Mandraki Harbor, and lunch at Alexis 4 Seasons Garden Restaurant

September 2, 2013 mmm-yoso Greece, Greek Food, Rhodes, Seafood, Travel

Energized after a cup of espresso, we decided to take a walk outside the imposing wall of the old town. The walk took us through the area called the "New Town". During Ottoman rule, the Greeks who didn't leave with the Knights of St. John were not allowed to live within the city walls, this is where the New Town sprouted. It looks like a fairly modern European town, skinny streets, lots of shops, banks, etc.

Still, there's quite a bit to see out here. This is the Mourad Reis Mosque and the old Turkish Cemetery,

There's an area called the New Agora, which I'll cover in another post. There's also Mandraki Harbor.

The passage into the harbor is guarded by the Tower of Saint Nicholas and the "Platoni", bronze statues of a Platoni deer stag and doe.

Platoni deer are one of symbols of Rhodes. But this spot has a larger historic significance. It is claimed that the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, once straddled the entrance to the harbor. Sadly, it was destroyed in an earthquake in 226 B.C. Still, it's probably better not to have any trace and leave things to the imagination then to have mere fragments of a column in an empty field like what is left of the Temple of Artemis.

We walked past the Temple of Virgin Mary's Annuciation…..

Past the commercial harbor and through the massive Thalassini Gate.

It's quite an imposing sight. It looks so imposing, that it's hard to imagine the old town being over-run and conquered.

By this time, the bright Mediterranean sun was getting to me and I was getting hungry. We decided to try out a place that Chris, from the Hotel Saint Michel recommended to us called Alexis 4 Seasons.

There's indoor seating on the second floor and a nice peaceful courtyard in the rear. Which seemed like a great place to escape all the noise and bustle of the street outside.

The menu was seafood based which made us happy……

We settled in with our wine and bread to get off to a nice relaxing lunch…..

At which time a large party of Taiwanese tourists on a "tour" from a cruise ship came in. Loud, demanding, and argumentative, this party of 12 just killed the atmosphere. Our Server, a really funny guy, saw the look on our face, and told us, "do not worry, they want to eat as cheap and fast as possible, and be gone in 20 minutes!" The one amusing thing was that the kind of eccentric woman with the tripod and camera I described in my previous post was part of this group. Even with all these folks she knew, some of which were possibly her relatives; she still insisted on placing that dinky little tripod on the ground turning on the timer, running into position, assume a pose, then "click" the photo would be taken. She did this about 6 times during the meal….never once did she ask someone in her party to take a photo, no……she needed that tripod, even when asking others to take a photo with her! I guess she trusted that tripod more than anyone else! Still, this group had nothing on the Russian tour that pushed everyone aside to get to the front of the line in Cappadocia, nor the Koreans who walked in front of all the folks trying to take photos in Selcuk, or the worst, the Chinese tour who pushed their way to the front of the line at Saint Peter's Basilica, then tried to force their way past the guard at the metal detector. Then there was the whiney German tourist who demanded free drinks because the bus from Halong Bay back to Hanoi was taking longer than it should.

Things started with a fairly routine roasted pepper and eggplant dish.

Ditto the salad….

Then it got really interesting. I decided to order something called the "Deep Blue Plate", the description of which was "mix local shell food".

I'm so glad I ordered this. There was seaweed, of course, nice but nothing really special. Then there's the collection of various limpets, sea snails and such, some of which were really tasty; the flavor of the Mediterranean condensed into a single bite. Loved the various textures, some soft and buttery, other chewy like abalone. I looked at a piece…..and it looked like opihi and even tasted like a milder version of it. There were some very briney barnacles as well. By now the tour groups had indeed left, to the relief of the three tables of customers in the place. I realize that having tour groups keeps these places in business, but man, that was painful.

We love octopus around the Greek Islands and our Server recommended the grilled octopus and calamari with squid ink pasta.

The octopus was a bit more chewy than I prefer. Perhaps the fantastic stuff we had at Vasiliko in Chania has kind of ruined me. The calamari was excellent quite tender, with a nice smokey, grilled flavor. The pasta was meh, al dente, but under seasoned.

We also had the mussels with white wine.

The mussels were decent, it was perhaps a bit under-seasoned for my taste. These were small, but quite tender…there are time I prefer the smaller mussels because they tend to have more flavor, but this was like something I'd make at home.

There was one item on the menu that I delighted to see. I'd come to really enjoy Raki during our time in Crete. I saw it by what the rest of Greece calls it Tsikoudia. It was the perfect way to end my meal.

The meal was decent, but not outstanding. The service was nice, but at over 70 Euros (over $100 at that time) for lunch in Rhodes, I expected a bit more.

Alexis 4 Seasons
Aristotelous 33
Rhodes Town, Greece

Still, we were full, the sun was shining brightly, Rhodes Town was in full tourist swing….it was time for a nap.

Rhodes Town (Greece): Palace of the Grand Masters and a cup of espresso

August 4, 2013 mmm-yoso Greece, Greek Food, Rhodes, Seafood, Travel

*** Nothing but a cup of coffee in this one. We'll have a new post with more food tomorrow.

Compared to the busy and buzzing late mornings and afternoons, the walled Old Town of Rhodes seemed quite tranquil and relaxed in the morning. The Mediterranean sun shone brightly on the streets even at 7 am! Busy Ippokratous Square seemed downright tranquil.

The Kastellania Fountain is one of the Old Town's landmark as is the usually packed Kastellania Stairs, which date back to 1507, which used to lead up to, duh, Kastellania Palace.

Walking around Rhodes Town during this time of day you're able to see the usual tourist filled town in a new light (no pun intended).

Walking within the rather formidable walls of the old town, you start understanding the history and importance of this medieval city, once the crossroads of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The commercial and strategic location of Rhodes means a long and colorful history as well as the island was in turn ruled by the Greeks, Roman, Isaurians, Arabs, Genoese, Ottoman, Italians, finally back to the Greeks. None of these captured my imagination more than the Knights of St John and no walk created more drama for me than an early morning wander up the Street of the Knights. This was where the Knights lived, you can find the "Inn of France", the "Inn of Italy" and so on. The Knights were divided into eight "tongues" – Aragon, Auvergne, Castile, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Provence. Each had their role and a "gate" of the city for which they held responsibility.

The road originally led up from the harbour to the Palace of the Grand Masters, an impressive structure. You can almost imagine knights on horseback galloping out the gates.

It is so large that I had a hard time trying to fit it in a single photo. This castle like structure was built in the 14th century on the site of an ancient temple to the god Helios. This was where the Grand Master of the order of the Knight Hospitaller lived. When the Ottomans defeated the Knights it became a prison and storage for ammunition. This lead to the event called the "Great Gunpowder Explosion of 1856", when lightning triggered an explosion which basically demolished the structure. When the Italians took over Rhodes, they rebuilt the palace, which became a vacation residence for Mussolini. There's actually a plaque near the entrance with Mussolini on it….sort of "Mussolini slept here" I guess. I took a photo but it didn't come out.

The photo that did come out was of the rather grand stairway in the palace.

I was told that most of what is located in the "museum" does not reflect the "Knights", rather the mosaics and art were taken from Kos and were brought here by the Italians as was the antique furniture.

Still, the place is quite an impressive site.

So what happened to the Knight of St John after their defeat at the hands of the Ottoman Turks? Well, the Knights, badly outnumbered made a spirited defense, so it is thought that Suleiman the Magnificent, allowed them to ransom themselves and leave Rhodes. Where did they go? Well, take a look to the right and I'm sure you'll figure it out. This simple display also served as inspiration for one of the stops in our most recent vacation.

We left the palace and just a short walk down the street you can see one of the remnants of the Ottoman occupation.

The Suleyman Mosque. This was also where we first saw this rather eccentric tourist. She was a very thin Taiwanese woman, who looked to be in her mid forties. She carried this really dinky looking mini-tripod with a camera attached. Every few steps she'd place the tripod on the ground and click a button and run up the steps do a "pose" just before the camera and flash went off. A couple yards later….she'd do the same thing. The Missus and I walked past her just cracking up. We just had to get out of there, so we ducked out St George's gate. As we exited the Old Town we walked over the area that must have been the former moat. It had been replaced by a nice green area.

We wandered around the "New Town" a bit. Through some of the shops and markets, just getting a feel for the area. Man, I was running low on gas, so the Missus suggested we get a cup of espresso.

Not as good as Tunisia, but it did the trick. I was ready to head on back out in the sun drenched streets of Rhodes Town.

Thanks for reading!

Rhodes Town (Greece): Hotel Saint Michel, dinner at Laganis, and other stuff

June 29, 2013 mmm-yoso Greece, Greek Food, Rhodes, Travel

Trying to catch up on our travel posts. This one is from back in 2012.

I'm not sure why we…..though I think it was I, chose the island of Rhodes. When doing some research, I probably got caught up in Medieval, knights, Grand Masters, a walled city! A young boy's dream. It also seemed like a nice change of pace after Tunisia and Istanbul. All that history was a plus as well. Plus, the Missus loves the Greek Islands.

So we arrived on our flight from Istanbul, through Athens. We'd decided to catch the bus from the airport to Rhodes Town. However, one of the cab drivers…you gotta love Greek cab drivers, they are nuts, offered us a deal to split the fair with another couple. So we ended up catching the taxi. The couple got out at a resort south of Rhodes Town and the driver picked up a passenger outside the Old Town. From there we ended up at the cruise terminal dock, all the while listening to an animated conversation between the driver and the passenger in a language we didn't understand! As the driver dropped the guy off he glanced back and gave us a surprised look. He's been so engrossed in conversation that he forgot all about us! He laughed, shrugged, and told us, "sorry, politics you know…." He ended up taking us back up the road and dropping us off near Saint Catherine's Gate…..he pointed through the gate and said, "that way….." Well, it wasn't quite "that way…." Luckily, we had a map and it wasn't that long a walk as headed past the main square and tourist stops down the charming cobblestone back streets of the Old Town.

If your idea of the Greek Islands are those charming bright white with blue trimmed structures, Rhodes will be a surprise. Here it's brick and stone, a fortress, a moat…..

Eventually we ended up at a small square area and gingerly stepped over the snoring dogs…..

We really wanted to stay in the Old Town, within the walls of the medieval city, and the Hotel Saint Michel seemed to fit the bill. The building is over 700 years old, cozy, and while the rooms are nothing fancy, the place has character to spare.

Also, Chris and Vasso were so accommodating, really making us feel comfortable and at home.

We were lucky enough to get the room we call the "penthouse". It is located at the top of the steep stairs on the roof. While the room was rather small and the wifi really didn't work up here, the place was private, cozy, and had one really big bonus……

We had the entire upper deck area to ourselves. Both the door to the room and the door to the deck had locks…

We were to make great use of the deck over our stay……

We really enjoyed the location of the hotel, it was close to everything, but away from the tourist hustle and bustle.

Settled in, we headed out for dinner. Usually, we're really tired after arriving at a city for the first time. Rhodes really didn't tax us much. Still, we thought we'd take it easy and head to a restaurant I'd read about fairly close by, away from the tourist rush called Laganis.

The Missus loves the tin cups that house wine is served in, so we got the house red which was passable.

She also loves horta, the wild "mountain greens", often a type of chicory, so we ordered that as well.

This version wasn't cooked to death as we're used too. It also needed a good deal more seasoning, but was not bad overall. Sadly, this was the best dish of the meal.

Things went quickly downhill with the Fava Skordalia.

This lacked flavor as well, but even worse, the dip had an unpleasant gritty texture as well.

The beets were nice and sweet but on the hard side.

After having wonderful grilled cuttlefish twice at Le Golfe in La Marsa, the Missus wanted to try the cuttlefish.

This had the texture of old tires.

The grilled octopus didn't fare any better……

We were only comforted by the fact that we tend to not choose real well for our initial meal in new cities we visit. I was sure that tomorrow we'd fare much better.

After the meal, we decided to take a walk down the streets of this quieter part of Rhodes Town.

We eventually ended up at Ippokratous Square and the Castellania fountain which is the busiest tourist area of the Old Town, surrounded by shops and restaurants…and tourists of course. Since it was almost evening, most of the day-trippers had left or were in the process of leaving.

Soon, the folks from the cruise ships would be heading back and the place would become pretty quiet. After all the folks in resorts leave it looks like this.

Quite a contrast……

We headed back up the cobble stoned alleyway to the hotel, stopping at the little shop next door. Christos was more then happy to open our bottle of wine and provide some glasses for us. We sat on the patio and heard the horns of the two cruise ships heading out. Soon we toasted as the sun went down in the horizon.

It was a nice sunset, but a few days later we'd see what I can only call an amazing sunset on Rhodes. Things were sure to get better……

St. Spyridon’s Greek Festival 2012

June 9, 2012 mmm-yoso Festivals & Events, Greek Food

Man, I'm a bit fried after a 30 hour plus return trip….the main problems being a delay at Heathrow and my inability to sleep on flights in spite of flying in World Traveller Plus class. Well at least the Missus and I caught up on a bunch of movies.

This morning I woke up, still in a bit of a haze and remembered that St. Spyridon's Greek Festival was this weekend. It used to be that we'd go every year. But for whatever reason, there was a gap of several years until I went last year. So I thought, "jet lag be damned, why not just go…." I'd usually go on the first day, but that wasn't going to happen this year.

It just so happened that admission is free between 11am and 1pm today and tomorrow (Sunday), so this would not cost me anything at all. One quick tidbit. This year the parking is at the San Diego Unified School District offices up on Park. There's a shuttle, but I decided to take the rather long walk to jar my senses back.

Things look about the same as last year……though I did notice that even at 1115am things looked ready to go, you didn't have to wait for the lamb or other items at the Taverna booth.

As usual, the Taverna, Dining Room, and the Pastries drew the most attention.

Of course there are other choices as well, saganaki, gyros, and a wine bar come to mind. I did end up grabbing some olive oil from the grocery booth and just had to get some lamb and loukaniko (which was pretty good) to go from the taverna, which made for a pretty hefty lunch for me. It's pretty decent fair food.

Anyway, go check it out if you have time. You can still get in free from 11 to 1pm tomorrow. More information on the event's website. Yamas!

St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church's Greek Festival
3655 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92103

Friday Festival Hours: 5PM-10PM • FREE ADMISSION 5PM – 10PM
Saturday Festival Hours: 11AM-10PM • FREE ADMISSION 11AM – 1PM
Sunday Festival Hours: 11AM-8PM • FREE ADMISSION 11AM – 1PM

Greece – Chania to Athens: Lunch at Tamam and overnight in Athens

May 5, 2012 mmm-yoso Athens, Chania, Crete, Greece, Greek Food, Travel

On our last morning in Chania we got up early as usual and took a norm al morning stroll around the old town. We kinda knew it was time to leave since we were getting to be perhaps a bit too familiar with our surroundings. Still, we'd really enjoyed our time in Chania, the city really spins its charms on you.

Speaking of charming, when Thomais saw us returning from our walk. She told us to wait for her before going anywhere….a few minutes later, she delivered freshly fried and delicious cheese pies to us!

Thomais told me that there are people who come back every year to Chania and stay at Madonna Studios. Based on our experience I can understand why. If we're ever back in Chania, we'll surely stay here.

While having our cheese pie and sipping some coffee we heard a commotion below……

It was a tour passing through the little cobblestone street in front of us.

The Missus decided to spend the rest of the morning relaxing with a book, while I headed off to the Archaeological Museum which is housed in church built by the Venetian's in the 16th century.

The admission was really inexpensive….2 Euros and it was a nice way to kill an hour.

Funny thing, I picked up some water on the way back to our room and it turned out to be Lyttos water…..it made both the Missus and I chuckle. We both remembered how the smell of manure seemed to permeate the entire town when we drove through.

We decided to get some lunch before our afternoon flight back to Athens…..it was an easy choice. We walked pass the tables of Tamam earlier in the morning, by then, the Missus had already decided to have lunch there. She wanted another crack at that avocado dip.

And yes, the Missus had keep Her "wine streak" alive.

I'd decided on having a nice salad…it seemed like the thing to order on such a bright and sunny day. I wasn't disappointed. They called this the Tamam Salad and it was simply one of the best salads I've had in a good long time. The tomatoes were so wonderfully ripe. There was a sweet-tangy dressing, that seemed a bit like a light honey-mustard. A good variety of cabbages and lettuces gave the salad a nice color and a tad of bitterness.

As you can see, it was topped with that lovely avocado dip and walnuts…….

We had more avocado dip…….

And this time we were smart enough to get some fried potatoes with it. Also, by this time, the Missus was in full swing trying to get that avocado dip recipe, which our server deftly deflected.

Keeping with our veg theme we ended with some very nicely done fava beans in olive oil topped with dill.

We had packed before heading out to lunch so we took one more walk around the waterfront.

As we walked back to pick up our bags and grab a taxi to the airport we came across the guy to the right. He worked at one of the waterfront tourist restaurants and would always try to get us into the place. We'd always turn him down with a smile and "oh, no we just ate" or something like that. If it was lunch he'd tell us, "come for dinner then…." In the mornings it would be, "come try us for lunch!" On this day, as he made his attempt to lure us into the restaurant, I told him, "oh, sorry, we are leaving in a few minutes." He broke out into a big smile and told me, "you must at least take a picture with me so you don't forget us!" So I did…….

Not that I was likely to forget about Chania anytime soon.

Returning to Athens was like going to a different planet. Gone was the blue sky, the clean air……it seemed much hotter and crowded as we walked to Hotel Tony from Symtaga Square.

After freshening up, we walked through the Plaka which was just packed to the seams with tourists.

We decided just to stick around the Koukaki neighborhood and have dinner at one of the local tavernas recommended by Tony.

It turned out to be just nourishment…….

The kokoretsi, basically lamb intestines wrapped around offal, then roasted was especially disappointing. The intestines greasy, the offal, dry, and well, awful…..

As they say….you can't win 'em all. We turned in early….it was another 5am bus from Symtaga Square to the airport in the morning. We were headed back to Antalya…..

Crete – Chania: Hiking the Samaria Gorge and dinner at Tamam

May 3, 2012 mmm-yoso Chania, Crete, Greece, Greek Food, Travel

The Missus really enjoys doing something, well, a little physical, sometimes when I'm lacking in sleep, or often disguised as a short "walk". Often losing interest by the time we've reached "there". Though I must be getting a bit "dim" in my old age, because I've actually started planning these sessions of torture in our trips. So our trip would not be complete without hiking the Samaria Gorge, often called the longest gorge in Europe, though I'm not so sure about that. The hike starts in the White Mountains and properly ends at the village of Agia Roumeli on the Libyan Sea. Because it was still the first week of May when we arrived we asked the always helpful Thomais about buses to Omalos. We were told that because it was early in the season, there was just one bus up to Omalos at 830. We got up, had some nuts, fruit, and yogurt and caught the bus to Omalos.

It seemed that the trip up the mountain was more stressful for the Missus and I as the road took some pretty sharp turns and it was drizzling pretty good. A couple of times the driver had to honk his horn to get the sheep of the road.

We finally made it up to the beginning of the Samaria Gorge National Park, hoping that the gorge was open in spite of the drizzle. The gorge is closed between the end of October, sometimes through the beginning of May as much of it is under water. We paid our 5 Euros and headed off down the steep beginning of the gorge called Xyloskalo ("wooden staircase") at about the 4,100 foot level.

It's a bit slippery and steep going down. There are also a lot of signs warning about falling rocks. The Missus got really irritated when I stopped to take a photo of one of the signs. When we mentioned hiking the gorge, several people told us to be careful because every year one or two people die from falling rocks, being swept away, heat exhaustion, or plain falling. But c'mon, maybe two hundred thousand people hike the gorge every year, so I naturally scoffed. Until I read this. The gorge is often closed during heavy rains and also after 3pm. You can walk into the gorge for about 2 kilometers from either end after 3pm, but you'll then be turned around.

If you're like me and not really used to walking down fairly steep inclines, it can be a little hard on the legs. But looking up at the misty mountainside makes it worthwhile.

The main trail in the gorge is very well maintained. We even ran into one of the park rangers riding his donkey, which I guess is the local ambulance.

It's about 2 kilometers before you reach the bottom of the trail. This being early in the season, the gorge had just reopened, we had to cross the stream quite a few times.

After winding your way for about another 2 kilometers you'll come across a nicely maintained rest area. We ran into another park warden here and there were restrooms available.

There was once a church here named Agios Nikolaus and before that a temple of Apollo. The cypress that grow here are said to be over 2,000 years old. It's a good place for a short break to take in that you made it down that mountain…..

About three and a half kilometers further, you'll come to the ruins of a village.

You cross a wooden bridge and enter what's left of the town of Samaria, which was populated until 1962! The last oflks left when the gorge became a national park. I had read that it's pretty easy to see kri-kri, an endangered species of mountain goat found only on four islands….but it was no-go.

A bit past Samaria, you'll enter the gorge proper. The water sort of disappears for a while; it's going under all the rocks you are trying to walk on.

This can be pure hell on your ankles if you're not used to walking on unstable and misshaped rocks. This is basically the riverbed that you're walking on. During the winter this is all under water. We could see watermarks on the rocks as we walked over them.

There were times when it seemed like the mountains met right in front of you and the trail ended. Of course that wasn't true, but it made for some fairly dramatic photos. Because we were approaching sea level the temperature also started rising and it was getting pretty hot. I'm sure this place might be no fun during the summer. Still, the Missus was determined to make that "first" afternoon boat out of Agia Roumeli and was pushing me harder than a stagecoach driver in Indian territory. Still, I was making pretty good time….I had a secret weapon, more on that later.

There were times that the verticle walls of the gorge, stretching over 1600 feet above you almost blocks out the light. Quite dramatic….

But to be honest; at this point I was getting to be a little "gorged-out", as you may probably be reading this. I was ready for a nice cold drink…..

Soon the river reappeared and we had to cross several rickety "bridges"……

These were attached to large stones by fence wire. I guess they were swept out of place everyday and replaced every morning

After crossing the stream a couple of times we started noticing more people. These were folks doing Samaria the "easy way", actually hiking up from Agia Roumelli. This, of course meant we were getting pretty close. We especially knew this when we came upon the ultimate Samaria photo-op Sideroportes, the "Iron Gates" where the gorge shrinks to a mere 12 feet in width.

It's pretty anti-climactic after that. They check your ticket at the end of the trail, their way of making sure everyone makes it out of the gorge. You're quoted the distance to 16 kilometers, but it's actually13 kilometers to the end of the hike. The other 3 kilometers is down to the harbor of Agia Roumelli.

I did mention my "secret weapon" on the hike, right? Well, it's in the photo to my right. Early on, I found a sturdy stick. It really helped me keep my balance on the unstable rocks and the downhill walk. Both the Missus and I left our "walking sticks" at the exit of the trail. As we walked down to the harbor, I told the Missus, "I loved that stick, man, I'm actually looking forward to using a cane in my old age! And heck….maybe adult diapers ain't that bad after all…." To which She replied, "don't be stupid."

As we went to buy tickets for the early boat out of Agia Roumelli we found out that this time of the season there's only one boat from Agia Roumelli to Hora Sfakion where we needed to catch our bus back to Chania.

Now the Missus had made gorge walking into an Olympic sport to catch that "early boat"……now we had to wait three and a half hours for the "only boat". Still, I'm pretty happy to have done the gorge in four hours! So what to do while we waited? Well, the restaurants didn't look promising and we walked around the three shops, bought fluids to rehydrate, and looked at the ocean……

and looked at the ocean a bit more……

We finally made our boat, caught our bus in Hora Sfakion, and made it back to Chania at about830pm. Now we hadn't eaten but a tiny bit of food at about 7 that morning so we were starved. We'd been eyeing out Tamam Restaurant since we arrived. The restaurant located in two building across a small back street was always packed, the tables lining the street seemed less popular but were usually full as well. Well, instead of heading back to our room, we made like the little fellow to our right….right to Tamam and found the outside tables empty. We sat down…immediately!

Now if the name Tamam sounds familiar, it should be….the building that the restaurant is located in has a history as a bath…a "hamam". Anyway, you can read it here if you click to enlarge. We were really just too hungry to care. We descended on the bread, olives, and herb butter like ravenous wolves on a crispy pata!

Of course, the Missus wasn't hungry enough to forget about having wine with every meal except for breakfast in Greece……the house red was quite nice.

And of course the Missus loved the local wild greens called horta. Here at Tamam, they served a particular green called Stamnagathi, also known as Spiny Chicory. Really good stuff!

Mildly bitter with a surprising amount of sweetness.

There was one dish, that I thought was kind of strange, that I'd heard Tamam served. Something that I would never would have associated with anything Cretan. I had to order the Spicy Avocado Dip….just had to!

Man, this was good, really good! There was a bit of spice, definitely yogurt, garlic, herbs….the Missus absolutely loved this as well. We've been trying to duplicate this since we returned. Olive oil gave it some fruitiness……. The gentleman serving us told me that avocados have been growing on Crete for years, but because it's not traditional, a lot of people don't know what to do with it. Amazingly good with fried potatoes…….

Which were included with the Cretan Smoked Pork.

The pork was pretty tough and the flavor a bit underwhelming….guess I'm used to a stronger smoked flavor. So yes Ed, I did eventually get to try Cretan smoked pork and even……

The Cretan sausages also didn't impress me much.

The by-the-numbers grilled oyster mushrooms with balsamic glaze was very pleasing.

But the Kid Goat Roasted over Potatoes was why I came to Crete.

Fork tender, mildly gamey and sweet, drenched in fruity olive oil, with tender potatoes enrobed in the essence of goat…..whoa…..one of the cuts was actually the tenderloin, which was super tender.

And of course, this being Crete there's always complimentary dessert……the raki that I'd come to love as well.

Wow, we finished everything………….

We headed back to Madonna Studios, we had a key to the building. I felt really bad when Thomais was still there! It was almost 11pm! She had waited for us to return, like a worried aunt…she had even prepped some cheese pie for us. I felt terrible….but the always accommodating Thomais told me, "no worries, I am glad you made it back safely. Tomorrow, you let me know, and i'll fry up the cheese pies for you!"

There's something about Chania that just goes straight to your heart.

I know this has been one of those long posts. Thanks for reading!

Crete – Chania: A morning walk, farmer’s market, Vasiliko (again), the Agora, and staying in for dinner

April 30, 2012 mmm-yoso Chania, Cooking, Crete, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Greece, Greek Food, Seafood, Travel

Crete, and Chania specifically had worked its magic on us. we were really charmedby the town, the alleyways and cobblestone pathways that wove around the Venetian structures really took you to a different time. Especially in the early evenings when the day-trippers had left and the partyiers were taking a little siesta before a hard night. The mornings were even more fun as the usually packed areas are devoid of activity other than restaurant workers setting up for the day. There's a peacefulness that overtakes you.

The Missus and I walked through just about every street close to the harbor, just soaking in the personality of the old town. It's hard ot imagine that this part of Chania was heavily bombed during World War II, or that much of the population of the city were either imprisoned or executed by the Germans, suspected of participating in the resistance. Almost the entire Jewish population of the town was shipped off to camps during that time as well, essentially destroying what was a very long history on Crete.

Yet, the beauty and charm of the town survived……

It was a nice time to try and figure out where we'd want to have our next meal….and perhaps where we wouldn't…..

I don't think that I mentioned that a pretty impressive wall was built by the Venetians around what is now Old Town. Unfortunately, the fortifications didn't stop the Ottomans from taking the town from the Venetians in 1645.

On this morning, we headed around the city walls and into Chania proper.

So what would lead us out of Old Town? Well you know it had to do with food right? When we headed out from Madonna Studio's in the morning, I stop and chatted with Thomais, who noted my interest in food. She told me that today was "market day" and the local one was just outside the city walls in front of the fishing harbor. You know I just can't resist these, right?

I believe it's fellow blogger Lynnea, who once mentioned that the classic mmm-yoso travel post will always include farmer's markets and dogs….well, here's the proud little fellow who followed us to the market…then found more interesting folks to follow….

In contrast to the sleepy Old Town, the market was pretty busy…….

The location overlooking the harbor is quite nice as well…….

While walking through the market admiring the super fresh offerings the Missus had an idea…..

Why don't we….which of course means me, make dinner tonight? Well, I hadn't really taken inventory of what was available in our room. I did note a two top burner set-up, so the Missus settled on having a big lunch and a very, very, simple mostly veg dinner. Which was a relief to me since as much as I was tempted to try stuff like this…..

I really didn't feel up to it. So we kept it very simple…….

We headed back to our room with our bounty, then the Missus settled back in to start reading one of the books in the cabinets….book exchanges are wonderful!

When lunch rolled around, the Missus had only one thing one Her mind…….Vasiliko again. Which was just fine for me……

This time around, I ordered the calamari, just to see how it would be. The Missus isn't a big fan of the usual tough squid, but this was very tender….very, very, tender.

Of course we had the octopus….we just had too.

As we had our cheese pie and raki, one of the gentleman working here came over to chat. He had remembered us from the day before. Along with the infamous "how can you live without olive oil", we now got the "why sea salt is healthy for you" presentation…….

Opening the little container of sea salt on the table, "you know, sea salt is very healthy for you….more healthy than almost anything! I will tell you why!" I look at the Missus with an amused look, we're both just waiting for the shoe to drop. "I can take all this sea salt, pour it in water, then mix….it will dissolve, be all gone. The same thing must happen in your body….so it can do you no harm!" We look at each other, trying not to laugh. He looks at us and add the disclaimer, "of course, if any of you is a doctor or medical person, I take this all back!" You gotta love it!!!

After lunch we returned to our room, the Missus settled in,but I was wide awake. I decided to head out for provisions I needed for dinner. Along the way out I got some directions from Thomais to the local market….

I also decided to stop by the Agora, the old central market which is fairly close by……..

The building that houses the market is quite impressive; built in the shape of a cross it was inaugurated back in 1913, when Crete was officially unified with Greece as part of the Treaty of London. On this day, when I arrived, the Agora was almost totally empty. It was late in the day and all the seafood vendors had cleaned up and were long gone.

Though most of the other shops were open, the place had a "ghost town" feel to it.

It was nice to walk around a bit, but I ended up going to the market to purchase, well. just a couple of bottles of wine really.

You see, when I asked Thomais about finding a market nearby, she asked me why. I mentioned needing some salt and perhaps a little olive oil. Did I mention how generous and accommodating Thomais is? Well, I was told not to worry about salt…..and Thomais also brought us olive oil pressed from her very own trees!

Does service get any better than that? Really? We popped open the bottle of red I got from the market…the Missus had a seat on the little porch under the late afternoon sun in Chania.

It was a very humble dinner……..quite simple. But this was Crete and the pure and simple are savored. Of course here, the tomatoes are sold when they are truly ripe.

So what better than a simple salad dressed with fresh pressed olive oil………

We really took our time with dinner.

Soon we finished that bottle of red and I opened the bottle of white we bought in Iraklios. It refreshed us……

We started in on the bread and cheese we bought earlier in the day. Such substance filled us up.

Our main course may seem perhaps too simple, but we truly enjoyed it. The flavors of potatoes picked the day before, zucchini, fresh, ripe, and sweet. Just simmered in water and dressed with sea salt and olive oil……something this simple would actually cost you much more here if bought from the grower here in the U.S……this actually cost us 3 Euros, farm fresh.

After dinner, we took a walk….we had hit that mellow evening time, before much of the dinner crowd had come out.

I'd always thought the lighting at twilight and dusk to be the same, but it is surely not true…..

It's easy enough to be taken by the charm of Chania to forget the history. And you can be easily overwhelmed by the history of Chania as well. Our after dinner walk took us to a street just off the waterfront and up a hill. Here we found a archaeological site right in the middle of a group of buildings and apartments. Apparently, this is the location of one of the city's original settlements on the Hill of Kastelli, where the Minoan's settled in 3000 BC.

This was a nice post-dinner walk. But of course, according to Cretan tradition, we never finished dinner! We never had raki…….luckily, I had also bought a little bottle of raki at the market. This turned out to be good stuff! And it was a nice aperitif….especially for me. The next morning we were to hike the Samarian Gorge!

Crete – Chania: A short walk and dinner

April 27, 2012 mmm-yoso Chania, Crete, Greece, Greek Food

Things start slowing down as evening nears in Chania. The cruise ship and day-trippers have gone and I guess the party folks are resting up for a busy night. For us, photos just seem to come to life during the twilight hours as all the haze melts away into the background.

We took a walk to stimulate our apettite and to just explore a bit.

This town sure has charm, that's for sure……restaurants and cafes seem to be everywhere, tucked into every little spot where there's room for a couple of tables.

Our visit took place before all the riots and austerity measures took effect, but there were hints of it in the air, as we saw protests on two of our nights in Chania.