Wow - again - another whirlwind week of travel and adventure...
Symi (in Greek Σύμη) is a Greek Island located 25 miles north-northwest of the island of Rhodes. It is mountainous and includes the harbor town of Symi and its adjacent upper town Ano Symi, as well as several smaller localities, beaches and areas of significance in history and mythology. Shipbuilding and sponge harvesting were substantial industries on the island peaking at the end of the 19th century when the population reached 22,500. Symi's main industry now is tourism and its population has declined to about 2,500.
All that being said - IT WAS JUST BEAUTIFUL! It is the most relaxing, peaceful and friendly place I have ever been. Tom & I were luck-enough to share it with two of our favorite people in the world - James & Greg! They flew over from New York, we all met up in Geneva Airport, flew to Rhodes, spent the night in an amazing hotel with a private pool and overlooking the amazing Aegean Sea.
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| Our view for the evening... |
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| Greg taking a dip... |
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| Tom relaxing poolside at sunset... |
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| ...& an amazing sunset it was! |
The next morning we caught the ferry to our final destination of Symi!
It was about a 40 minute ride and lot of fun!
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| Our Ferry - The Pride! |
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| Sailing from Rhodes Old Town |
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| Next stop - Symi Harbor! |
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| Just Amazing! |
Not really sure how to give you the complete picture of how cute, charming and very peaceful Symi is.
I guess I can do some picture highlights and give a little list of some of the amazing things we did, saw and ate!
On the Island we were fortunate enough to stay at a few places allowing us to experience a few different styles of the island. First we stayed at an ole-friends house. The name of the house was Sophia and was situated on the harbor and we overlooked the beautiful water... It had a huge living-dining-kitchen area and was very open and breezy (what a Symi harbor home should be). After which we moved to a local hotel called the
Nireus - air conditioning, nice rooms, decent breakfast and good drinks! All very nice and relaxing!
Here is a quick look at Sophia...
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| The kitchen... |
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| ...& the dining area... |
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| Our room's view... |
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Tom & I on the balcony
off the dining-room at
Sophia! |
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| Our little garden area at Sophia... |
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| ...and a wander through town! |
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| All the blue-n-white! |
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| Plus many other colors... |
After settling in we decided to explore the harbor village. It was a long day of travel so we rested, ate, drank and got ready for the rest of our adventure. We ate dinner at a local restaurant that we were scheduled to attend a cooking class at on Tuesday,
Mythos with chef Stavros (or as James called him Starvos). The dinner was amazing!!!! We ordered the 'Meze' (something Mythos is famous for) - basically little plates of marvelous food that keep coming and coming and coming and coming until you say Stop! Then they give you dessert... Everything was cooked to perfection and tasted amazing! Can't wait till the cooking class!
The next day we decided to take a local water taxi/ferry to a small local beach for a swim and some sun!
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| Our little beach... |
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| Tom, Diane, James & Greg! |
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| Some playing in the water... |
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| ...some climbing of rocks... |
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| Then off to lunch... |
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| ... in a small town called Pedi! |
Skipping ahead - it is now Tuesday and we are heading to our cooking lessons with Stavros!
Truly a wonderful experience - Stavros has lived on Symi his whole life and has had numerous restaurants.
Today - we were going to learn how to cook Greek food!
He started by explaining how to make a good stock - fresh stock is key!
- We went on to make Zucchini/Courgettes stuffed with mushrooms.
- We learned to fillet a Sea Bream (to be served in a saffron sauce).
- We made 'Bitsize' Fish-n-Chips!
- And for dessert we made Panna Cotta!
- As an added bonus, we were discussing ancient Greek cuisine and he added a dish of Prawns with honey!
My stomach is aching just typing this section -
Take a look!
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| Mythos! |
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| Chef Stavros! |
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<<< Greg & James ready to work...
...all apron-ed up and ready
to learn how to fillet a fish!
(that's a Sea Bream) |
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Chef Stavros showing Greg
how to properly create/wrap
our bite-sized Fish-n-Chips!
Delicious! |
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| ...and I helped! |
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| James tries his hand at it... |
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| ...then off to be fried in Sunflower oil! |
I have many more pictures of us 'playing' sous chef for the day but I think the finished products are better to look at...
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| Bite-sized Fish-n-Chips! |
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| Courgettes stuffed w/Mushrooms! |
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| Fillet of Sea Bream w/saffron sauce! |
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| Stavros & Tom... |
Please don't get the notion that this was all work and no play - we, of course, had to have a little local Greek wine while we were working in the kitchen...
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| Our waiter for the day! |
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| ...and some Retsina! |
And our meal would not have been complete without trying some of the local hooch!
It is pronounced
Retsina and it is a local liquor made from pine resin (yes - I said pine resin). Surprisingly enough, it was actually pretty good!
If you are ever on the Island of Symi - please look up Mythos/Stavros! Whether you enjoy a meal with him and his staff or schedule a cooking class - it is a Wonderful experience and should not be missed!
Next on our list of adventures was renting a boat for the day and traveling around the Island of Symi to see everything it has to offer...
Our boat captain was Yiannis and his wife (sorry don'y remember her name) they were amazing! They have lived on Symi their whole life (and their parents were from there too).
We had the chance to:
- Visit the Monastery of the Archangel Michael Panormitis, a Greek Orthadox monastery built in the 18th century...
- Go swimming in the Aegean Sea (numerous times)...
- Have lunch in Marathounda, a small private bay on Symi with an amazing restaurant...
- And captain the boat!
Here we go...
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| Starting the day with a smile! |
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| Tom, Greg & our ride... |
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| Captain Tom... |
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| ...Ginger & Maryanne! |
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| Small church on a jetty... |
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| ...James & Tom enjoying the water! |
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| Greg having a swim... |
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| ...and Tom & I...relaxing! |
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| After our dip...off to... |
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| The Monastery Panormitis! |
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Archangel Michael at
the entrance... |
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Greg, James &
the Bell Tower |
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| Tom liting a candle at the monastery |
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| The courtyard... |
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| Our ride with Yiannis & Tom! |
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| Now off for a swim & lunch! |
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| Disembark at Marathounda... |
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| ...quiet, small and wonderful! |
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| Goats... |
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| Boats... |
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| Ouzo! |
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| & a Puppy! |
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After a great meal,
wonderful conversation and an
Ouzo or two... |
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| ...it was time to shove off! |
After lunch we headed off to explore a few more coves and isolated beaches - but soon it was time to head back...sigh! Just an amazing day with great friends, tranquil blue waters and fantastic food!
There are so many highlights from this trip I could go on forever!
What I think I will do now is just post a few additional photos that just make me smile!
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| Manos - another great restaurant w/ Antonio our waiter! |
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James had traveled on many forms of transport to get to
Greece - this was the only one he didn't...so we did! |
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| Greg just enjoying the view... |
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| Symi from above during our horse and carriage ride... |
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| Two of our favorite people! Love ya! |
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| My Love! 143 |
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| Finally, a great state of mind! |
Symi was definitely not a usual trip for us...
Still we had the best time with great people in a wonderful place!
What more can be asked for!
I definitely have to thank Tom for being so wonderful...
And thank James & Greg for coming on this adventure with us...
(and being understanding/flexible)
Well - that's enough of this excursion -
Next on the plate is a weekend trip to Istanbul! Can't wait!
For now - we would like to send our love and best wishes to all our friends and family!
Ciao for now...
Ron & Tom
