Sunrise on Saturday morning

After breakfast to the airport. Flight departures at 9.55am.

Activities

Laundry all day

Will have a dinner at Donatella's Kitchen on Király utca. Before going for a drink to friends.

Tomorrow putting more pictures of Rhodes.

Rhodes Day 6 & 7

Activities
Running in the morning on both days

Spent all day on Elli Beach on both days.

Read 2 books. One written by José Luis Correa, "Kuolema Las Palmasissa" (original: Quince dias de noviembre).

Don't usually read detective stories but as a huge fan of Spain and its culture, chose this one.

The story was good, not too scary. It tells about a private detective living in Las Palmas who gets a case to solve a murder of a young, succesful, rich man who was supposed to get married. The police things it was a suicide. The mystery is only solved in the last pages. Liked the book!

The other one was also a Spanish detective story! Book about private detective Pepe Carvalho. Read about him in my Spanish book and decided to get to know him a bit better. As mentioned before don't normally read detectives, but this Spanish thing again.

Hard to find those books, written in the late 70's and early 80's.

Manual Vázquez Montalbán: Kuolema keskuskomiteassa (original: Asesinato en el Comité Central). Pepe is from Barcelona, but has a murder case to solve in Madrid. He is not happy to go there because he likes more the Catalan food... Good book!

I have read before also "Tatuaje" and "La Rosa de Alejandria".

The author tells very specifically about the places, food, politics etc. The protagonist is quite a ironic person.

Lunch at Meltemi
Kountourioti Square, on the beach

Menu was almost the same , exception fried small fishes and french fries on Thursday and grilled halloumi cheese and keftedes on Friday.

Horiatiki & tsatsiki on both days

Fries small fish on Thursday

Grilled halloumi & keftedes on Friday

Afternoon tea at Cafe Royal

Actually a mineral water and a strawberry tartalette. They looked so delicious at the vitrine. And tasted too, but the service was rather unkind that polite. Looked like if someone comes there once it is enough for them - don't need to come back.

Shopping
Lots of international shops in the east side of New Town - Zara, Marks & Spencer, Gant, Lacoste, Marco Polo, Escada, Max Mara, Tommy Hilfiger, Benetton, Sisley, Sephora...

Bought an umbrella!!! Found a street full of umbrella shops. Asked why, but couldn't really get an answer, only that the umbrellas are tax-free there - what ever that means???!

Also bought an eye brow kit from Sephora. And from Amor Amor in Old Town 2 hand-made neclaces made of Swarovski pieces - greyish and brown ones, needed both colours!

www.amoramor.gr

Eye brow kit

Heart necklaces from Amor Amor

Bracelet bought at Tax Free at the airport

Dinner at Nikos Fish Taverna on Thursday
in New Town

Horiatiki salad, tsatsiki as always
Marinated small fish - similar like anchovy
Grilled sole
French fries

Watermelon, cantaloupe, cherries

Local white wine made of Athiri grapes

Nikos Fish Taverna in New Town

Food was good!


Dinner at Mikes Fish Taverna on Friday
in Old Town

Horiatiki
Mussels cooked in salted water
French fries

Watermelon

Ilios of Rhodes white wine (the only white wine they have in the taverna)

Absolutely the best food, autentic atmosphere, friendly service

Mikes Fish Taverna just before the dinner time

Mike & Nikos

Rhodes Day 5

No running this morning. After the breakfast planned to drive to Emponas and climb up to the highest mountain of the island Attavyros (1215m). Well, it was a little bit too ambisious plan. It might be possible in the early spring, but not in the middle of the summer. No shades , just plain rocks. The mountain Attavyros

Instead of walking in the mountain decided to have a wine tasting in Emponas. Tried 2 different tasting places. Mostly the produced wines are semi sweet white wines. Lots of small wineries run by families. Local grape Athiri mostly used for the white wines. Interesting, easy wines.

The first wine tasting place

The second wine tasting place

Had a stop in an interesting place on the top of a mountain called Profitis Ilias (798m). Looked like an old villa at the Alps! Saw also empty houses which were built to Mussolini as holiday homes - had been beautiful buildings.

Lunch at Restaurant Mimis

at Arhipoli village

- no surprise on the menu, so just pics!

- delicious again!

11,70 eur for 2 persons

Rest of the afternoon spent on the sandy beach in Tsampika. Fantastic beach.

Found also Sinikka's Shop in the new town of Rhodes and bought of course couple of plates of Fazer Blue chocolate.... Sells also Finnish newspapers.

Rhodes Day 4

Activities

Running as usual

After breakfast to Lindos, app 50km from Rhodes town

- Very nice, but very touristical. Pittoresque old white painted houses, small stoned and pebbled paths - no cars in the village.

- Possible to buy all the same touristic t-shirts, bath towels, louis vuitton bags etc as in any other holiday destination

- climbed up to Akropolis just like all the other tourists, entrance fee 6 eur

Lunch at Tsampika Panorama Taverna

Just off the main road

Horiatiki salad

Tsatsiki

Dolmades

Cheese filled pumkin flowers

- Back to the basic after yesterday's experience! it's better to stay with the local specialities and mainly with the starters - not so heavy and always delicious

- Great view from the garden, nice service

Tsampika beach after the lunch. Nice sandy beach, spent there the whole afternoon and got even some tan without burning!
4 eur for a sun bed with shade

Shopping

At Sephora:

Fit Almond Scrub of Priorities, 11,60eur

- Feels that skin needs scrub to rid of the salt, sand and dust

Dinner at Mike's

Same place where had a lunch on day 1

Horiatiki

Tsatsiki, bread

Grilled scampi

Grilled snapper

- absolutely excellent food! Best restaurant in Rhodes town.

- only 8 tables all outside

- locals, Greeks from elsewhere, Italians

Rhodes Day 3

Activities

Running around the peninsula as yesterday in the morning.

Rent a jeep for 3 days!

First stop at Valley of Butterflies
app. 27km from Rhodes town
entrance fee 5 EUR

- Walked all the way up to the monastry, where had a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice - delicious!

- Saw thousands of butterflies! When not flying they could so brillantly hide themself wearing a camouflage!
- The butterfly has no stomach! From May until the mating and the egg lying period they do not eat. They survive from the energy stored from their previous lives as catepillars. Thr visitors shouldn't disturb the butterflies in any way, because otherwise they are forced to fly all day, consuming valuable energy.

Driving the west coast to Monolithos.

Lunch at Panorama Monolithos

Continuing with the same diet...

Horiatiki

Tsatsiki with bread

Dolmades

Keftedes

French fries

- Never get bored with healthy Greek food!

- Keftedes were excelent!

Continuing driving to the south point of the island, Prassonisi.

- Like totally a different world.

- Lots of windsurfers & kite-boarders

On the back to Rhodos town checked the Tsampika beach - perhaps there tomorrow.

Dinner at Kontiki

The floating restaurant, Marina Mandrakiou

Caprese

Seabass

White wine, Greek

- Finally something else than the same Greek dishes

- Well, place looks absolutely nice, simply, elegant, location fabulous in the yacht harbour. But the food was too complicated.

- Caprese was a srange combination of tomatoe wedges, mozzarella, parmesan and roasted pita bread - not bad, but a bit weird, and the portion was far too big!

- Seabass was grilled and there was a nice side dish of eggplant puree with lemon juice, grilled prawns and salad leaves on the top - very nice, but again too huge portion

- Also a complimentary starter: melon soup & deep fried cheese pocket - very nice

So by the end of the meal stomach was like a huge ball!

Rhodes Day 2

Activities

Running for 45 mins around the beaches on the both sides of the peninsula in the morning. Met also at least 6 other runners! Sone people were already lying on the beach beds - probably never made it back to their hotels last night.

Wanted to havea swim in the pool area of the hotel, but it opened only at 9am - didn't want to wait another hour so just had a shower and headed to the breakfast.

Breakfast in the hotel

Watermelon, cantaloupe, plums

Omelette with mushrooms, green peppers and cheese

Croisant with apricot jam

Green tea

The hotel breakfast was really good. lots of dishes to choose from, fresh fruits, home-baked breads...

Spent the whole day on the Elli Beach sunbathing, swimming and reading a book.

- Very relaxing day

- Lounge music, good service

- After the lunch came locals to the beach - got a bit noisier! Not a problem thought. Perhaps among them some local celebs because 2 paparazzis were there...

Lunch at Santa Lucia

near the beach

Horiatiki

Tsatsiki with bread

Cheese Saganaki

- Quite a boring diet - alwasy the same dishes! But in Greece has to eat Greek way.

- Place was probably own by a Swede, at least the waitress spoke Swedish and the place was painted in blue & yellow

On the beach read a book by Susanna Alajärvi called "Sikalat". The original book is in Swedish, read it in Finnish. It tells in the point of view of a child how it is to live in a family with an alcoholic problem. There are good sober periods and there are bad, really bad periods when mom and dad are drinking for a several weeks. The book starts and ends but it gives a feeling that there was life before and after as well.

Dinner at Golden Olympiade

in the Old Town, under a big tree

Horiatiki salad

Tsatsiki with bread

Dolmades

Calamari fritti

- Place was ok, nothing special

- Starters were good, calamari quite greasy and heavy