Rhodes – 4th September

At gone 2am on Monday 4th September I was up needing a wee and to put the AC on, it was over 30⁰C and rather sweaty in our room. I’d also got a message from my friend about dates for a holiday in Rhodes next year so I was mulling over how I was going to be able to plan ahead, knowing I still didn’t have my residency renewal appointment date for this year and wouldn’t know until Sonuç could confirm on the system. Now that I was out of the country I couldn’t access the system for an appointment so would have to wait until I got back to Turkey to find out more. For breakfast Captain Caveman had found us a nearby café called Dali Extraordinary Art Bistro, it had fancy tea and pancakes with some interesting combinations. Nanny Kay ordered pancakes with ice-cream, caramel and biscuits on, Captain Caveman had bacon, cheese, spinach and egg, smothered in a mayo sauce. I had plain pancakes with bacon on and they were very nice.

We went to Marks & Spencer’s and I was so disappointed to find they did not have a food section or sell booze. They had a few snacky things and some Percy Pig sweets but nothing that I wanted, even the clothes and underwear were not my style. I wanted to get a bottle of sherry for a friend as a thank you for all the bags of nice clothes she’d given me recently. All 5 of us had a wander round the shops and through the old town, stopping at a place called Streat for lunch, where Captain Caveman and I shared a pork gyros plate which was rather tasty. That night we had plans to celebrate Jamie’s birthday at a rather lovely restaurant Captain Caveman and I had been to before and we’d really enjoyed it.

We had arranged to meet at the Mexican place at 7pm, before dinner, as the restaurant we were going to was opposite it. Captain Caveman had his new shirt on which he’d had made in Vietnam, I had on a nice dress and Nanny Kay had wore her lovely dress from when it was her birthday. We looked the part and were excited for our night out to celebrate Jamie’s birthday. When we arrived at the bar, it was evident that Jamie had been celebrating his birthday already and was quite tipsy. Drew was definitely a little merry too but we all had some drinks and we hoped some food would sort Jamie out a bit. At Piatakia we were seated in the small restaurant upstairs and given our menus. Captain Caveman and I had already mentioned to our friends that the last time we came we had really enjoyed the tasting menu, despite me being rather fussy and having allergies. The tasting menu had 7 courses for €30 (£26.22) which was very reasonable so Captain Caveman and I were going to do that again. Nanny Kay was up for it too and we looked over to see if the boys were in agreement. They weren’t, as Jamie said there were too many foods he didn’t like, he wasn’t that hungry and didn’t want it to be a waste. They decided to just have a main course of the beef stifado, one of the dishes on the tasting menu, which none of us took note of the price of at the time. As luck would have it they also offered wine flights which was €27 (£23.60) for 4 different wines or €23 (£20.10) for 3 which Captain Caveman and I chose the 4 wines flight, obviously. I also made sure to tell the waiter about my allergies, especially molluscs in case they happened to be used in the prawn risotto.
Unfortunately, Jamie and Drew were not impressed with their meal as it was the same size as our taster plate. At €21 (£18.35) just for that course, it wasn’t good value for the size of it. It didn’t help that a storm had started, the restaurant was full but some of it was open to the elements as the rain got heavier and started to come in through the ceiling and the large windows. Our table was getting very wet and we had to move to the bar to finish our last 2 courses but, to placate customers, the waiter served everyone that wanted one a glass of champagne. Then the power went off and the chef continued cooking in the dark on a gas stove. We were assured our risotto would be served soon and given top ups of fizz while Jamie started making his point about his stifado portion being on the small size. The waiter told Jamie he didn’t have to pay their bill, which also included their drinks. Jamie insisted he would pay all or some of the bill (I wasn’t following exactly by this point) and put forward his card. As the storm had affected power, the machine wouldn’t work so he ended up not being able to pay at all. The waiter said it was on him, as they weren’t happy and he probably had a lot of other issues to sort as diners started to leave. Jamie and Drew left just as our risotto came and another top up of the sparkling stuff, which was moreish. While we ate the delicious prawn risotto, we were asked if we still wanted to continue with dessert and our wine flight. We did, even though the storm was definitely getting worse.
Nanny Kay ended up having my pana cotta dessert as I started to feel a bit unwell, all of a sudden I couldn’t breathe and I thought my throat was closing up. Captain Caveman thought I was having a panic attack after the stifado fiasco but I knew I wasn’t. Luckily, Nanny Kay used to be a nurse and had an inhaler with her. She made me use the Ventolin and I instantly started to feel better, I coughed and drank warm tap water but I was ok. Nanny Kay said it had been an asthma attack, which was really weird. When we went to pay, Nanny Kay had to lend us cash as, like Jamie, we only had cards. We were only charged €133 (£116.23) between the 3 of us as we only had 3 wines in the end and it was still pouring rain in.
The 3 of us didn’t really mind the rain and sploshed back the short distance to the hotel where we shared a cheeky bottle of red wine and had a bit of a laugh about the whole Jamie’s birthday celebration debacle. Nanny Kay, Captain Caveman and I had thoroughly enjoyed ours and we all agreed the taster menu was the only way to go. Nanny Kay had probably saved my life with that inhaler too and we realised that maybe there was clam juice in the risotto but in the chaos, the chef had probably forgot about my allergy requirements.

Photo credit – some photos taken by Jamie & Captain Caveman

Rhodes – 7th July

The first thing I noticed when I woke up at 6am on Friday 7th July, was that there was no internet. I didn’t particularly need it as I wasn’t scheduled to work today but it was unusual, given that Steve and Michelle work from home. On entering the living room area I saw the problem, there had been an incident involving cats, a basket from the shelf and the router getting knocked off. None of the cats were forthcoming but Trixie looked like she knew what happend and was keeping quiet. Lulu and Bella were particularly hungry today and were quite impatient for their biscuits this morning.
Steve and Michelle messaged to say they were on their way so I stripped the bed and had a general tidy round. I was just getting the hoover out when they arrived back from a lovely jaunt over to Crete. Xena was beside herself with excitement that mom and dad were back, Trixie was also very happy but tried to play it cool by napping on Steve’s bag and pillow. I had a chocolatey croissant-like pastry for breakfast then it was all systems go.

Life is always more lively with Steve and Michelle around so we went out for a lovely lunch at Alabama bar. Steve and Michelle took the healthy options and had wraps which looked great, I had a very good chicken burger with chips. We all had a cheeky beer and I gave people a headache by chatting on too much, not realising we were in a rush to get back.
That night was the Greek night in Lardos and I was looking forward to my first one, having not drank much alcohol this week, I was about to make up for it!

We started the night in Cuckoo’s Nest cocktail bar, my drink of choice was red wine. The measures were large and I seemed to get quite plastered as more of Steve and Michelle’s friends joined us. By 11.30pm the Tequilas were out and we were on that slippery slope to extreme drunkenness. I was tired and tried to have a little nap in Cuckoo’s Nest but Steve and Michelle’s friends were having none of it and proceeded to encourage more drunken antics over at Memories bar.

By 2.30am I had made some new friends, including a cute little dog. Michelle and I got in at 3.45am to a passed out half naked (thankfully the top half) Steve on the lounge sofa bed. It was good to have them back in Lardos and, as far as I can remember, we’d all had a fantastic night.

Rhodes – 6th July

On Thursday 6th July I was up early, busy with plant watering and animal duties then I worked 9am to 4.30pm. After feeding the cats, getting the hang of who’s indoor and outdoor, I decided a quick trip to the shop was a good idea.
I spent €13.30 (£11.41) on Prosecco, crisps and chocolate at Big Family supermarket then decided to stop at a bar. I ordered a cheeky Milokleftis cider with ice at Yamas bar and sent a message to Louise to see if she had finished work. Shortly after, she arrived and ordered a coffee but another Milokleftis and a cocktail arrived. What was a quick drink after work with a new friend, turned in to quite an impromptu evening. After a few ciders I decided I couldn’t be bothered to go home to cook so suggested we eat out.

Louise and I both love Valentina’s restaurant in Lardos and it was very close by. We opted for a white wine each then I had a carafe of red wine while Louise ordered a lemonade then a passion fruit cocktail. There was a complimentary pumpkin soup which was very tasty. We had the amazing cheese balls and some garlic bread to share for starters and we both ordered steaks with mushrooms and onions for mains. Once again we got complimentary dessert of baklava with ice-cream and watermelon ouzo shots to round off the meal. It was amazing and I was impressed with the food, yet again – I’ve never had a bad meal there. The total bill came to €79 (£67.79) which was reasonable for what we had and I went home with a doggy bag!
I think Xena disapproved of me coming back drunk without her parents, but they were due back tomorrow.

Rhodes – 3rd to 5th July

I had the luxury of being flexible on the hours I worked, however Steve and Michelle had to be ‘at work’ early on Monday 3rd July. I woke up still very red in places and my eyelids and back were clearly sunburned. As Steve and Michelle have bathroom scales I thought it wise to get on them. It was time to face the music and compare my weight now, to when I was last here. I was 4.2kg (9lb) heavier today than when I last used these scales back in May.
I worked from 10.30am until 1pm then broke for lunch. Michelle made us burgers with cheese and chorizo wraps which were very tasty. I worked from 2pm to 7.45pm with a break to say bye to Steve and Michelle as they were off to Crete for a friend’s wedding. I was looking after Xena, the dog, the 6 house-allowed cats, a clowder of outdoor cats and I was looking forward to having a bit of a rest.

My day started with a Captain Caveman video call on Tuesday 4th July, he tried saying hello to Xena but she wasn’t receptive. I was up by 6am as Trixie wanted breakfast, and LuLu was so hot that she tried to cool her bum on the freezer door. I worked from 9am until 11am with Trixie trying to help again. After a quick lunch I did a few more hours work and decided to finish about 4.30pm for cat and dog feeding. I went to the bakery for some bread and called at the ABC supermarket in Lardos square where I bought the following;

1 Bounty 0.95
1 pack wine gums 0.95
1 pack cream crackers 1.05
2 packs of plain noodles 1.28
1 pack oriental noodles 1.91
100g Stilton cheese 1.94
1 pack of sausages 2.57
1 Lurpak butter 3.57
200g Feta cheese 3.75
Total spent 17.97 Euros (£15.35)

I didn’t think the prices were too bad for Europe and I got some pork and cheese so I was happy with that. In the evening I watched TV and even got some snuggles from Milo, the (not so) pissy cat.

I was up and about early on Wednesday 5th July to feed and check on the animals. Lulu was particularly eager to get fed and Xena was happy to run about in the garden.
I did my measurements to find my bust and hips had not changed but my waist had increased by 2cm.
I worked from 8am until 6.30pm with breaks for meals, garden watering and pet tending. I did try to stick to Slimming World again and didn’t have any alcohol so was doing well. In the evening I watched TV and spent time with the pets before having an early night.

Rhodes – 1st July

I woke up in Lardos at 3.45am on Saturday 1st July as it was 7.45am in Vietnamese time. I got up, had a pee and then tried to go back to sleep. I woke back up at 8.50am and checked the weather for my stay in Rhodes, it looked nice and sunny.
July’s plans were already looking good (not for the diet, though) as I would be spending time with friends and family, continuing to make the most of being able to go on boat trips and live like a tourist for a little bit. It was also the month when Captain Caveman and I would start to get back to how we used to be before Covid, and be able to plan for the rest of the year and in to the next. There was so much to do, so many people we wanted to see that we really needed to get organised. I was also on the look out for a 2024 diary as I had already started to agree to some more pet and house sitting stints, but only for friends or reliable pet owners for short periods. I was looking forward to spending the next 9 days at Steve and Michelle’s house and I hoped that I could get back on with eating healthier before I went back to Dalyan, where I’d catch the last 6 days of my parents’ holiday.

As it was the weekend, Steve and Michelle were not working in their office but they did have some work to do later. I was still so tired as the last time I went to bed was the equivalent of their Wednesday afternoon!

Michelle drove the 3 of us to Pefkos and we went to the Irish pub for breakfast. We all ordered the full English and I gave my eggs and tomatoes away. The food was nice and just what I needed to sort me out. It came to about €16 (£13.68) each, including coffees and orange juice. In the late afternoon Steve and Michelle had some business to attend to in Rhodes Town so I went along for the ride. They also needed to grab a couple of bits so we popped in to some clothes shops where Michelle and I got a couple of garments each. In Zara I bought a black and white polka dot dress which I thought might be nice for Pamela’s hen party and I also saw a knitted vest which was unusual. I wasn’t going to try them on but thought the queue wasn’t too big, it turned out to be quite a long wait but both items did fit and I bought them for just under €30 (£25.66). Finished in town and each of us with a bottle of water, we set off back towards Lardos, stopping at Intersport for some holiday essentials for Steve. I spotted some canvas pumps which looked like Converse but were comfier and only €14.99 (£12.82) in the sale, so I bought them. On the way back we called for a gyros and a quick beer at a lovely cafe on the main road, Augustine’s it translated to on my phone. The food was amazing and I enjoyed the Alpha beer too.
I paid the bill and here’s the prices in Euros;
1 Alpha 500ml beer 3.90
2 Corona beers 8.80
3 Pork Gyros 10.50
Total spent 23.20 Euros (£19.80)
I thought the prices were very reasonable for Rhodes but still a little over the prices of similar in Dalyan.

Back home at Steve and Michelle’s, they had a work event that they needed to quickly shower and change to go to, I was begging for mercy with jet lag and said I’d stay in to look after the pets (even though they didn’t need it). I had a lovely night in front of the TV watching something I don’t remember while playing with Xena, Milo, Trixie, Lulu, and Bella. By 11pm I was in bed with a fan on as it was nice and warm. I knew I needed to be up and about early tomorrow as Steve and Michelle had invited me on a day out.

Lardos to Singapore – 13th May

Saturday 13th May was the day I would start my journey to be reunited with Captain Caveman, in Vietnam. We’d been counting down to this day ever since we booked the flight and we were both excited to see each other again. If this was a film, the next couple of days would more than likely have been very different – but I bet those that know me guessed that it wouldn’t quite work out as planned.
I was still pretty drunk when Michelle banged on my door and shouted that we were late. Neither mine nor Steve’s alarms had gone off when it was due but, luckily, Michelle had woken up. We were all in a bit of a panic as we rushed to get clothes on and get in the car. I don’t remember exactly what the time was but I think it was 5.15am when we set off. It could’ve been later, it didn’t really matter, Michelle was sure we would miss the flight from Rhodes to Athens. While Michelle drove, I checked when my check-in closed and Steve searched for the next flight. Shit, this was not good!! I was still clutching at straws that we would make it – there was no way I could miss my flights from Athens to Saigon via Singapore. My flight to Athens was at 6.30am which we would get to the airport in time for but the check-in opened at 5.30am, boarding was due to start at 5.50am. Steve had booked a ticket with luggage but check-in with hold luggage closed at 5.50am which I would definitely not make. There was a slim chance we would make the hand luggage only, last check-in at 6am – but it was beginning to look very unlikely. My flight from Athens to Singapore was at 1.45pm with a check-in from 10.45am.
We were making as much good progress as we could, the roads were empty but it was still looking like we may get there after the check-in counter had closed. All of a sudden, Michelle stopped the car and got out to be sick – something hadn’t agreed with her, maybe the takeaway. This made me feel rather queasy too and Steve had found another flight. At this point I didn’t care about the price I just needed to get to Athens. The other flight from Rhodes to Athens would just get me there on time, if I was able to change to that one in the case of missing my booked one.
We got to the airport and I didn’t even say bye to Michelle as Steve and I hurried to the desk. The place was empty and the man at the counter had already closed the check-in. I was gutted, super thirsty and a bit tearful.

Even though I had got there before the flight departure time, I had just missed the check-in closing and could not get on the 6.30am flight from Diagoras airport to Athens. There was another one with the same airline later that day, however, that would not give me enough time to check-in for my Scoot flight to Singapore.
Luckily, Steve was great in a crisis; there was a flight with another airline at 8.30am and, while I had gone off to be sick in the toilets (totally blaming last night’s food) he had booked it for me. My credit card wanted to send me an OTP code to my non-working phone so I couldn’t book it but luckily Steve had his card with him and booked it for me – it was not expensive considering the situation (£70) and included luggage. I said goodbye and thanked Steve for his help and a great week with him and Michelle. My first thing to do, as ironically I was too early to check-in for the next flight, was buy a bottle of water. I got 800ml for 1.3 Euro which is a lot cheaper than Dalaman airport. I felt like death and set 2 alarms so that I didn’t fall asleep and miss the check-in for this flight.
A nice lady from the airline came to tell me she was opening the check-in desk and I could go through. I checked in my wheelie case, as I may as well, and had just my lap top with me.
It took all my willpower not to use the sick bag on the flight and I was lucky to have an aisle seat. I made it to Athens looking like I’d been dug up and feeling so hungover that it was ridiculous. I could imagine my Mom saying ‘you are 50, you know’ to tell me off for being so stupid. Incidentally, it was the first flight I’d ever missed in my life!
At Athens airport, I just had enough time to check in for my flights to Vietnam but the Scoot queues were massively long. A man at the front was telling people to form a separate queue for hand luggage only so I got in that and hoped they didn’t weigh my 2 bags. While waiting in the queue, I found that I still had Steve’s sunglasses in my bag from last night. Once through security, I had enough time to change some Turkish Lira in to Euros and it’s a good job I did. There was no time for a lounge but that didn’t bother me.
The Scoot flight to Singapore left on time at 1.45pm, it was fairly full and I had a chatty Aussie fella next to me. I was not so chatty and fell asleep before we’d taken off.
When I woke up, I was hungry (which was a good sign) and the 2 seats in front of me were empty. As it was an 11 hour flight and I really needed to get some rest before meeting Captain Caveman, I moved seats for the extra space next to me. Scoot is a budget airline so you have to buy everything, including a drink of water. Due to the turbulence, card machines were not working and quite a few people didn’t have the correct currency of Euros or Singaporean Dollars. I was so lucky to have the Euros plus some Singaporean Dollars from the way here and I splashed out.
My first meal of the day was a teriyaki chicken and 2 bottles of water for 20SGD (£12 approx), not the perfect choice but they had ran out of my first two choices.
The seats on Scoot aren’t too comfy but my former neighbour said thanks to me for moving as he was now enjoying the extra room next to him too, I had another nap as there’s no entertainment system either.
By 7pm, I was hungry again and I had a Dahl curry with basmati rice, a bottle of water and an orange juice at a cost of 19SGD (£11).
I went back to sleep as we still had ages until we were due to land in Singapore at 5.45am. Singapore is 5 hours ahead of Greece and Turkey, 7 hours ahead of the UK. It had been a long and stressful day!!

Lardos & Faliraki – 12th May

Although I didn’t start work as early as Steve and Michelle, I did decide to put a short shift in on the morning of Friday 12th May. I’d only been working about an hour when Michelle put her chef skills to use with a fantastic breakfast (the diet was going well)! Xena, the dog, was also a fan of sausage so she was glad when she got some leftovers. It was a sunny day and most of the cats had to seek shade, except for one who was having a sunbath. I was struggling to remember all their names but that one looked like Dave! We all got back to work after talk of what we might do tonight. Obviously the sensible approach was to have a quiet evening and an early night, as I needed to be at the airport at stupid o’clock tomorrow morning.
In the afternoon we had a bit of a change of scenery with a couple of Milokleftis ciders at Yamas bar. A little kid went past and dropped his ice-cream so Steve very kindly bought him another one. We all had one too, from the bakery in Lardos square, where I had fruits of the forest flavour. I’m not usually an ice-cream fan but this place has lovely ice-cream. There are lots of flavours to choose from too and the people who work there are friendly.
In the afternoon, while I packed for Vietnam, Steve and Michelle went back to work.

There was live music at Ambience bar so we were heading there to celebrate the end of the holiday. Taxis in Rhodes are pricey for example I think the cost of a taxi from Lardos to the airport is about €70 – €80. We called in to a few bars along the way and it was certainly a blast from the past for me. I’d not been to Faliraki for a long, long time and it had changed quite a bit. A few of the old favourites were still there and we enjoyed a mini bar crawl on the way.

When we got to Ambience, we were a bit early and the live music hadn’t started yet but we chatted to the lovely owners and discovered they had, what I now refer to as, a Danger Wheel. On the bar, was a strategically placed spinning wheel with lots of names of drinks on it. Customers could pay to have a spin and get a random/surprise drink. It had some of our favourites on there, as well as some which were not so pleasant. It was €2 (£1.71) per spin and there was all sorts of drinks from tequila or sambuca shots to prosecco or nothing at all. Our first shot was Tequila Rosé, which I absolutely love and hadn’t had for ages. The owners joined us too and we had a good laugh before the musicians started. I hate sambuca but Steve hates Fernet Branca so we did swaps when that came up on the Danger Wheel. At some point I thought it was a good idea to order a bottle of prosecco which would turn out to be somewhat foolish.

The Danger Wheel in action – we loved it!

The saxophonist was great and I really enjoyed Ambience bar. Hours of fun ensued and we kind of forgot that I had a flight at 6.30am tomorrow, maybe we should have brought my luggage with me and gone straight to the airport. On the way home, we resisted the late bars and I took photos of a couple as well as a tattoo shop that was still open! We decided to go for a pizza/kebab and I don’t even really remember what we had but it seemed to go down well. I do remember being in the takeaway place at 12.30am, where they had a horse’s head statue on the wall. It had been a great night out and a rather lively end to a wonderful holiday in Rhodes. We even decided that I’d visit again on my way back from Vietnam!
It was after 1am when we got home so, to make doubly sure we got up in time, both Steve and I set our alarms for 4.15am and 4.30am. Check-in opened at 5.30am, the flight was at 6.30am to Athens and I was packed and ready.

Lardos – 11th May

I was up for doing more work on Thursday 11th May, even though I don’t usually work on Thursdays. I was enjoying the flexibility of being able to work whatever hours or days suited too. In the morning I transferred some money to Rebecca, from Captain Boris boat trips, for the bottles of wine I’d bought. They were already delivered and my parents had got the other half of the stash, with Ma keeping a close eye on Pa not to drink it all too quickly. I knew that prices were set to continue to rise in Turkey, especially as the election date loomed, so I was happy to splash out now at what would probably be a cheaper price.
For lunch I had fruit with greek yoghurt and honey because tonight Michelle had a girls night planned in Lardos, with dinner at one of my favourite restaurants.
I worked in the afternoon, just for 4 hours, then I got ready for a meal at Valentina’s. I’d previously been with Captain Caveman and I remembered that the carafes of wine were particularly good value so I was looking forward to my second visit. Joining Michelle and I, were her friends Katy and Tracy.
Tracy arrived after we had ordered so she didn’t eat but the rest of us shared some tasty cheese balls for starters. I just had to have pork (again) and went for the massive pork chop for main, Michelle had a steak and Katy had pasta. It was all delicious and the carafes of red wine went down well. The owner gave us a shared dessert of baklava and ice-cream as a treat, which was also delicious. The bill came to €30 each (£25.68) which I didn’t think was bad, for what we had – my pork took over an hour to eat because it was so big.
After saying bye to Katy and Tracy, Michelle and I had a cheeky Milokleftis cider in Yamas bar on the way home. It had been a great night and I was sad that tomorrow was my last day (and night) in Rhodes. Captain Caveman was excited that I would be in Vietnam in a couple of days and had arranged to meet me in Saigon with the promise of a shopping trip for new clothes.

Lardos – 10th May

When I got up on Wednesday 10th May I did my weekly measurements. My bust and waist had remained the same but my hips had increased by 3cm. This was not surprising, given the amount of calories I’d had this week. When I stepped on the scales, albeit they weren’t Carol’s scales, I was 0.5kg heavier than last week. I had tea and toast for breakfast then pottered about while Steve and Michelle were working. For lunch Michelle made us a nice mushroom, ham and pesto pasta which none of the pets got to eat any of. Strangely, I was starting to miss doing a bit of work so I decided to get the laptop out and do a few hours. Pixie decided to keep me company but she soon fell asleep when she didn’t get much attention.
That night, after one of the finest spaghetti bologneses that I’ve had the pleasure to eat, (another of Michelle’s talents was definitely her cooking) we were off out. Steve and Michelle had arranged for us to watch the football and have some drinks at a lovely bar in Lardos, called Yamas. We met up with their friends who were great fun and we all had a really good laugh. The Milokleftis ciders were getting a bit moreish and I could definitely get used to those.
I didn’t actually watch any football as we were all so busy joking, chatting and laughing. After several ciders, we all went to another bar, close by, called Cuckoo. They were also going to be opening a cocktail bar across the road very soon and we discussed a potential night there on my return from Vietnam. The night ended up with (some of) us playing air guitar on a walking stick and making our own dancefloor. I do love a dance so I needed no encouragement as some fantastic rock songs kept being played. It was gone midnight when we got back to Steve and Michelle’s. Steve went to bed but Michelle and I had a cuppa and a piece of Kate’s lemon drizzle while having a good natter.

Video and photo credit – Steve

Lardos & Lindos – 9th May

I had another day off work on Tuesday 9th May while Steve and Michelle had started their working day early. I had Yorkshire tea (yes, I had taken some with me) and toast for breakfast. I managed 2 minutes of squats but only 1 minute of planking. For lunch we all had banana, strawberries, greek yoghurt and honey which tasted lovely. While Steve went over to Louise’s to continue with some painting in the afternoon, Michelle had a bit of excitement planned for the two of us. We went to Lindos where we saw British holiday makers walking round in bikinis then we had a couple of drinks in a rooftop bar. It was good to spend time in Lindos just catching up and for me to sample the local beer. When I’d been before, my leg was still not fully functioning so Captain Caveman and I had got a taxi back out of Lindos. This time, my leg was pretty good as we walked up Cardiac Hill, passing a strawberry seller and walking to the top without being out of breath! We sat at the Ice bar and had another light refreshment while waiting on our takeaway food order next door. I was about to have my first pork gyros this year and was looking forward to it.
While we were living it up in Lindos, Ma & Pa were on a boat trip in Dalyan with Mark, Kate, Rob, Tracy, Pamela, Daisy and Tom which I hoped they were enjoying. Once we got to Louise’s with the takeaway it was quickly devoured and I loved my pork gyros.
Back at Steve and Michelle’s, the cats were fed, we watched Gypsy on TV and had some of Kate’s lemon drizzle cake which I’d brought with me from Dalyan.
I was aware that tomorrow would usually be Fat Club day and I wouldn’t be there to get weighed, instead I would use Steve and Michelle’s scales for my weigh-in. Having consumed 459 syns this week, of which 268 were alcohol, I knew I had put weight on.

Lardos – 8th May

Having not managed to do my plank or squat challenge yesterday I made the effort when I got up on Monday 8th May. I completed 50 seconds of squats but only 60 seconds plank then Carol, from Fat Club, reminded me that it should’ve been 60 seconds of squats so I did it again. I had an impromptu day off, had slept really well and had a slice of leftover pizza for breakfast. Xena, Steve and Michelle’s dog, was super excited to see me – Trixie, the cat, less so. My hosts were already in the office and were working hard while I unpacked and pottered about.
At 12.30pm we all went to Yamas Cafe in Lardos, which was a short walk from the house. Steve and Michelle had coffees while I had a hot chocolate (the diet was not going too well). We all had a fresh orange juice after that and then it was time to get back for lunch and back to work for some. We had left over pizza with salad and it was pretty tasty – I think the €45 was money well spent on all that pizza.
In the afternoon I met one of the other cats, Pixie, she was friendly but a little shy. There were quite a few outdoor cats which were going to take a while to learn the names of.
While Michelle whipped up one of my favourite dinners, I offered to go to the shop to buy some cheese and wine. We were having pork products, cheese and wine for dinner and I was so excited. Xena and Trixi had also heard about it and were hoping there would be some sharing going on. At the shop, I found the cheese easy to pick out and it wasn’t too expensive (compared to Turkey). The wine was very reasonably priced but I had no clue which one to pick as most only had the tasting notes written in Greek. I opted for one that had it also translated to English, sounded nice and was a Merlot.
For those of you who like to know what’s in my shopping basket and how much it cost for cheese and wine in Rhodes, look no further:

Lardos Supermarket:
330g Edam cheese 2.15
100g Blue cheese 2.58
200g Cheddar cheese 4.72
1 bottle Merlot 8.87
Total spent 18.32 Euros (£15.67)

The food was absolutely superb and I had to remind myself not to be too greedy with the pork products as I snaffled my way through the different ones! Even the selection of crackers was fantastic. Unfortunately, the wine I had bought was pretty disgusting – in fact it’s unusual for me not to be able to drink iffy wine but this was pretty rank. None of us could drink it so Michelle and I went back to the shop for another bottle of something better. This time she was able to help me pick out one of the Greek ones which she recognised as being good. It was the one I had picked up first but put back because I couldn’t read the Greek label. The new bottle was €10.45 (£8.94) and was much better! It was a lovely night and even Xena and Trixi got a little cheese treat before bed time.

Dalyan to Lardos – 7th May

I woke up at 5.30am on Sunday 7th May instantly regretting not drinking less last night and not going to bed earlier. I made sure the apartment was secure, a bit tidier and the power turned off. My mom didn’t come to get the beers and stuff I left her because of the rain yesterday so she would pop round in the week to sort that out.
Fikri was on time and we left at 6.30am for the taxi drive to Fethiye port. My ferry was at 8.30am but I had to be there at 7.30am to pick up my ticket and pay the nice lady which had been arranged by Steve and Michelle.
The ferry ride was a little tough going as I’d taken no seasickness pills and I was pretty hungover. The weather was a bit windy so it was choppy but nowhere near as bad as the time I went to Dublin for Little Jo’s birthday.
I arrived at the ferry port in Rhodes and was the first off and through. I waited outside at the bus stop where Michelle and her friend, Louise, came to pick me up.

It was just under 50km to where my friends-boss-work colleagues, Steve and Michelle, live, in Lardos. I’d been before with Captain Caveman and it’s a lovely small village which I was looking forward to seeing more of. Initially, the plan was for me to be house and pet sitting for Steve and Michelle for the next 5 days while they had a holiday. Sadly, they had cancelled their holiday at short notice because Steve’s brother had died. Instead, they had insisted that I still come over for a holiday and to catch up with work stuff before my, already arranged, flights to Vietnam from Athens. We stopped for the girls to get an iced coffee on the way, then to drop my bag off at Steve and Michelle’s house, before heading over to Louise’s house. I wasn’t quite expecting that the first time I’d meet Steve as my new boss that he’d be on his knees, sweating and holding a paint brush but it definitely set the tone for what was about to be a fantastic week in Rhodes!
I got introduced to Milokleftis, a lovely Greek cider, and, while Steve painted Louise’s patio floor and Louise sorted out an urgent work emergency, Michelle and I got through a few ciders. After some work had been done and some Milokleftis had been necked, Steve went for some takeaway pizzas. He was a bit disgruntled that they cost €45 (£38.52) for 2 big ones and a garlic bread but they did taste good!
That night, I slept so well in the spare bed which was super comfy. I thought I’d be working tomorrow but Steve had already said I could take the day off – what a boss!

Rhodes to Fethiye & Çalış – 16th September

We were up and packed super early on Friday 16th September as we were off back to Turkey. We were booked on the 9am ferry from Rhodes to Fethiye with Sky Marine ferries. They run only during the holiday season, until the end of October, and when we arrived at the port it was busy. The walk from our hotel to the port wasn’t too far but it started to get a bit warm carrying the rucksack, on the way we saw a massive cruise ship too. At the port, I had a sit down and some water after carrying my bag which was about 10kg, Captain Caveman’s was heavier as he was carrying the booze. We noticed the ferry queue for Marmaris was quite long but the one to Fethiye was very short, we were at the front and we didn’t have to wait long to pick up our tickets. The crossing takes a couple of hours and cost around €50, Captain Caveman had the good idea to get me a sea sickness pill. When I took it the ginger and size of it made it difficult, but I got it down.
The ferry was empty so we sat at the front where we could stretch our legs out. Strangely, the next passengers to get on sat right behind us, despite having the whole ferry to choose from. I fell asleep almost immediately and we think it was the seasickness tablet as I’ve experienced that before.

We had planned to spend a bit of time in Fethiye when we arrived and had even asked Mark, Kate and Daisy if they fancied a trip to Çalış but they were already busy. Captain Caveman decided we would stay an extra night in Fethiye and booked us in at the Downtown Fethiye Suites. With it being a weekend we had trouble finding a place to stay so we got lucky with this little apartment. We arrived early expecting to drop bags but we were allowed to check-in. After unpacking our stuff and putting the cheese in the fridge we decided to go to The Mulberry Tree for brunch. Its a popular little cafe with great food, I had a bacon sandwich and a cup of tea while Captain Caveman had pide and coffee. We even bought some crumpets to take away with us for the freezer.

We decided to get the 5.30pm water taxi from Fethiye to Çalış so that Captain Caveman could experience the delights of Charcoal Palace. The ride takes about 20 minutes and costs 40 lira each way and on the way there it was a full boat. When we got to Charcoal Palace it was quiet so we sat outside and ordered a pint of Beck’s draft beer each. It was 35 lira (£1.68) which is a lot cheaper than what we had been used to. I noticed that the menu had gluten free batter for the fish so I decided I would try it, for research purposes more than anything. We both had fish and chips which come with tartare sauce and mushy peas. I don’t eat either so I gave mine to Captain Caveman. If you didn’t know the gluten free was served, you wouldn’t have been able to tell as it was very good. The colour was slightly different and the price was the same as the regular one.

After dinner we walked to the seafront to see the sunset and had an Efes at Summer Breeze bar, they were out of Beck’s draft.
We were ready to go back to Fethiye for an early night when we got a message from Julio. He was at Terras bar in Fethiye with friends and invited us to join them. We had a great night, a few more drinks and a good laugh before we walked back to our apartment and the others carried on their night.

Rhodes – 15th September

We stayed in bed late on the morning of Thursday 15th September, which was nice. Our room at Lefka Hotel had a shutter on the outside of the patio doors which made it dark and quiet.
By 1pm we were eating leftovers for our lunch and decided to open the bottle of Cair red wine, which was great. In the afternoon we went to the supermarket to stock up on cheese, salami, crisps and deodorant before getting ready for our last night in Rhodes.

Michelle and Steve had kindly booked us our ferry back to Turkey tomorrow morning so we made the most of our last Greek evening. Captain Caveman changed some more dollars and we had a walk around the old town, including a mooch about the Gate of St Anthony. We watched sunset at the beach and had a cold beer at the Malt House, which was lovely.

Captain Caveman had booked us in for an eleven course tasting menu at Piatakia for dinner and it was great. The food was excellent and I was brave to try everything except for the tuna and mussels.
On the way home we had one more drink to break up the walk back to our hotel, at a bar I forgot the name of.

Photo credit – some taken by Captain Caveman

Rhodes – 14th September

Captain Caveman and I had originally planned to be back in Dalyan by Wednesday 14th September, however things had changed. Unfortunately, we would miss Sausage Dick’s departure without having seen him this time and there was still no sign of the missing sausages. One of the reasons we decided to stay longer in Rhodes was that Captain Caveman can only stay in Turkey for 90 days which means that he has to spend a month elsewhere this winter.
At 6.20am I was waking up Captain Caveman to look at the stunning sunrise from our hotel balcony. We went back to bed after taking photos and I had an extra snooze before we got ready to check out. We were moving again and we were disappointed not to be staying for longer in Vlycha as it was really lovely.

Our next stop was back to Rhodes Town where Captain Caveman had booked for us to stay at Lefka Hotel & Apartments for 2 nights. We got the bus from Vlycha, outside the TUI Blue hotel, to Rhodes Town. We got off in town and then had to walk, via one of Captain Caveman’s shortcuts, which I was convinced was longer. When we arrived at the hotel there was no one in reception and we were too early to check-in. We left our bags and walked back in to town for some lunch. We went to a restaurant, called Nimmos, which was friendly and fairly busy. We both ordered beer, Captain Caveman had fried cheese and I had chicken kebab. The food was tasty, not the best in the world, but we had been rather spoiled recently. On the way back to the hotel to check in we called in to the supermarket to buy water. I happened to spot the same Cair Cabernet Sauvignon wine from Vlycha for €10 so we bought a bottle.

Lefka Hotel was very nice, we liked our room and the small, clean bathroom. We got ready and went back out for sunset in Rhodes Town. Captain Caveman insisted we try Piccolo Pizza which was a small stall in the old town that had the best pizza and had been recommended by Google. We found a gorgeous little wine bar, called Obscura, where we enjoyed a couple of glasses of very good red wine.

It was after 8pm when we set off walking back towards our hotel for a delicious meal at 4 Rhodies, which was on the way. We over ordered on the food which was outstanding and we had to take a doggy bag back to he hotel. Captain Caveman had liver and I had a huge cheese salad but we kind of shared, there was lots of bread. We had a carafe of the cheap wine which was actually very good for the price. The mains were an egg and potato dish for Captain Caveman and a pork dish for me, both excellent. We walked home stuffed and ready for bed, tomorrow would be our last day in Rhodes.

joloyolo

The ramblings and observations of a fortysomething lady of leisure

Tag: Greece