Our third time- the relaxation continues

[soupdragon]

Hi all

Just a quick report today, been a long one and had some sleepy juice.

So, what's different? Can't see much change really, that's a good thing as far as we're concerned. The only comment I'd make is "where is everybody?". On previous visits (all two of them before any new readers ask) there were many more persons ambling around or sitting around eating, drinking or just doing the most entertaining activity of watching people go about their business. The first time we came it was about as early in the season as it's possible to with a mainstream travel company. Same second visit but this year, and going home at the end of the month there's only a fraction of the holidaymakers. Actually that's not really the correct term to use, it should be more like sensible people who don't want to be bothered by timeshare salesperson's or feel the need to follow every kick of the inflated balloon in that game of football that seems to be played by similarly inflated balloons. Then there's those others who enjoy having their ears ruined by the likes of elvis impersonators or worse still karaoke bars.

The writer of this note shudders silenty to himself.

Anyway, those of us who prefer a bit of peace and quiet in most pleasant surroundings come to Halki. Other Greek locations of a similar suitability do exist but are headed the way of the dodo.

Where was I? Ah yes, so not so many people out and about. Early days yet I'm hoping as it's not good for business.
Booking with Olympic again, as we do. They dropped the early flight from Manchester with ASL France so we ended up paying extra for the tui flight. Nothing against tui but my bum was numb, one more reason not to look forward to going home.
Credit to Olympic tho. They provided a taxi down to Kamiros Skala, shared with another sensible couple. Got there with just enough time for a quick mythos before we departed. Nice.
Rose was impressed as it was the first time we'd properly seen the dolphin escort. A nice smooth crossing followed by a swift unpack led us to an early meal at Valantis. Yum followed yum. First night standard meals were consumed. Pork on a stick for Rose and the obligatory lamb kleftiko/oven/whatever else there is that's lamb related for me. Top notch.
A spot on light shopping later and we're back in our little home from home for the next two weeks. Tired and weary? Yes but non the less extremely happy to be back on this lovely little bit of rock that pokes up out of the sea.
Time for some shut eye but more to follow tomorrow

Tom and Rose

P.S. What happened to this being a quick report?

[Liz]

Nice to hear your report .. keep them coming

[soupdragon]

Hi Liz

Still rather quiet I'm afraid.
We had a similar day ourselves, up and out to get a couple of bread rolls from Dimitri's for the obligatory bacon and egg rolls. I'd almost forgotten how nice their bread is, we make our own bread at home but it's not a patch on their wares.

Saw the Nissos Halki deposit some trippers earlier in the day. No idea where they went other than to say that when we popped out to do a spot of shopping they occupied most of the seats in a couple of the tavernas on our side of the village. No names, no pack drill.

We ended up going back and too the shops as we'd forgotten a couple of bits. Then forgetting even more things so returning again. It's either old age creeping slowly upon us or we're a little out of practice regarding holiday shopping. Either way it matters not really.

Not noticed the Fedon so far. I know this is only our 2nd day but on previous visits she would have been on show by now.

Nothing special for lunch, just a couple of toasted sandwiches washed down with some slightly warm Alfa. Must remember to put them in the freezer box for a while before use next time.

We seem to have inherited some cats this year. Latest maximum count is five. Most look a bit weather worn, bless them but non the less they weren't the angry type that are sometimes encountered.

Food this evening was at Remezzo. It would have been rude of us not to have had pizza, first visit at least. Most pleasant it was, Remezzo special and a medium volcano shared between the two of us. No need for a carry out as we both managed to finish them off without issue.

We've both not long finished a nice cup of Yorkshire's finest. I can hear Rose "breathing" as she would say. Most normal people (might) call it snoring, so I think that's about it for today. Hopefully we'll venture over to Ftenagia tomorrow and see what's occurring regarding the sunbed issue. Not that we use them that is.
Tatty bye for now, will update again tomorrow

Cheers Tom and Rose

[Liz]

Thanks Tom .. all sounds pretty much the same although a bit quieter than usual ... do love a Remezzo pizza .. two weeks and we'll be following in your footsteps

[soupdragon]

Well, another 24 hrs and another fun filled day.

What's to say about today? Not sure really. Didn't made the trek over to Ftenagia, to our shame. Our day started early, for us at least. Half 6 and we were both up and about. One 3 in 1 coffee later (I won't be taking any more of these away, they're far too sweet and don't taste particularly of coffee) and a bit of a read and we both thought it was time for another half hour back in bed.
Turned out to be a cracking idea as by the time 8 o'clock ish rolled around and I'd gathered up the will power to do so, Dimitri's bread rolls were calling.

Mmmmm bacon and egg on Dimitri's bread rolls. How do you do a tongue hanging out of the side of your mouth, dribbling slightly, in text speak?

Anyway, as the day rolled on we simply got carried away in doing nothing at all in particular. I think the early morning combined with a late ish previous evening may have taken it's toll on the day.

When we eventually did motivate ourselves to shift our bums all we had time for was a couple of drinks at Apostolis to watch the world go by. Along with several day trippers from tui. Came in on the Nissos Halki and left on it some hours later. That might suggest that we spent some time just sitting around watching whatever was going on. That might be a very accurate assessment of the a afternoon. I will not comment other than to say that by the time we returned to our humble abode I was a bit squiffy.

Another brief slumber later and fully refreshed, we were fully prepared to have our delayed wander over to Ftenagia. All I'll say is best laid plans again. Not to worry. Tomorrow for sure

This evening's meal was delayed appropriately due to earlier road works in our daily plan. So today we landed at Christos and I had a rather tasty Beef Kokinisto. Rose had some lamb chops. All very tasty as per usual.
That's one of the things that always impresses, the general high quality of the food. It all makes things more difficult about where to eat but at the same time because the standard of the food is so high it makes it easier in a way.

I've had more than my normal allocation of sleepy juice this evening so I'll have to sign off for the duration

Fingers crossed there'll be something a little more interesting to update you all with, so for now, night night all

καληνυχτα Tom and Rose

[carol]

Thanks Tom and Rose, great to read your entertaining blog and hear some early season updates, please keep them coming 😎🏖⛴⛪️

[Liz]

Loving it ! .. all sounds very strenuous to me

[soupdragon]

May 18, 2019 9:02:03 GMT Liz said:

Loving it ! .. all sounds very strenuous to me

It is indeed Liz

Did I say "tomorrow for sure" with reference to our visit to Ftenagia? Silly me. We can't seem to get our bottoms men the chairs on our balcony. Mind you, with a view like this, maybe tomorrow?



Just checked the time and it's snooze o'clock. Will update again a little later

Cheers. Tom and Rose

[soupdragon]

Ahhhh, fully refreshed from our mid afternoon siesta. Is it the same word to describe a Greek afternoon chill as mesimeri? Or is that something slightly different?
Regardless, after our obligatory ouzo on the balcony we headed out and stopped at the Zifos office to book the tickets for our midweek weekend away on Tilos. Job done.
For evening's food we ventured to the now fish taverna that used to be Babis. Not sure what it's called now, forgot to ask and as neither myself or Rose can read Greek the signage outside did little to educate us. Needless to say our food was most pleasant. I had the Halki pasta and Rose had beef steak on the bone. It's only the 2nd time I've had Halki pasta, I'd forgotten just how tasty a simple pasta dish can be.
After a spot on shopping next door we popped to Theodosia for some cake. A really moist looking slice of apple pie for Rose and a healthy chunk of Kataïfi for me. Not had them yet as we're waiting for our main course to settle a bit lower first. Cake will be accompanied by the obligatory cup of Yorkshire tea. While I'm on the subject, there's another reason to come to Halki. The bottled water we've been buying doesn't cause the dreaded tea scum like in most places in Greece. The only other time we've found tea friendly water is at Mastihari on Kos. Not tried the tap water here yet, I know it's all safe to drink but as far as I know it's still quite high in mineral content. Not good for the tea that
Well I've just been given a prod in the ribs by Rose so it must be time to put the kettle on and serve our cake.
With a bit on luck and if the wind is in the right direction of "may" get to Ftenagia tomorrow.
Time will tell, as will I go tomorrow's report.........

Cheers. Tom and Rose

[soupdragon]

First off, my most sincere apologies for the lack of any scribblings yesterday. I think my brain had decided to go on holiday without mentioning it to me.

So if I remember the day correctly it was much the same as previous days.

Down to Dimitri's for breakfast bread. Have I commented on his wares thus far? Now at home we, or should I say Rose, makes our own bread. Nothing fancy just a half decent bread machine and good old Allinson's flour. I've been a total convert for years and refer to big brand bread as "plastic bread". Slightly unfairly maybe but non the less back to the point. Our bread is nice even if I say it myself but Dimitri's stands head and shoulders and most of the body too above ours. I've spent time thinking where all that flavour comes from when Rose casually asked me about which beer I'd be making when we get home. Then the small bulb that resides inside my head lit up. YEAST. I know from experience that beer brewed with genuine liquid yeast will turn out a beer with so much more flavour than the dried that I usually use. Even though I use a true to style dried yeast it will never really match up to a well cultured wet variety.
So maybe one of these days we'll experiment with "proper" bread yeast instead of the quick start stuff we have been using.

After a bacon and egg roll with a cup of tea that you can almost stand your spoon up in (just how we like it by the way), we wondered what to do for the day when we heard the Nissos Halki chugging into port. As is usually the way we watch as she is expertly steered in and swung around to dock. While engaged in this ritual I was sure I noticed a couple of friendly faces on the top deck so I dug out my recently purchased monocular to have a gander. Behold, I was correct, although I was convinced we'd see them at Manchester airport so maybe not as correct as Rose usually is. Some waving and gesturing later and they disembarked for their chosen accommodation.
Anyway with getting sidetracked we forgot about any conversation we were having regarding what we should do for the day and both continued with our books.

After lunch of toasted sandwiches and a beer or two it was time for the afternoon snooze. But not before deciding that tomorrow, now today, that we would positively, absolutely, definitely make the effort to pop to Ftenagia to read our books, drink beer and enjoy something other than toasted sandwiches for lunch. As this is now the day in question and before the bacon and egg rolls I can not confirm or deny if that has come to pass yet. Time will reveal all.

Our evening's foodstuff was provided by Apagio, used to be Minori if I remember correctly? For Rose, it was a simple but very tasty chicken souvlaki with some of the nicest home made chips ever and I plumped for the lemon chicken with some equally nice oven potatoes. Both dishes were consumed and our stomachs thanked us.
No cake last night but we indulged in some 70% dark chocolate mmmmm.

Must go now as it's time to start proceedings for this morning's bacon and egg rolls. I know they're not the most healthy things but it's been a tradition of ours for more years than I can remember, since our first visit to Acharavi on Corfu about a million years ago I think. That was before all the building work that has transformed it to the busier place that it is today. A holiday to Greece wouldn't be the same without bacon and egg on some fresh bread rolls.
So without further ado it's time for me to slice the rolls and get the kettle on

Cheers. Tom and Rose

[Liz]

Loving your reports Tom ;

[soupdragon]

Right, I've got a bone to pick with most of you but I'll get to that later.

This morning started as normal, no problems whatsoever. This is good.
Bread from Dimitri's was it's usual reliable most tasty self. I'm sure that that the bacon and eggs that we put upon it is merely an accompaniment to the main event that is the bread itself.
The morning continued without issue until we finally managed to drag our behinds off to Ftenagia. Now this is where the major problem of the day occurs, no I lie, there's another later but I'll get to that presently.
We like to walk over to Ftenagia, it's a very nice place with friendly inhabitants. The major problem of the day is............

Why has nobody told us about the cheese balls before. They are outstanding, I'd put them in the same category as the first time we had a gyros. They truly are marvelous and I highly recommend them to anybody visiting Nick's establishment. Our portion today will not be our last, that I promise you.

After our refreshments we ambled back to our humble abode for a chill. No surprise there then. Bit boring really isn't it, having a sleep mid afternoon. I know that there are thousands, millions of people around the Mediterranean than indulge in an afternoon nap but it just sounds boring even though it is scientifically proven to be beneficial. I don't use that excuse because I'm getting on a bit so it's expected of us slightly older people

My second gripe of the day is our evening meal. Valantis being the chosen destination. I finally decide to have chicken souvlaki and Rose plumped for the lamb stew. This is where the problem arises. Regular readers may know that I like a nice bit of lamb but what was presented on a plate in front of my good wife was nothing but a slap around my chops. It was the most succulent couple of lumps of lamb I've ever had the pleasure of gazing upon. It would have been better had my mouth had the pleasure but I was restricted to a small but welcome offering from my good lady. It really was the most tasty bit of meat I'd had in a good long while. My chicken was nice but next visit I know what I'm having. Even though my belly is full and I'm not even slightly hungry my mouth is watering at the thought.

Well it's time to recharge for tomorrow's adventures, off to Tilos for a couple of nights. We nearly did it on our last visit but with one thing and another. You all know how it is.

Will still report from this other strange land, hopefully with something mildly interesting. Then again most readers usually fall asleep half way through these posts

Till the morrow

Tom and Rose

[carol]

Hope you enjoy Tilos as much as we do Tom and Rose

[Liz]

Loving your reports Tom & Rose .. do love the cheese balls at Ftenagia ! ... enjoy Tilos , I'm interested to see what you make of it

[soupdragon]

Good evening to all those readers who are not on Tilos. Mind you, good evening to all those readers who are on Tilos and have managed to avoid the plague of those little blighters that come out to play at 20.45 hours precisely every evening.

As we had a slightly earlier that normal start to our day we only munched upon some toast and jam/marmalade. There is no prize but who among you all can guess who had what preserve?
Our crossing to Tilos was uneventful, what did I expect really? Smooth and on time. All is good.
We were met by the owner's representative at the dock, namely Maria, the Mother. A nice lady who guided us through the maze of passageways and alleys to our room. Or 300 yards around the harbour if you wish a more geographically accurate description.
After we'd unpacked our bits we had a wander out and about in search of a gyros for luncheon. Now my research is usually sufficient but on this occasion our chosen venue no longer served the food of the Gods. Most unfortunate for me as we've not had one on Halki yet either. The food that we did have was perfectly fine and dandy and in any other circumstances would be described as just what the doctor ordered but when you've built yourselves up to a gyros only to be denied after the commitment of sitting down and saying yes we'd like some food please, is a blow that can only be remedied by a return visit tomorrow and an evening meal for something else from the menu. What we did have this lunchtime, however, was the same as we had at Ftenagia the other day. Just to compare you understand. The beans were equally tasty but the cheese balls were different. Not in a bad way, just different. We'd happily have a repeat on another day.

After a spot of light shopping we were passing the kiosk in the square. We had just stopped to buy something and we're approached by an amiable looking woman. Out of the blue she offered us some of the hazelnut chocolate wafer biscuits that she had. I know that the Greek people genuinely are friendly but this is the first time we'd encountered such a thing. Initially we we're taken aback as it's such a seemingly random act of kindness. If such a thing happened at home you'd be instinctively ringing 999. Such is the chasm between our cultures now I fear. I vaguely recall my mother, bless her soul, telling tales of when everyone knew everyone and doors were left open (cue the Hovis advert music) and when a neighbour knocked to borrow a cup of sugar it was just that and not to case the joint when you went out shopping.
Oh for the old days eh? No holidays to Halki then though so maybe not?
The biscuits were rather nice so we bought some in the next shop that we saw them.
Our usual afternoon snooze passed pleasantly, too pleasantly really. Must have been the fresh air on the ferry over and not the alpha from the taverna at lunch

I had every intention of indulging in goat for my evening meal but the description of the stuffed chicken was too nice to pass up. It really was tasty. Nothing fancy just proper tasty food.
Rose on the other hand decided to try some fish again. She's not had much luck with fish for one reason or another, hence the lack of a report up to this point. Gladly, the filet of sea bream that was served was not only wonderfully cooked but Rose reported that it had restored her faith in Greek seafood.

Now, the wee beasties. We had not heard of these and the first we knew was when they turned off several lights in the taverna after we'd eaten. We wondered what was going on, was it a polite hint to sup up and leave. Doubtful, knowing the Greeks. Was it a previously unheard-of festival thing to welcome first time Brits to the island? Neither, as moments later, almost as if they were waiting for 20.45, they appeared. Small flying critters. Beetles? Not sure what they are but they were gathered around the street lights like moths but the ones that landed on the floors were more like beetles. Strange little things bless them.
Back in the room later and enjoying an obligatory cup of Yorkshire with some on those wafer biscuits and all is well.
So, first day on Tilos has gone well, our room is up to scratch and the view is quite impressive. Will add a pic tomorrow if the sun shines

Good night for now. Keep Halki running for us while we're here.

Tom and Rose