Farewell to Rhodes … and … She WALKS!

Dreama Lee — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:20:43 +0000

Well after all the fun, it had to end. Greece has been a very nice trip, despite the first few weeks of never ending chaos. The people are very kind and the island lovely.

We’ve hit all our favorites the last few days and here’s a round up of the best of our family trip:

1. Villages:

Lardhos Bakery - Stella got a free bread stick every time

Lardos: Nicest people we met and a real local feel. Don’t miss the bakery and butcher near the vegetable stand. Stella got a free breadstick every time we saw the bakery lady and “Mr. Vancouver” aka Justin, got 2 free sausages from the butcher every time. We shopped there often. And of course Roula’s the restaurant which I blogged about before.

Mr. Vancouver and the Butcher of Lardhos

Gennadi: Great restaurant called Mamma’s Kitchen and also a nice bakery and vegetable stand. Very local and you get a great feel for the island life here.

2. The Acropolis and village of Lindos. Gorgeous and incredible that it’s still here after so many years (their are ruins in the acropolis dating back to 400 BC).

Acropolis of Lindos

3. Old Town Rhodes. Beautiful walled city and again, incredible that it has survived this long and after so many different occupiers of the island of Rhodes (Italians, Turks, to name a few).

4. The mountain drive from the airport to Embona (wine area). Beautiful scenery and different from the rest of the island (plenty of trees).

5. Restaurants:

Dionysius in Lindos: great seafood (they tell you what is fresh) and nice atmosphere.

Roulas: mentioned above. Good Greek food.

Mamma’s Kitchen: as mentioned in an earlier blog. Fantastic homemade Greek food in a garden setting in the village of Gennadi.

Tsambika’s Taverna: at the top of the hill at Tsambika’s beach and on the way to Rhodes Town from Lindos. Great views and good seafood and grilled meat selections. Definitely worth the stop.

Lee Beach Cafe at Lee’s Beach/Pefkos. OK, we liked it for more than the name. Fantastic gyros and again really nice people. Great views. We went there more times than we can count.

Jasmine in Pefkos. Nothing to rave about their food but they have: bar, big screen TVs with football/soccer, and a playground for Stella. Great combo. We also went there often for high speed wireless internet.

6. Catamaran to Marmaris: don’t go for shopping as advertised but for the boat ride over (beautiful) and a walk along the port and thru the village. Both are very nice and you actually get a feel for Turkish life.

7. Beaches: St. Paul’s Bay (great view of the acropolis, quaint and nice beach shack for drinks) and Pefkos (sandy);

8. Hikes: Hike up Navarone Bay cliffs (Where “The Guns of Navarone” was filmed) and the hike of the mountains and cliffs behind our villa in Navarone Bay/Saltos.

All in all it was a fantastic trip to Greece. Would we do anything differently? One suggestion would be not to rent a villa when it is brand new. Wait until it has gone thru one season so that all the kinks and problems are worked out and all those things you wish you had brought but have to go buy are already there.

As for some baby tips.

I mentioned this before but call ahead to see if your villa or hotel has baby gear so you don’t have to bring it. Our villa provided us with a pack and play and a high chair and our car rental company, M&S (great company by the way) provided us with a free car seat to use.

And drum roll please…Ms. Stella finally walked. Check it out. We had been betting on when she finally would. She’s been crusing for months and taking 2-3 steps here and there for the past few weeks but yesterday she took off.


We are off to Germany to Oktoberfest on Wed.  Should be a fun time.

Mamma’s Kitchen…

Dreama Lee — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:06:21 +0000

We hit a great little town called Gennadi last night. Had the best Greek food since we arrived at a taverna called “Mamma’s Kitchen.” It was nice to visit a very traditional town and meet a few locals.

And what a great name for a restaurant. Who doesn’t want to go home to “Mamma’s Kitchen” and have some comfort food? I guess “Mamma’s Kitchen” translates in any language. I can remember many anticipated trips home and being excited about having some of my Mom’s home cooking.

There’s something about the familiar tastes of home to make you feel better. I know for Justin it’s a nice cha shao (that’s Chinese BBQ pork) or a big English breakfast “fry up.” And a bag of “Hoola Hoops” or a packet of English sweets (black currant “Fruit Pastels” anyone) always puts a smile on Justin’s face.

For me it’s apple pie, pinto beans and corn bread with a side of collard greens or some slow cooked BBQ ribs or homemade fried chicken!

It’s funny because the things that Justin I bring to our new family in regards to favorite foods from our childhood and backgrounds are turning out to be some of Stella’s favorites (if it’s pork, she’ll eat it…).

When you travel (or at least when we travel) the highlight of our trip are the meals we eat and the farmer’s markets we visit. In just about any culture you encounter, fellowship (whether friends or family or both) centers around food. Food has an amazing way of really showing you about a culture. For example, in most Asian countries meals are served for sharing. The table is a communal event.

Baby Travel Tip: Don’t be afraid to let your baby try what you are having when traveling (it’s not necessary to pack a suitcase of prepackaged “safe” foods…). The best way to get your child to eat a variety of foods is to expose him/her to different things and often. For example, we’ve been trying to get Stella to eat grapes since she was able to eat them (they are a great travel snack food after all) but she’s refused. Last night they gave us a plate of beautiful small green grapes after dinner. I gave her one and she just played with it. Then her Dad and I started eating them and saying how “yummy” they were and she finally had one, then another and then ate the entire bunch. So keep trying with new foods and you have to show your children how much fun it is to try new things. We hope Stella’s pallet is as broad and adventurous as her experiences are. We let her try everything (pickled ginger, she loves it; spicy sausage, gobbles it up; spinach pie (spanikopita), hidden greens that she has no idea she is eating).

Mommy's Little Helper

I’ve always enjoyed cooking and entertaining for both my family and friends. I am passionate about food and find meal times one of the most pleasurable times, especially when shared with good company. As a mother now, I take great pride (and pain sometimes) in making sure Stella is “well fed.” I hope that someday she’ll too find comfort in her “Mamma’s Kitchen.”

SimpleBabyTravel.com » mamma’s kitchen

Farewell to Rhodes … and … She WALKS!

Mamma’s Kitchen…