Friday 21 September 2012

Lazing the days away.......


We spent the last few days just lazing in the sun on beautiful Plaka beach.  It is further down from the beach we came to earlier this week and this time last year, but Tasos recommended it to us and we are very happy he did.

The beach has nicer sand and is very quiet ~ probably because it is away from most of the hotels and tavernas that line the road.  Tasos's sister and brother-in-law run a little hotel and taverna and they also rent sunbeds on the beach.  This was a bonus for us since we have been just laying on our beach towels in the last few days because there were no sun beds available on the nude part of the beach.  This part of Plaka has both nude and textile sunbathers, but everyone is very respectful and there's lot of room for everyone to spread out.  We lazed away Wednesday and Thursday in pretty much the same way ~ walking up and down the beach, dipping into the refreshing sea to cool off, reading our novels and dozing off and having lunch at the little taverna across the road.

Maria, the sweet lady who cooks and runs the restaurant invited us into her spotless kitchen on both days to choose our meals from the meals she had made fresh that day.  On Wednesday,  we shared stuffed eggplant and white beans in a tomato sauce and on Thursday, Den has meatballs and rice and I had stuffed tomatoes.  Greek salads and Maria's homemade white wine completed our lunch each day and we welcomed the time out of the sun, enjoying these simple, homemade meals.

beautiful Plaka beach

Den in his glory

the beach goes on for miles


the little taverna across the road from the beach





stuffed eggplant ~ OMG!
stuffed tomatoes

what's for lunch
Den's meatballs & rice



After our long, exhausting days at the beach, evenings are for walking around the town, enjoying the sights and sounds of Naxos town as it comes alive for the tourists and locals who are looking for something to eat, a place to have a drink and unwind, or just a spot to marvel at the sunset and the colours of a sky that no photos can ever do justice to.  Dinner on Wednesday was in the old town, where we enjoyed Dakos, a salad made with crispy bread, tomatoes, cheese, olives and capers and finally, our beloved fried tomato balls.  We both had grilled calamari for our mains.  As we waddled home to the hotel, we still found room for loukamades with honey and cappucinos.  A perfect way to end our night.

On Thursday, we had a drink at one of the many seaside bars right on the harbour and enjoyed some wonderful conversation with a French couple.  We had a late dinner at Meze2, a harbour front restaurant where we enjoyed the mild evening air, some stunning views of the ships in the harbour, some great people watching and a very entertaining table of 12 young people next to us who spent their meal sharing many plates, drinking ouzo and flirting with each other.  I had a wonderful octupus salad with boiled potatoes and Den had grilled sardines, which he dipped in his olive oil and ate whole.  We then capped off our evening at yet another little bar with a view of the water, where Den enjoyed one of the Cuban cigars he bought at the airport in Toronto before we left.  We both had warmed up Rakimelo, a Greek liqueur made of Raki, honey and cinnamon.  A perfect end to a perfect day.

the view from our room!

looking out the window from our table at Metaxa Mas




grilled calamari

yeah ~ loukamades!


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octopus and potato salad

sardines



rakimelo



Today, we took a break from the sun (to Den's sorrow, lol) and took a walk into the less touristy parts of Naxos town.  We did a little shopping and stopped for lunch at Braziliana, our loukamades place.  We had homemade spanokopita which had a very nice lemony taste and sat and chatted with a British couple for about an hour.  We lazed away the afternoon by our hotel pool and we are getting ready to walk into town again so Den can get his sunset pictures from the Portara.  We have dinner reservations at Labrynith in the old town at 8:30.

Breakfast, Spiros style









Kalispera........

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