Day 5 – Old town & Faliraki Rhodes Greece

I dragged myself out of bed at 7:30 AM still desiring a few extra hours of sleep since we passed out at 2:00 AM the night before.  I cooked the group a Turkish omelette (even though we are in Greece) with the groceries we picked up last night.  We kept seeing them at restaurants and the airports and wanted to try it out. It seemed pretty basic, a few sunny side up eggs topped with cheese and smoked sausages.

“Sucuklu Yumurta” (Turkish Omelette)

Our car rental arrived and we were off in an olive green Fiat, which is was recently introduced in the states with the controversial Jennifer Lopez commercial.  It was a manual transmission, standard in Europe and just the right size for our group of 4.

After the Mo getting used to the clutch, we were off to Rhodes town on an expedition to find Elle beach.  The beach has a diving board in the middle of the ocean where you can dive off.

After getting lost for a 1/2 hour, we found the pebbly beach.  The rocks and stones definitely hurt my feet but  I needed to take a dip to cool down. The AC in our rental car was lacking and mu butt was super sweaty.  After taking heading into the water and attempting to swim towards the diving board, I realized that I probably wouldn’t make it back in fear of being tired by the time I swam there, jumped off and swam back.  I opted not to go and felt like a failure. I was definitely disappointed in myself.

Diving Board at Elle Beach- Rhodes Greece

We walked by the harbor where it is thought to be the location of one of the seven wonders of the Ancient world, the Colossus of Rhodes, a triumphal 70′ statue of their favorite god, Helios.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Rhodes Town

We walked around Old town of Rhodes which is the oldest inhabited medieval town in Europe. The whole town is surrounded by tall stone walls that enclose hundreds of shops, restaurants, temples, ruins as well as housing for the locals.  We were told that it would take 5-6 days to fully explore the town.

Vintage Motorcycle

Old Rhodes Town

On our way back, we picked up groceries for dinner and breakfast to save money on dining out.

By 3, we were famished and walked to a nearby Greek restaurant near our apartment. I had moussaka for the very first time and I loved it. I think I will try to make it back at home. Moussaka is an eggplant based dish with minced meat and tomato paste topped off with a white cheese sauce and baked to perfection. It was rich and hearty but satisfied my hunger quickly.

Greek Moussaka

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After a late lunch, we headed back out to Anthony Quinn Bay for a swim and to soak in some sun.  Since it was after 5PM, the sun wasn’t scorching hot as it had been earlier.  The beach was pebbly but the water was crystal clear and the view of the bay was amazing.

Anthony Quinn Bay Faliraki

 

Since we all got trashed last night, we decided to stay in and lay lo tonight.  We made fettuccine carbonara with bacon and garlic bread. We spent the rest of the night relaxing and laughing to Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan’s Rush Hour 2.

Syn chopping up garlic

Mami’s Fettuccine Carbonara

 

My take on the legendary Boott Mills

The city of Lowell is known historically for its Boott Cotton Mills where early immigrants came to spin and weave cotton during the Industrial Revolution.

Boott Mill

When one asks a Lowell native what a “Boot Mill” is, he or she shouldn’t be surprised if the response is, “a breakfast sandwich.”

Arthur’s Paradise Diner is known for their legendary breakfast sandwiches stuffed with your choice of meat, cheese, eggs and homefries on a toasted bulkie.  The homefries within the breakfast sandwich itself is what sets this breakfast sandwich apart from others.

The proximity of the diner to Lowell High School, City Magnet middle school and the former Arts Magnet school is what helped with is popularity and regular customers.  Students would skip classes to grab a sandwich before heading back to school or not even heading back at all.

Although I didn’t attend Lowell High, my siblings did and my father would drop us off at the same time even though the middle school didn’t start class until an hour later.  I had time to walk 5 minutes to Bridge Street to get a sandwich which only set me back $ 2.00 (that was over 11 years ago).  About ever year, the price would increase gradually by a quarter to .50 cents.  Today I’m hearing that the price is about $5.00.

Since the Mo is sometimes feeling nostalgic for his high school breakfast food, I usually make it for him every once in a while.  Trust me, this is not an everyday breakfast food, not even an “every weekend” food. I probably make it a few times a year.

Here is the recipe for Mami’s take on Boott Mills with a little flare

Ingredients 
Makes 4 sandwiches

Kirkland’s Sea Salt

• 4 Bulkie Rolls
• 2 Tablespoon of Butter
• Ham, Sausage, Bacon or Canadian Bacon
• 4 Eggs
• American Cheese
• 3 Medium Potatoes
• 1/4 cup of minced Parsley
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• Black Pepper
• Sea Salt Preferred but you may use table salt
• Paprika

Wash and boil 3 Medium Potatoes with the skin on for about 20 minutes.  Peel potatoes and set aside to cool.  After its cool enough for you to handle, cut the potatoes into medium size cubes.

In a large skillet, add the olive oil, parsley and onions.  Add the cut up potatoes, a dash of paprika, sea salt and black pepper into the skillet on med to high heat.  Let the potatoes crisp on each sides before setting aside.

Potatoes boiling on Med to High temp

Cut Potatoes into Medium cubes

Add Onion and Parsley to Olive oil

Add Potatoes

Potatoes in Skillet

Using the same skillet, (again, I don’t want to have too many pots and pans for the Mo to wash), grease the bottom of the pan and crack 4 eggs, similar to sunny side up style.  If your skillet is large enough, only use half the pan and warm up the ham or Canadian bacon on the other side.

Remove the ham once it turns slightly brown.  Flip the eggs when the egg whites are cooked.  I like to gently pop the yolk so its only semi runny and not too runny for when I eat my sandwich.  A runny yoke can make for a messy breakfast.

Melt butter in the microwave so its easier to spread on the roll. Toast the bulkies in a toaster oven, I prefer my counter top infrared oven because its easier to clean and I can constantly check on it without opening the lid or door and letting the heat out.

Lastly, assembly the sandwich with all the ingredients we just prepped. Layer the homefries first, add the egg, add the cheese and top it off with the meat of your choice.  Cut it in half and serve with any leftover homefries.  I placed mine on top of aluminum wrapper just for the same effect.

Reading, Resting and Relaxing on the beach-Day 13th

Beach infront of our Bungalow

Hearty Breakfast

Reading my kindle

Restaurant at our place

Waiting for the sun to go down

“Coco Burger” best burger ever!

Closing up the bar again! shots of sambuca

I drink wine from the carafe Not much to say about today, we were super lazy and were beach bums all day.  We hung our at the beach in front of our room for 10 hours, practically all day.  We had the waitress and bartender bring us drinks, breakfast, lunch AND dinner to us beachside.  So we had three meals and lots of booze and didn’t even lift a finger.  I am a bit reluctant to see our tab.  Oh well, we’re on vacation! We only got up to get stuff from our room or use the bathroom.  I started a new book by Kathy Griffin, she is super funny but the book reminded me of the book I just read by Tina Fey. Soooo… not much to say but we slept, read, ate and got drunk…right on the beach.  Great day for rest and relaxation.  I felt like a princess.

Breakfast Fridays

Every Friday, the office orders breakfast from a nearby diner, Jimmy’s Family Restaurant, or as my coworker refers to as, “The Russians, which is funny because ..I don’t think they are Russian at all, I think they are Greek.

The diner has been family owned and operated for many years and serves your typical breakfast foods featuring 38 omelettes on their menu and that is not including the “Build your own Omeltte” choice. They also offer a variety of lunch options ranging from sandwiches to seafood entrees.

The Great Chef

I’m not proud to admit that I usually get a bacon, egg and cheese on a toasted bagel to cure my hangover from “Thirsty Thursday.” Not only do I eat my own sandwich, but I also freeload off my boss’s Home Fries and toast that comes with his usual order of Tomato and Feta Cheese Omlette.

I guess you can say, this weekly regime has definitely added to my waistline, but who can resist bacon?

Once in a while, I get the Homemade Blueberry Muffin that is grilled lightly to a perfect crisp on the outside and warm and soft on the inside. It truly does melt in your mouth.

Prices are slightly higher than your typical diner fare, a bacon, egg and cheese on a bagel will cost you about  $ 4.60 not including tax. Considering the quality, consistency and service, it’s all worth it!  Next time you are craving a good homemade breakfast, stop by Jimmy’s in Burlington, It’s definitely worth a try!

Western Sandwich on Toasted Wheat Bread