Earlier this year, we were in Rhodes for various things, and I bought myself a new laptop from Public. (Harry was to have my old one for his college work, hence yesterday’s side quest.) After that, we wandered along towards the new marina and came across a very pleasant café. Next door was a good-looking restaurant, but as it wasn’t eating time, we didn’t call in.
I did, though, last Friday with H.
The place is called Al Hyat, and there are many reasons for recommending it. It’s close to Akandia and the Blue Star (15-to-20-minute walk), the prices are very competitive, the staff are lovely as is the food, and the menu is extensive and varied. I’d been drawn to it because it wasn’t too far from the H house, and the menu said it did cannelloni, which I’ve not had for years – and which I thought would be soft enough to eat after my dentist appointment. In the end, I played it safe and didn’t eat anything. Since I’d only had a bowl of cornflakes at 6.30 that morning and it was, by now, 14.00, I could have chucked down half a cow. Instead, I watched as H ate a burger made from that half a cow (plus a fried egg and other dripping things in the stack, and a massive dump of chips), and calmed my growling stomach with a glass of cider.
Lunch done, we called into Pappou for shopping, and went our separate ways.
The pleasant surprise mentioned above came later, when I was minding my own business upstairs on the boat, and I heard a voice ask if he could join me. It was one of H’s besties on his way back to Symi for a surprise visit, having moved to Rhodes to finish school, and of course, I was delighted to have his company, though I wasn’t sure what we would talk about. There was no need to worry. I fell into easy conversation with this fluent English-speaking Albanian lad who, when his Greek mate joined us, chatted away in Greek to him, and the second friend in English and Greek to me. We talked about their schools, how N was doing catering college, and he proudly showed me his creations on his phone gallery, while E told me all about his forthcoming trip to Albania, his hopes for summer work (maybe back at the Kali Strata restaurant), where his brother was now living, and how he might, too, visit Denmark, and so it went on for most of the crossing.
It was unexpected and pleasant for several reasons. For a start, we’re talking about young men of 16/17 years, speaking at least two languages, conversing with a (to them) granddad who they might have known for several years, but who’s only been in the background to their mate’s family, and they were doing it all with charm and interest. When and if you recall yesterday’s tale about the forgotten and found laptop and how that made its way safely back to me, you can see where that honesty and hospitality come from.
That was lovely. Even more flattering was hearing that the boys look at this blog, and have used it to trawl back and see photos of (for example), the storm of 2017 and other things of interest. Nice.
