Village hangouts
I’ve not looked for photos for this post yet and may not have any that are appropriate, but I just wanted to say… It’s been very busy at the Rainbow Bar (and Lefteris’ next door) these past few weeks, in the afternoons. It’s a great place to hang out and catch up with friends and the afternoon slot, between three and five (and onwards) is very popular with visitors. Maybe it’s because Neil works there at that time, but I also think it’s because Yiannis is an entertaining character and his prices are as low as they can be.
One of the great charms of Symi, for me, is sitting and watching the world go by. You can do that at these two bars, as you can at most others. You see some sights. These include day-trippers wandering around trying to find ‘the church.’ They can see it from the harbour as they come in and come up to take a look at it. They usually mean the church at Lemonitisa, with the red dome, the one that overlooks the harbour below. It’s fairly easy to find once you ask someone. They are also looking for the museum, but that shuts in the early afternoon. You can often see great disappointment on faces when they’ve climbed up to 400 steps to the village only to discover that the museum is another couple of hundred up, but it’s closed. It’s open from eight in the morning until two (or it may be three, I’ll look next time I pass) every day apart from Monday.
You see some other sights too. People in swimwear usually get some twisted expressions behind their backs as they pass. Budgie smugglers are not the thing to wear when wandering around a village anywhere in the world. You wouldn’t do it at home so why do it here guys? And as for ladies whose skin is looser than their bikinis, well, let’s not go there. Occasionally you will see people pushing their bicycles either up or down the steps; always seems like an odd one to me, but I have seen people ride them down, and have also seen mopeds going up and down the steps. Mechanical diggers occasionally pass by. You also get to know the local cats who come to say hello and see if there is any food available.
With the news fans at both bars, and with the street being a natural wind tunnel towards and from the sea, it’s often a cooling place to sit too. Unless it’s a cold day in which case it can have the opposite effect; in this case, you can sit inside. There’s shade, enough tables for around 30 people per bar and more can be brought out, and there’s always a good atmosphere. Recently it’s been busy because there have been a lot of British visitors, some of whom left yesterday, but no doubt there will be more during June, to be taken over by the Italian and Greek visitors of July and August, before returning in September.
When you are visiting, make sure to come up to the village and find these two bars. They are open from nine (Lefteris is often there by 5.30 in the morning), and they close whenever the last person leaves at night. Everyone’s welcome to sit and watch the budgie smugglers and saggy-skinned sirens go by. Or just read a good book. 😉
(As you can see, only one relevant image, and it’s not even mine, so some random ones instead.)
