One Day Trip to Tolo

In June we went to a one day trip to Tolo.

We have been to there some years ago and we liked the beach and that is why we decided to return. It is a very long sandy beach. Water is warm and calm.



Beach parasol and 2 sun beds cost 8 Euro, which I think is too much. We will bring our own equipments next time.

After having spent the afternoon at the beach, we went back to a restaurant we went, when we came here for the first time. This restaurant has tables on the quey and you feel like having dinner on the water.



But this time, the food was so and so. It was better a few years ago. Or maybe we made a wrong choice.

Off the coast of Tolo, there is this islet. There was a red moon over it in that evening.



Then we return to our hotel. The pool was lighten up. Hubby had a bacardi & coke by the pool side.



We found this hotel on booking.com.
http://www.meraki-tolo.gr/
A double bed room with kitchen was 50 Euro including breakfast. The beach is less than 10 min walk away. Not bad value.

The hotel owner let us used the room until 3 o'clock in the afternoon, so we went to a beach 10km away from Tolo.

It was pebbly beach with 3 cafeterias and without residential buildings.



When we arrived at 11, it was only half-full, but when we was leaving at 2, the beach was so full that there were several people walking around desperately to look for available sun beds.

We went back to the hotel to have a shower and then left for Nafplio.



Bourgainvillas were beautiful.

For lunch, we had among other things this Veal with Prunes served with home made mashed potato.


After the meal was a ritual espresso at a roadside cafeteria.



Hubby wanted a cafeteria looking toward Bourtzi, but seeing an espresso costing 3.50, he accepted to go somewhere else. In this cafeteria, we paid less than 3 Euro for an espreso.

In two days, we spent about 180 euro including the fuel. Good value entertainment for 2 days.

GATE TO GREECE
TOLO
NAFPLIO

Omorfo Tavernaki @ Nafplio

Revisited Nafplio in early January.

I think I have been there already 3 times and this is the 4th visit to me, but it is the 2nd for Hubby.

Here is Syntagma Square and Palamidi.

I think that many people were still on vacation, but the town was almost empty and we saw very few visitors.



We walked around a bit and then entered a taverna for lunch. It is called To Omorfo Tavernaki (Beautiful Small Taverna) and was recommended by a friend of mine.

Interior was elegantly rustic.



Food is usual Greek taverna fare + some dishes of the day.

The bread was served toasted, but rather stingily.



Just average tzatziki.



Lachanodormades (minced meat and rice with herb wrapped in cabbage leaves) were a pick from Dishes from the Day. They were fine, not more.

Pork stewed with mushrooms, served with rice and fried potatoes. The meat was meltingly soft and the sauce had nice depth.

You might be wondering why we had so much potatoes. It was because the waiter did not tell me (and not written on the menu) that the meat was to be served with fried potatoes. I don't like the waiters who do this; you are supposed to inform the guests about the food. Or at least the kitchen could have substituted the potato with rice.

The bill I think was around 30 Euros. Not the sort of places where I would willingly come back.

To Omorofo Tavernaki
Kotsonopoulou & Vasilissis Olgas 1
211 00 Nafplio
Tel. 27520 25944

Antica Gelateria di Roma @ Nafplio

Yesterday afternoon I was in Nafplio for school excursion. We had already had lunch in Kolizeras (Κολιζέρας) in Mykines and it was perfect dessert time.

I had many limitations being in a big group, but managed to pass Marcello's Antica Gelateria di Roma, probably the best gelateria in Greece. (And having lived in Italy for 5 years, I can tell you that such a good gelato is hard to come by even its mother land).

A friend of my who knows well Nafplio once told me that the Greeks tend not to like this Italian style ice cream preferring creamer ones. Having observed, however, how crowded it was yesterday, it seemed that his business was going well.

I had mango sorbet and marron glace ice cream.

I think the secret of his success is to use best ingredients. Marron Glacé ice cream had marron glacé bits and very good flavour. I liked less the mango sorbet, but was fine.

The down side is the price. The ice cream in the photo cost €4.50. He won't be able to charge as much in Italy, I suppose. I noticed also that the corn wasn't crisp enough.

Having eaten it, I had to realise that the Mattonella in Monastiraki Square - my favorite ice cream shop in Athens - is doing quite good job and I won't miss next opportunity to try some other flavors.

Antica Gelateria di Roma
ΦΑΡΜΑΚΟΠΟΥΛΩΝ 3 & ΚΟΜΝΗΝΟΥ, ΝΑΥΠΛΙΟ
ΤΗΛ. 27520-23520
FARMAKOPOULON 3 & KOMNINOY, NAFPLIO
http://www.anticagelateria.gr/

New Entry: Nafplio

A few days ago I uploaded a page on Nafplio (Νάυπλιο - it is variously rendered in Latin alphabet as Nafplio, Nauplion or Navplio).

Nafplio



It was part of our trip to Argolis and Korinthia last summer. To tell the truth, we see very little of Nafplio apart from the town itself, because our first objective was to have lunch with my ex-colleague who now lives in Argos. For this reason, there are only few photos from Nafplio and there isn't much to write about it on Gate to Greece. But, we had a very good time and let it be so. I am sure we will have chance to return there.