The Wonders of the Mediterranean - Rhodes

06/15 - We arrived in Rhodes after a day's journey on the Aegean sea. 

Rhodes is the island with the RED STAR

Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese islands (a group of 12 larger islands plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the Aegean Sea). It is the island group's historical capital. 

Shortly after breakfast, we left the ship to venture out into the city and take in the history. The city of Rhodes can be navigated by car, bus or walking about. We didn't know what to expect so we initially took a bus tour around the historical sites. Afterwards we realized most of the important sites are close to the port so got off the bus and walked around.

One of those historical gems is the Colossus of Rhodes (pictured above is where it once stood). After an earthquake in 226 BC, the 30 meters statue was reduced to rubble. It was known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Another popular tourist attraction is the Grand Master's Palace of the Knights. It is a medieval castle -- one of the few examples of Gothic architecture. 

The palace is full of things to see from paintings, canons and canon balls, clay oil lamps, bone needles and combs, and mosaics (shown below). 

One of my favorite parts of the visit was capturing the essence of these mosaics; they are from the Byzantine empire and 2nd century BC. I couldn't walk away without taking a few snapshots with my Samsung phone. 

We walked down the cobble stoned path inside the palace and found a cafe hidden within the walls for a light lunch. 

We dropped our bags and relaxed  at this quaint little cafe/bnb. We enjoyed the infamous Greek salad and bruschetta and for dessert, we ate baklava and ice cream. YUM!!!

As we finished up lunch, I caught up with a friend on google hangout. ***Note: Always double check the time difference before waking up your friends before the crack of dawn.***

My dad is 'chillaxing' with a Pina Colada

After a long day of sightseeing, we stopped over at the sunset bar and grabbed some tropical cocktails. Perfect ending to a good day.



Stay tuned...the fun has just began...onwards to Mykonos...the island with the famous windmills!

The Wonders of the Mediterranean - All Aboard and on Cruise Control to the Greek Isles

The Equinox was launched in 2009 with capacity of 2,850 

A few weeks ago, I started telling you all about our Mediterranean adventure to Greece and Turkey. We started a day early in Athens and boarded the Celebrity Cruises: Equinox ship to begin our adventure. Did I mention that this was our first time on a cruise ship? AY CARAMBA!!

We enjoyed this beautiful sunset as we left Athens behind and cruised towards the first of the Greek Isles, Rhodes.

The view above is from the Ocean View cafe. Isn't it gorgeous and so romantic. I took tons of pictures like this every night so I could reminisce about those sunsets when I get back home. Although is nice, the dining experience at this cafe wasn't equally nice the first night. I was a bit disappointed in the buffet menu.


The best dining experience was in the Silhouette restaurant where we had to make reservations every night. They had quite a selection of menu items to choose from and enjoy. I normally don't eat meat unless I'm out dining with my friends, so this was my chance to savor the Mediterranean cuisine. Each night I tried a different dish and really experimented with my palate.

Below are some of my favorites from the trip:

Top left corner: Chocolate molten cake with vanilla ice cream and flambe
Top right corner: creme brulee cake,
Bottom left corner: Branzino (European sea bass) served over a bed of cooked spinach and potatoes with a drizzle of pomegranate sauce
Bottom right corner: Lamp chops served with a side of broccoli and thin broth

My parents loved the Mediterranean spring rolls, French onion soup, and the tomato bisque. We couldn't some of these items were served as appetizers; they were big enough to be entrees. We really had to control ourselves moving forward.

Along with the food, we were really impressed with the quality of service at this restaurant. All the waitstaff were polite and helpful, I never felt like I was pressured to eat my food too quickly because they wanted to seat another family, If we didn't like something, they were all too eager to replace our food. It was unbelievable.

Quick Tip 
- If you don't like anything on the preset menu, ask for the Indian menu which has a lot of vegetarian options. My parents ordered from this menu a couple times; here are some of their favorites: vegetable pakora, mixed vegetable curry, potato and beans curry, and yogurt. WE LOVE YOGURT. - If you have any allergies, let your wait staff know. They are very accommodating to their guests' needs.

The Wonders of the Mediterranean - Athens, Greece

Last month, my family and I packed our bags and went on our first cruise adventure. We flew to Athens a day earlier than boarding time for our cruise to explore the city. Below are a couple pictures I managed to take before indulging in "fresh" cuisine.

Greek Salad served at Thissio restaurant - great views of the acropolis from the rooftop dining (beautiful during day and night)

Every restaurant served the infamous Greek salad. Even my mom, the "true vegetarian" in the family enjoyed herself.  A Greek salad is a beautiful mix of sliced red onions, green peppers, cucumbers, capers, olives, and a big piece of fresh feta. The salad is then tossed with olive oil, salt, black pepper and herbs. It's hard to take just one bite! What I loved about this salad was the crisp vegetables and not so salty feta; everything tastes FRESH!!

Fresh bread served with olive and sesame dip at Thissio restaurant

Along with the salad, we also enjoyed the freshly baked bread and dips. Some restaurants served the bread with olive oil and herbs or like the dip shown above made from olives. The olive dip had a rich and strong flavor, and went well with the bread. We enjoyed all the culinary delights in this city.


We also enjoyed the monumental jewels of the ancient city of Athens. Our hotel was just a shuttle ride away from Syntagma Square, central square of Athens. From there, we walked to the Arch of Hadrian, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus.

The Temple of Olympian Zeus

If you look closely, you can catch a glimpse of the Parthenon behind the temple.

The Parthenon - Temple of goddess Athena, whom the Athens people considered their patron

Porch of the Caryatids - were supposedly modeled on Karyatides, women from Karyes, famous for their upright posture and noble character. The original lady columns are on display at the Acropolis Museum. 

Near the porch, is an olive tree (which is not clear in this picture), a replacement for the one Athena planted here in her face-off with Poseidon. Olive trees have been called "the gift of Athena" to Athens.

We also browsed through the Acropolis Museum which was built to house every artifact found from the Greek Bronze Age to the Roman Byzantine Greece.

We saw all the carved reliefs (such as this one above) and sculptures that were excavated from the Parthenon and carefully preserved for the people to see and enjoy.  After our tour, we indulged in a light lunch at the museum cafe. I ate this sweet and savory appetizer that was topped with cute little cherry tomatoes that were just divine. It is best when it's still hot and crunchy. 

Fried Feta Cheese with sweet cherry tomatoes garnished with thyme

I've only read about Athens in the history books but to witness and walk among the titans was a great honor. We withstood heat, long lines, and lots of walking to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.  We are grateful that the Greek people preserved their history so well and hope that future generations can admire these architectural beauties for years to come. 

***Quick Tips:

- The museums and monuments we visited were reviewed in the Rick Steve's Mediterranean Cruise Ports - 3rd Edition. The edition had tips for first time cruisers and tourists visiting the different ports of call. We also checked out Trip Advisor for restaurant reviews. 

- We highly recommend Xenios Zeus restaurant at top of the Acropolis - great food, wine and views. Thissio restaurant a higher end restaurant that has really good appetizers like the Greek salad pictured above, roasted mushrooms topped with sliced Parmesan, cheesy risotto, and picturesque views of the Acropolis from their rooftop dining area. 

We said goodbye to Athens as we sailed off into the sunset and had dreams of our first port of call: Rhodes, on the Celebrity Cruises: Equinox ship. 

Stay tuned, details to come very soon...

It's All About The Peppers!

Liz Applegate Ph.D., (author of "Hot Stuff!" article in Runner's World), put it perfectly when she wrote "richly colored chilies are packed with a range of antioxidants, including vitamin A and vitamin C. These nutrients may aid in recovery and help prevent ailments such as Alzheimer's disease and cancer". She went on to point out that chilies also aid in weight loss, alleviate muscle pain, and reduce the risk of getting Diabetes. I don't know about you, but those are some good reasons to start consuming chilies. I like the idea of eating my vegetables to stay ahead of the curve...and staying away from medicines until I have no choice.

Peppers are an integral part of our cuisine's spice mix. One of my favorite dishes where peppers play an important role is Chili Poppers. It closely resembles an appetizer called Jalapeno poppers, which is most commonly found in many American restaurant menus. Another dish that is on the list is Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers, that we eat with rice because it is definitely on the hot end of the scale.
On the subject of peppers, this next dish is peppers on a new scale...a more sweeter scale that is. We love cooking with sweet peppers. They're so flavorful and "sweet" like cherry tomatoes...and who doesn't love cherry tomatoes. 

I love the orange and red ones!

And since it was Hot and Spicy Food Day recently, we increased the "heat" of these peppers by stuffing them with Falafel. The sweetness from the peppers was a good combination with the Mediterranean spices and flavors. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Tarazi Falafel mix
• 20 to 22 Sweet Peppers
• 1 medium Onion, chopped finely
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• ¼ tsp Salt (adjust as per your taste)

Procedure:
Make the falafel mixture as per instructions on the box and allow it to soak for 30 to 45 minutes. Then add the chopped onions into the mixture. Make a slit into the peppers without cutting them in half. Scoop about a tablespoon of the mixture and stuff it inside each of the peppers. In a shallow non-stick pan, heat oil, add all the peppers and sprinkle salt. Shallow fry the peppers under closed lid, turning them over in between for even frying. Remove from heat and serve hot!


***Quick Tip: 
- The Tarazi Falafel Mix is the traditional Mediterranean vegetarian recipe made with ground chickpeas, fava beans and spices. It is also gluten free, dairy free and wheat free. Each serving size which is 2 oz has 12g of protein. That's a winner in our book. We found this product at our local Indian store.