Serene Symi Villa
Airbnb host: Dawn
All the way from South Africa, Airbnb Host, Dawn resides most of the year in Symi, a small Greek island in the south Aegean Sea. If you don't fall in love with Symi( which you will) you'll fall in love with her. Dawn is a genuine heart who wants you to enjoy every second of your stay. After over 25 years having a home on the island, she is a real connoisseur of the land, it's culture, and it's people.
I instantly felt a part of a community when waiting for the bus with Dawn after our ferry ride. She had about five people who stopped to say hi to her in under ten minutes. While we waited for the bus a car who passed, saw it was Dawn, and told us all of us to hop in. What a lovely lady.
In the morning, we were greeting with local cheeses, homemade cakes, and jam made from her kind neighbors. Needless to say we were very well taken care of and prepared to adventure thought out the town of Symi.
The colors throughout Dawn’s Villa were bright, soft, and uplifting. All her art pieces and little trinkets all had a story. It was like walking into the louvre museum and not knowing where to look at first. We instantly felt warm, comfortable, and safe. Not to mention, we had a little lion, Rocky protecting us. Just in case, I would like to mention Rocky is a house cat not a lion ! He is kind, cuddly, and loves all the attention, the best kind of cat if you ask me.
We all know finding a good place to eat in a foreign place can be hard and often disappointing. Not to worry, Dawn is here ! As she knows everyone on the island, she just phones them up and made us quick reservations. I am a very picky and critical eater! I have to say, I was so impressed with the restaurants she recommend. One restaurant we went to is Thollo, we had a table right by the water! They had the best tzatziki that I have ever had. This is saying a lot as I have organized myself a "Tzatzki Tour!” I have eaten Tzatziki twice a day for the past eight days. The second restaurant is called Haritomeni, Greek Taverna. Please just trust me and order the fried Calamari. I am not much for fried foods but this was very lightly breaded and the quality of the calamari was unlike any other, so fresh and large quantity.
While walking around the island of Symi we had a couple of wonderful encounters with the people that lived there and learned of their ancestors who have lived here for generations and generations. The people are the history of the island. While talking with the” Symians” we would mention that we were staying with “South African Dawn”. Their eyes would light up and a huge smile would lay upon their face. We were treated with so much kindness and respect during our entire trip.
We came to Symi not knowing anyone and felt like we were leaving behind a family when we left. This is not goodbye, this is a à bientôt !
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask me any questions. If you would like to book, please click here to be sent to Dawn’s posting on Airbnb.
Bisous,
Léanne