Blogs from Rhodes, South Aegean, Greece, Europe - page 4

We docked in Rhodes late on the morning of Easter Sunday. We were leaving for our tours at midday so the ship put on an all-morning Easter brunch with Easter eggs and everything. It was a nice touch. Arriving in Rhodes was amazing because we were docking in the tourist port that is right at the old city and its medieval walls. Such a nice change to be so close, and we were allowed to walk into town from the ship. Not that we did that straight away because there was only an hour or so before we had to head off on the excursions for Rhodes. Here we had a choice of what to do – either a tour of the old town and the Grand Master’s palace, or a tour of the Acropolis at ... read more

What else can I say other than Wow!!! So much already happened in 24 hours, it's amazing! Melanie and I flew to Athens and then to Rhodes. What a perfect place to start a trip! Very laid back, perfect weather and we seem to have found the best guy to rent bicycles from. He was already waiting for us at the airport, we picked up the bikes at his shop and he helped us find our AirBNB apartment, which would not have been easy without a local with us. Our place was simple but fine, but we slept very little on our first night: too jetlagged and too hot, we yet have to adapt!! But the amazing day we had today kept us awake anyway. We biked to Rodos City, alond beaches and beautiful scenery and ... read more

RHODES: FRIDAY 24.10.14. Sunny Morning, Showery Afternoon. Not much to comment on today. Went for an early morning walk to the port, where I spied my first Greek windmill, although I don't comprehend how they rotate without sails. All pictures I have viewed are similar to the one seen! Later we walked back to the old town, finding the Jewish Synagogue. Apparently Jews on Rhodes came from Spain in the 1500s and established a flourishing community, although they did suffer many difficulties from marauding attackers, be they Turks, Crusaders, Italians and Germans. The Nazis decimated the population forcing them to concentration camps from which only 150 survived. There are now less than 30 Jewish people living on Rhodes. I have not previously visited a synagogue, and was surprised how simply it was decorated, certainly very mild ... read more

Rhodes 22.10.14. Beautiful weather Walked along the Coast this morning, Turkey distant across the flat sea. A beautiful morning. Afterwards we ate breakfast at Koucos, which we later surmised meant Cuckoo. Ate breakfast of spicy Feta and thick Yogurt. Quite a heavy flavour not to be repeated! Headed to the old town, we have become very familiar with the streets, and wandered the ancient neighbourhoods, a mix of Moslem, Jewish and Orthodox, not that we could tell the difference, but mostly quite charming, excusing the eau de cat! Narrow alleys opening onto wider thorough fares, which were lined with the inevitable tourist tac. We saw Singha T shirts ( thai beer), flea market jewellery, and dining spruikers outside every cafe. It seems that this is the future of mass tourism! The harbour was port to four ... read more

RHODES, GREECE 19.10.14. Clear weather Today was a travel day, travelled only a relatively short distance that took over 8 hours. The airport queues are long, very long, and the waiting at departure gates is monotonous. The entire world seems to be travelling, all our flights have been FULL and cramped. We travelled to Rhodes via Athens. The weather on route was clear and sunny. Landing at Athens, the difference in landscape to Istanbul was dramatic. The scenery was of low barren hills and there were fields of trees that looked to be olive plantations. The airport is relatively new, but small by comparison to many of the airports we have passed through. Didn't really see anything of Athens on the flights, so uncertain of our large it's sprawl is compared to Istanbul's 11 million population. ... read more