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Last weekend I journeyed in a bus for five hours with thirty teenagers, endured the chaos of security at the Bologna airport and flew to Rhodes, Greece. It was well worth the trip. Rhodes is famous for being the site of one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Colossus of Rhodes. Apparently this gigantic bronze statue that spanned the entrance to the harbour was destroyed by an earthquake. In its place are two towers mounted by statues of deer. Not quite the attraction the Colossus would have been but one can imagine!
Our first day in Greece was spent in Lindos a town on a hillside overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. High on a hill just above the town is the Acropolis, built by the Greeks around 300BC then taken over by the Romans, the Byzantines, the Knights of St John and the Ottomans. Many of us rode donkeys (mine was named Zack) to the top where the view was absolutely spectacular. The Acropolis was built originally as a temple to the goddess Athena then fortified by the Romans, then the knights and finally the Ottomans. It makes it a very interesting historical site.
The next day we toured the
Palace of the Grand Master in the old town. This is a designated world heritage site. The old town is a medieval walled city that reminded me a lot of Lanciano with its narrow streets and connected houses. The Palace of the Grand Master was built by the crusaders who were returning from the Holy Land after the fall of Jerusalem. They stopped off in Rhodes and built a fort/castle (yes Brian another castle that looks nothing like the one at Disneyland). It is an amazing feat of architecture given the equipment they had at that time but I think I prefer the ducal palace in Urbino.
The tour only took about an hour so the afternoon was free for a bit of shopping. Who know Greece had such lovely gold jewelry? It would have been criminal not to get another souvenir pair of earrings! I also enjoyed a great lunch in the sunshine but, sadly, the Greeks do not know much about wine – I was forced to drink beer, from a “boot” no less. After lunch I walked back to the hotel and spent some quality time with some of the students sunbathing by the pool. Yes, teaching
is damn hard work!
Sunday we boarded the bus, then spent an hour or so getting through security only to find our plane was delayed two hours. Apparently the glitterati attending the beatification of Pope John were more important than us and they closed the airport until all of them had left. We finally got on the plane and landed safely in Rome. After a bus ride back to Lanciano and a late supper it was off to bed and up again Monday morning for classes.
So, I got my wish – I visited Greece but I wish Terry had been with me!
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anonymous
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Trip to Greece
hi christine,sorry i didnt reply to your blog sooner, Bob takes the computer away with him. It all looks fantastic It seems to have gone quickly now,but maybe not for you . I expect it will be nice when Terry returns. Saw Sara and the baby today,i think she'll be running around when you get home, She's quite the character. very very busy. I told Sara maybe I'll come round for a visit when you get back.Enjoy your trip to England, Margaret seems to be doing great after her operation. love Jennifer