| Page Views: 463 Last Visit to Rhodes (Island): May, 2007 | A Rhodes By Any Other Name by gilabrand - last update: Aug 28, 2008 |
Rhodes on the Run
Who knows when I'll get around to writing those tips, so here's a brief rundown of my quick trip to Rhodes:
We stayed at a (dumpy) hotel in a great location in the new town, overlooking the beach (and some ear-splittingly noisy bars and discos) and walked our feet off.
Thursday afternoon we saw the harbor where the Colossus of Rhodes is supposed to have stood in ancient times, the Grand Master's Palace - Rhodes was a stronghold of the Knights of St. John - and the Greek Acropolis on a hilltop at sunset.
On Friday, we rented a car (unbelievably easy - no red tape - 5 minutes and the keys were in our hands) and drove to Lindos, the Seven-Springs nature reserve and some little villages along the way (if you blink, you miss them).
On Saturday we spent the day walking the winding lanes of the Old Town, and found ourselves in the midst of a medieval festival with singers & costumed knights & little piggies roasted over an open spit.
Sunday it was back to the Jewish Quarter to see the synagogue & Jewish museum which were closed on Shabbat (Rhodes onced had a sizeable Jewish population, but the community was wiped out by the Nazis).
The weather was fabulous, and Rhodes was not overrun by tourists just yet (May is perfect). The water was freezing, but we (ahem, my husband) went swimming in a gorgeous turquoise bay - St. Paul's Beach - which had maybe 5 people on it.
A bit of mandatory shopping and time was up. Of course there is lots more, like meeting the Foreign Minister of Greece, but this will have to do for now. |
| Yanes Valinakes, for whom the bell tolled |
|  | A BIT OF SPICE We were eating at a restaurant in a little town near Rhodes when the
church bells began to ring non-stop. Turns out it was in honor of the visiting Greek foreign minister, Yanes Valinakes, who suddenly crossed over to the plaza where we were seated. Unbeknownst to us, that was the entrance to the Town Hall. Our waitress had to go back and forth to bring him drinks (she complained at having to run up and down the steps). As the media was there snapping pictures, I snapped a few myself...So no, I was not invited to any secret talks, but it added a bit of spice to our meal. |
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gilabrand's Rhodes (Island) Travel Tips
 Comments for gilabrand about Rhodes (Island) | | | | |
Yaqui Fri Aug 14, 2009 05:41 UTC
Rhodes island looks like a very pleasant place. The ice cream looks delicous. Thanks for the lovely tour. The beach rocks look wonderful. | deecat Tue Jul 28, 2009 12:00 UTC
A delightful read on this beautiful July morning, Gila. Excellent descriptions and brilliant photographs. Honest, interesting, helpful, and well written. | balhannah Tue Jul 28, 2009 08:40 UTC
Yes, my Hotel was great, yours sounds like the Hotel from Hell! What a shame, it puts a dampener on your holiday coming back to that at the end of each day. | evaanna Thu May 7, 2009 14:02 UTC
I'm glad you had such an enjoyable time on Rhodes, even if you didn't like your hotel much. I think I would be tempted to take a boat trip to one of the other islands. Loved your photos and tips. |
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