Just Beachy
When we were planning the trip, we tried to balance the urgent sense that we needed to see everything because we might never be back with the understanding that this was still a vacation. So, I resisted the urge to book another tour on Rhodes and dedicated our time there (mostly) to the beach.
I did book our beach day through a tour operator, Allure Tours, though: it gave us the best of all worlds, a local guide who took us through Rhodes Old Town and--as luck would have it--to a very non-touristy family beach.
Aga picked us up at the boat and zipped us into Old Town in the about 90 minutes each day when this Medieval city, that looks like a movie set, is accessible by cars.
The beauty of the old city is simply astounding. The wash of the million shades of the ancient bricks is like a patchwork of history. You can imagine the daily life that buzzed every day in the narrow streets lined with arched doorways, safe behind the walls and turrets dotted with small, lookout windows. Rhodes was the last Christian stronghold before falling to the Ottoman Empire, and you can feel and see the traces of both cultures.
And, so many turrets! The history of the Grand Palace is an excavation of the conquered and conquering cultures of the Mediterranean. It started as a Temple to the Ancient Sun God Helios, and the Colossus of Rhodes likely stood there (it was destroyed in the 200s BC by an earthquake). Then, a Byzantine Citadel took its place in the 7th century. During the 13th century, the Knights of the Hospitaliers converted it to their headquarters and palace, and after the victory of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, they took it over and somehow managed to explode some of it. Rhodes remained under Ottoman control for four centuries. During WWI, the Italians captured the island and restored the Palace as a holiday home for the Italian king and then its dictator. Finally, in the late 1940s, the island transitioned to Greek authority. Whew! Take that less than 250 years of US History--and we zipped through in about an hour 'cause we wanted to go to the beach. Americans.
After:
A long walk extends from the Cathedral into the bay and is, according to Aga, where many people mistakenly believe the Colossus of Rhodes once stood. It's still lovely even if that's not true.
The beautiful clear water was a reminder of our goal for the day.
Next stop: the beach! We told Allure we wanted a sandy beach with sun beds and access to a restaurant and decent bathrooms. So, Aga took us to the beach he used to go to as a kid--and it wasn't a story, pretty much everyone around us were Greek families. It cost us all of 20 euros for four sun beds right on the Mediterranean complete with wifi and a family-owned restaurant that provided us with a big bucket of ice for our sparkling water. The older gentleman who collected our money regularly walked the beach to guard the sun beds and always waved "hi." It turned out he had family who went to college at Syracuse. Small world.
Nothing between us and the deep blue sea.
Queen of all she surveys.
Eventually, every sun bed filled in, and the beach came alive with small children whose bodies were immune to the chill of the water and the glare of the sun. They just wanted to swim and splash and dig deep into the sand. One thing I'll say for Greece: every waterfront we saw was super body-positive. So we felt right at home.
Even the temptation of Ned's tourist kryptonite--parasailing--couldn't raise him from the sun bed.
After a lovely four hours of Mediterranean beach laziness, we bid our sandy home a farewell. In the distance you can see a luxury resort just down the road. Thanks to Aga, we got the same view for about $35 :)
While I was dozing, Ned was using the wifi to find a restaurant in Rhodes that offered gluten and lactose free dishes and was open on a Sunday. 4 Rodies seemed to fit the bill. Aga drove us there and dropped us off, but the kids and I found a lock on the front gate. Not a great sign. Aga stepped in and went through a side door. He reported that the restaurant was open and happy to serve us.
Here's what I know: we were the only guests for almost all of our lunch. The only other table seemed to be occupied by the restaurant's owners. So, in the end, thanks to Aga, 4 Rodies was open for us. We thanked him for everything and assured him that we could get back to the boat (which we could see from the road) by ourselves.
4 Rodies was simply lovely. We had a seat on the patio that--of course--had a cat.
At the end, our hosts brought out complimentary desserts and shots of a local apple cordial. The custard was layered with a figgy cake.
As we turned in for the night, we were greeted by ... an elephant, probably, or one of those prehistoric trilobites children see fossilized in museums. Either way, I took it as a sign that we would never forget the remarkable beauty of Rhodes and the warm graciousness of our hosts.
I did book our beach day through a tour operator, Allure Tours, though: it gave us the best of all worlds, a local guide who took us through Rhodes Old Town and--as luck would have it--to a very non-touristy family beach.
Aga picked us up at the boat and zipped us into Old Town in the about 90 minutes each day when this Medieval city, that looks like a movie set, is accessible by cars.
The beauty of the old city is simply astounding. The wash of the million shades of the ancient bricks is like a patchwork of history. You can imagine the daily life that buzzed every day in the narrow streets lined with arched doorways, safe behind the walls and turrets dotted with small, lookout windows. Rhodes was the last Christian stronghold before falling to the Ottoman Empire, and you can feel and see the traces of both cultures.
And, so many turrets! The history of the Grand Palace is an excavation of the conquered and conquering cultures of the Mediterranean. It started as a Temple to the Ancient Sun God Helios, and the Colossus of Rhodes likely stood there (it was destroyed in the 200s BC by an earthquake). Then, a Byzantine Citadel took its place in the 7th century. During the 13th century, the Knights of the Hospitaliers converted it to their headquarters and palace, and after the victory of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, they took it over and somehow managed to explode some of it. Rhodes remained under Ottoman control for four centuries. During WWI, the Italians captured the island and restored the Palace as a holiday home for the Italian king and then its dictator. Finally, in the late 1940s, the island transitioned to Greek authority. Whew! Take that less than 250 years of US History--and we zipped through in about an hour 'cause we wanted to go to the beach. Americans.
Blue sky babies.
Today, the Old Town is still thriving, but it's main function is tourism. Some of it is less Medieval and ready for renovation. Love it or list it, Rhodes edition.
Before:
After:
Greece and Italy have very specific rules about licensing tour guides, and Aga was licensed only as a taxi driver. And, as we learned throughout our trips, tour guides watch each other like hawks: they're their own clique with friendships and squabbles. They also are always on the look out to assure that NO ONE WHO IS NOT A TOUR GUIDE IS LEADING TOURS. The level of scrutiny is such that Aga would only talk to us in the car and couldn't enter into the city streets with us. I guess if tourism is one the primary drivers of your economy, you take this stuff very seriously.
Oh, and of course, there was a dog! A chubby, grey-muzzled, chicken-bone finding, staircase climbing Rhodes mascot.
Once we had to flee the Old Town because they were kicking out the cars, Aga took us to the Church of the Annunciation, a Greek Orthodox cathedral located on the Bay of Mandraki. We got to step in while Sunday services were ongoing and see the gorgeously painted interior and experience the heavily-incensed Greek Orthodox ceremony. As it turns out, this is Aga's own church.
A long walk extends from the Cathedral into the bay and is, according to Aga, where many people mistakenly believe the Colossus of Rhodes once stood. It's still lovely even if that's not true.
The beautiful clear water was a reminder of our goal for the day.
Next stop was the very top of the hill in Lindos that used to be home to the Lindos Acropolis.
Little of that temple remains but the views are extraordinary, and out at the tip of Rhodes the Aegean and the Mediterranean Seas meet.
That Dr. Seuss-looking tree out in the distance is actually a cactus native to Rhodes: a closer look is below. Add to that the trees bent horizontal by the incredible winds at the top of the hill, and the vegetation is pretty cool!
So many blues!
No cliff diving!
Next stop: the beach! We told Allure we wanted a sandy beach with sun beds and access to a restaurant and decent bathrooms. So, Aga took us to the beach he used to go to as a kid--and it wasn't a story, pretty much everyone around us were Greek families. It cost us all of 20 euros for four sun beds right on the Mediterranean complete with wifi and a family-owned restaurant that provided us with a big bucket of ice for our sparkling water. The older gentleman who collected our money regularly walked the beach to guard the sun beds and always waved "hi." It turned out he had family who went to college at Syracuse. Small world.
Nothing between us and the deep blue sea.
Queen of all she surveys.
Even in the hot, hot, hot middle of summer, the sea was cool. We were early arrivers and almost the entire beach was ours for a while, but only Harper and Penn braved the water.
Eventually, every sun bed filled in, and the beach came alive with small children whose bodies were immune to the chill of the water and the glare of the sun. They just wanted to swim and splash and dig deep into the sand. One thing I'll say for Greece: every waterfront we saw was super body-positive. So we felt right at home.
Even the temptation of Ned's tourist kryptonite--parasailing--couldn't raise him from the sun bed.
After a lovely four hours of Mediterranean beach laziness, we bid our sandy home a farewell. In the distance you can see a luxury resort just down the road. Thanks to Aga, we got the same view for about $35 :)
While I was dozing, Ned was using the wifi to find a restaurant in Rhodes that offered gluten and lactose free dishes and was open on a Sunday. 4 Rodies seemed to fit the bill. Aga drove us there and dropped us off, but the kids and I found a lock on the front gate. Not a great sign. Aga stepped in and went through a side door. He reported that the restaurant was open and happy to serve us.
Here's what I know: we were the only guests for almost all of our lunch. The only other table seemed to be occupied by the restaurant's owners. So, in the end, thanks to Aga, 4 Rodies was open for us. We thanked him for everything and assured him that we could get back to the boat (which we could see from the road) by ourselves.
4 Rodies was simply lovely. We had a seat on the patio that--of course--had a cat.
We filled our plates with delicious Greek foods that we were now coming to welcome at every meal--like yummy fried zucchini patties with a dill-laced yogurt sauce--and some classic Rhodes favorites like a long simmered stew that melted in our mouths. The pita on Rhodes was thinner than that on other islands, reflecting its complex culinary history, and the bread basket (that was so good we ordered two) included a ridiculously good garlicky, melting cheese bread. Honestly, we fell deep for Greek food on this trip.
At the end, our hosts brought out complimentary desserts and shots of a local apple cordial. The custard was layered with a figgy cake.
And, because Harper couldn't have either the custard or the cake, they brought her a dessert that was--quite literally--sugar-syruped Rose petals.
True to our word to Aga, we found our way back to the Koningsdam without any trouble--though Ned did get a bit waylaid.
Another absolutely wonderful day ended with a creamsicle sunset and a silvery moon.
As we turned in for the night, we were greeted by ... an elephant, probably, or one of those prehistoric trilobites children see fossilized in museums. Either way, I took it as a sign that we would never forget the remarkable beauty of Rhodes and the warm graciousness of our hosts.
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