Cruise - Rhodes, Greece

Today we woke up in Rhodes, Greece.  We docked around 8am but we weren’t up and moving until noon.  I admit that I was less than excited to get out today as the adventures of the previous days had worn me down.  But the rest of the family was anxious to get moving so off we went.  I used the restroom by the restuarant on the ship after lunch and impressed by the view.

When we first booked the cruise, I had my eye on a shore excursion to a beach in Rhodes but that excursion was cancelled due to weather.  We decided not to book a guided tour and set out on our own.

Rhodes is the fourth largest of the Greek Islands and closer to mainland Turkey than Greece.  It is thought that the Greeks erected the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, in the town’s old harbor.  Two thousand years later (1312) the Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem fortified the city, protecting its inhabitants from Turkish invaders.  The Greek mainland was liberated by the war of 1821, but the Dodecanese Islands remained part of the Ottoman Empire of 1912, when the Italians took over.  Greece took control of the island from the Germans after World War II.

The town of Rhodes is divided into two districts; the New Town and the Old Town, surrounded by medieval fortress walls.  We chose to spend our time in Old Town, mostly around the Palace of the Knights of St. John.



Cats....EVERYWHERE!  They were under the rocks until a man put out some food.



A lady begging on the street had this cute puppy that the kids wanted to pet.  They each tossed in a coin and she let them hold it.



The weather on this cruise has been unpredictable.  We are not warm weather people so we have enjoyed the weather but it has been tough for planning.  In Turkey Mike decided not to drag his sweatshirt along but it turned out to colder than we expected.  Not wanting to make the same mistake in Rhodes, I brought them all but it was nicer than I expected and was actually quite warm.

Before dinner we went up to the sports deck.  The kids went up the climbing wall then we all played a round of miniature golf.  We also got in a few laps of inline skating before we were off to dinner.

Samantha



Jason



The kids amuse me at dinner.  Samantha is so grown up when she orders and she amazes me with her very grown up selections.  Jason loves Salmon and has made that his staple this trip at almost every lunch and dinner.