ISLAND OF RHODES

Wednesday, November 7^th, 2007 Another early morning tour…..

5:40 am comes early but we beat the alarm clock and managed to get to the lounge by our appointed time. Heard this morning that the lady who had fallen yesterday was with the St. Paul group from Wisconsin and had to have stitches on her face from the fall. But, she is still with the tour and doing well.

The sun was shining brightly this morning; but it was still cold, especially when in the wind. Our bus took us around the city of Rhodes and then we did a walking tour through the old part of the city past the palace that was built for the Knights of St .John (after the Turks gained control they moved on and became the Knights of Malta) and museum before loading back on the bus for our main destination while on Rhodes. The city of Lindos is about an hour’s drive from the port city of Rhodes. We stopped midway for an interesting tour of a ceramics factory; watched a talented young man throw a lovely vase on the wheel during the tour. We were shown how they etch the design by hand, paint and then fire the ceramics. Interesting and several of the group purchased some pieces to take home.

Back on the tour bus we continued to Lindos where we visited the Acropolis of Lindos. Our guide informed us that in Greece “The Acropolis” only refers to the one in Athens and any others must be referred to with their name: Lindos Acropolis. The city of Lindos has been designated as a historical site and all the buildings in the village must conform to a particular style; no more than two stories and all white-washed in the typical manner that these islands are known for. The small village is located at the base of the Acropolis; a very large fort like structure at the highest point in the town. From there one has magnificent views of the Aegean Sea, St. Paul’s Bay, and the pristine beaches down below. They are rebuilding the temple of Athena and the Hellenistic Portico of the Acropolis. We had the option of taking a donkey ride up the steep steps or walking; we walked. The Danish government was one of the first to start excavating this ancient area and as a result all of the statutes and main works of art are now in museums in Denmark. Someone asked the guide if they were attempting to recover any of these artifacts as they have gone after the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. She said that first they were attempting to recover the Elgin Marbles from Great Britain and then maybe they’d try for some others if they were successful in Britain; probably not in our lifetime.

Long ride back to the medieval city of Rhodes, known as “the island of roses” because of an extravagant display of rock roses. Arrived about 1:30 pm and had a quick lunch up on the Lido Deck in the cafeteria line so that Jim could return to town and visit the museums before they close at 3 pm. Tonight is our “elegant” night. Jim has a sport’s jacket and I have a jersey knit pants suit so that will have to do. It’s hard to pack for elegant and light at the same time.

The cocktail party was very nice. Had an opportunity to extend a greeting from our Julie to Liz, the Cruise Director and also met the captain. We enjoyed the company of a new group of people from Florida along with a drink and tasty treats. Then off to dinner that was concluded with the parade of waiters holding Flaming Baked Alaska. Grigorios joined the festivities and sent his regards to Julie again.