As we started this week, we were still on our cruise, and our ship pulled into port in Rhodes, Greece, on Monday. After our long day the day before, we wanted to take it easy. Google helped us find a lovely beach about a 20-minute walk from the port. Luckily, the route took us around the edge of the ancient walled city of Rhodes and helped fulfill my need for sightseeing. There is actually so much history here, I wish I had made this our one sightseeing day!
We walked to Casino Beach and picked a nice beach club for the day. We were shocked to find that the beach loungers, a set of two plus an umbrella, were only €30! This was a great deal as chairs can go for €30 each in other European places. We splurged and got four chairs and set up camp.
Ryan and I spent a lot of time in the water; it was so warm and calm! Matt and Brooklyn spent most of the day laying in the sun. The club, beach, and town were so nice overall that we all talked about how we’d love to fly back sometime for a weekend.
Tuesday, our ship docked at Bodrum, Turkey. We picked another beach within walking distance of the boat and were ready for another day of extortion. We were pleasantly surprised by a little beach club we found with sun loungers and umbrellas at reasonable prices.
We spent the morning at the beach and returned to the ship for a late lunch and an afternoon at the pool.
On Wednesday, we started the day by sleeping in. Our ship was visiting Limassol, Cyprus, and because of the long distance needed to travel to Cyprus, the ship did not arrive until around 1:30pm. Again, we picked a beach we wanted to visit, Lady Mile Beach, which looked like it was only a 15-minute drive from the ship. There were several taxis lined up at the port, but we were turned down by at least three, with the drivers saying the road was too bad to get there. Then, Costas, an old man with long hair, appeared with an even older-looking taxi and offered to take us, saving the day!
His taxi was an old Mercedes limousine with three rows and three doors that barely hung on as we opened and closed them 😂. The road to the beach WAS rough, but Costas didn’t care as he raced us down the road with us all bouncing around the inside of the car; It was hilarious! He safely delivered us to a beach club, Plage Du Soleil, which was probably the nicest and the cheapest of the three we visited during the cruise. The staff was so lovely, and we got some shrimp tacos as a snack, which were so good! The beach was sandy, and the water was warm, so we all spent a ton of time swimming.
Thursday was a day at sea as we made the long trip back to Athens. We slept in and then spent the day at the pool.
We disembarked the ship on Friday morning. We had to be off the ship by 9:30, and with nowhere else to go, we went to our hotel. Luckily, they were able to get us checked into our room by 11, where we all passed out and ended up sleeping almost the rest of the day! We were really worn out by the trip! We did wake up in time to have a sushi dinner again at the hotel restaurant before going back to bed!
Saturday, we woke up early and headed to meet our tour of the Acropolis. We hired Athens Walking Tours to take us through the ancient sites, as I think it makes it more interesting and helps you get through it faster.
Our guide, Maria, was excellent and made everything so enjoyable! It has been so hot that in the days leading up to our visit, the Acropolis had even closed due to the extreme heat. We were lucky it was open at all, and Maria made sure to find lots of shady spots for us to stop and gave us many reminders to drink water.
After the Acropolis, we had lunch in a Greek restaurant where we had souvlaki, gyros, and pastitsio.
After lunch, it was so hot, and we all agreed we had seen the major sites of Athens, so we went back to the hotel for another nap and then another dinner at the hotel restaurant. I know, this is not how “cultured” travelers behave, but we were just so worn out, and it was so hot! 😂
Sunday, we got up early and flew home. We were home early enough for another…. nap! 😂 We had enough time to unpack and wash several loads of clothes before we leave for another trip next week. We are just about caught up on sleep now and ready for the week ahead.
Gilcrests Abroad 