The beautiful view over the Aegean where the outline of the Turkish mainland can be clearly seen just 10 miles away.

Janice and I were on the Greek Island of Rhodes or Ródos to give it it's Greek Name for our youngest daughter Katie's wedding in September 2004. We had made a fleeting visit in 1996 when we were in the Turkish resort of Marmaris. (see also the Colossus of Rhodes on my 7 ancient wonders page) This was only a day trip so it was good to go over some old ground and explore new areas.
I organised the trip using the Internet, the first time I had arranged the whole package this way. Flights were no problem, we used the excellent Exelair service booked with Sky Deals tel 0161 796 4447 .  I arranged a 6 seater Fiat people carrier for the week to be picked up at the airport through www.payless.com which they upgraded to a 9 seater at no extra cost.  Our accommodation was the superb Villa Marianna pictured left (we booked with Serenaholidays@aol.com through Helen) the Villa was situated right on the beach at Pefkos just South of Lindos where the wedding was to take place. My daughter Josie and my two grandsons travelled with us from the UK and my son Dylan arrived from his travels in Australia the same day. The Villa was spacious and cool so my family were all set for a great weeks holiday. My Brother John and his wife Barbara arrived on the 11th Sept in time for the wedding and stayed at the Pefkos Hotel and apartments, a quality hotel in a good position in Pefkos centre.
The Island itself is not unlike many other Greek Islands with a variety of barren hillsides and luscious olive groves and vineyards and pretty villages. As with most of the resort Islands tourism has left it's unwelcome mark. Prices are rising as the Euro makes it's presence felt, everything seems to get marked up to the nearest Euro which makes a hell of a difference to the money in your pocket. Still eating out is still a pleasure and there is a great variety of Greek food available as well as the usual "Euro meals" which seem unavoidable these days.

LINDOS is a beautiful little town 35 miles south of Rhodes Town down the main east coast road. Your first glimpse of Lindos is captivating, a cluster of dazzlingly white houses nestled on the hillside above a turquoise blue curving bay crowned by a magnificent fortress. St Paul visited Lindos landing, it is believed in the bay below the southern slopes of the acropolis on his journey to Ephesus  in Turkey.   The tiny Church named after St Paul was the place where my daughter Katie was married on the 13th of Sept 04 (pictured right). It was undoubtedly one of the prettiest settings I have ever seen and will live in my memories  for the rest of my life. We had the reception at the Luna Bar in Lindos enjoying the roof top restaurant meal before our party of 50 plus danced the night away in the bar below.
Again the towns only downside is the endless tacky tourist shops all stocking the same old stuff which quite frankly you can buy almost anywhere in the world with a different name on. There are still many shops tucked away down the narrow cobbled streets that are well worth a browse. The bars all belt out loud Euro pop much to the dismay of the locals who long to hear their own Greek music. I suppose our wedding party were as guilty as the next man in this respect but it was a wedding and this bar unlike many of the others was full. Eating out in Lindos is also a not to miss experience with a myriad of different eateries to choose from.

FALARAKI is a much changed resort with much of the unacceptable behaviour of our young Brits a thing of the past. All the bars and clubs are still there but the youngsters have moved onto pastures new as the authorities stamped down on their anti social ways. I had the "pleasure" of spending the day with my grandsons at the Falaraki Water Park a never to be forgotten experience. I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed the day with the boys although I was more than a little anxious as we entered the complex.
My daughter Josie and I spent a lovely afternoon relaxing with a few drinks and a snack or two in a very nice bar/restaurant on the main street of Falaraki. It's also worth mentioning that Falaraki beach is one of the best on the Island.

LARDOS is another resort south of Lindos which is well worth a visit. we enjoyed a couple of evenings in the rooftop restaurants there. The atmosphere was really warm and the local people were very welcoming.

We would have liked to have seen more of the Island but because we were there for a wedding rather than just a holiday we basically ran out of time. They say time fly's when you are enjoying yourself and time certainly flew here, before we knew it we were back at the Airport on our way home - would I go back to Rhodes? Probably not because there are so many more Islands to visit and time is slipping away but, Rhodes is a lovely Island for a relaxing holiday and I can't see anyone coming away disappointed with it. If you like good food, nice beaches and warm friendly people head for Rhodes it's got all this and more.

Things to do

• visit Rhodes town and check out the acropolis, the stadium and the old town

• spend a day in the water park at Falaraki

• go snorkelling in St Paul's bay Lindos and try rock diving

• take a day trip over to Marmaris - Turkey and stock up on jeans and tee shirts

• visit Akra Prasonisi - the southernmost tip of Rhodes

• treat yourself to a teropites from a local baker - a delicious cheese pie
   

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