Photos around Faliraki and the Hotel

Charlotte in the hotel pool; Greek orthodox church in Faliraki; Faliraki harbour; Faliraki beach.

Two views of Bar Street; Charlotte in the pool; Stuart outside Morrisons!

Nectar Taverna on the main road through Faliraki; Charlotte with an ice cream; stray cats in the hotel grounds.

28th October Ochi Day Parade, Rhodes Old Town

On the Tuesday we took the local bus into Rhodes town; the fare was only 1.60€ for a journey of about 20 minutes. The bus station is near the Mandraki harbour just outside the city walls of the old mediaeval town. We arrived at about 10am, in time to see the Ochi day parade. A seemingly endless line of schoolchildren marched past, followed by the police, fire brigade, mounted police and several hundred troops.

28th October - Ochi day . On this day in 1940 the Greek Government defied Mussolini's ultimatum demanding capitulation .Because of this historic "no" the day is called "Ochi day" and is celebrated with school and military parades in towns and villages throughout Greece.

The Archaeological Museum, Rhodes town

The Rhodes Archaeological Museum is housed in the mediaeval Hospital of the Knights, which can be found just inside the city gates from the harbour at the bottom of 'Ipoton', the Street of the Knights. Admission is free, and these snapshots of the central courtyard really don't do it justice. There are plenty of side-rooms and corridors to explore, with some impressive collections of statues and ancient greek pottery. Replicas of the statues and pottery are widely available in the souvenir shops around Rhodes.

The Street of the Knights; The Palace of the Grand Master; Orfeos Street leading to Socrates Street.

From the Archaeological Museum, you can walk up the Street of the Knights ('Ipoton') to the Palace of the Grand Master (or 'Kastelo'). From the Kastelo, Orfeos Street leads south to the start of Socrates Street.

Shopping on Socrates Street, Rhodes Old Town

This long street is the heart of the old town's commercial district, packed with busy shops and little side streets. It runs east down the hill for almost the entire breadth of the town, until it enters Ipokratous Square near the harbour city wall.

From Ipokratous Square, Aristotelous Street leads a short distance to the Square of the Jewish Martyrs with its memorial to the dead of WW2.

Ipokratous Square, Rhodes Old Town

Ipokratous Square at the bottom of Socrates Street is lined with pavement cafes and restaurants. When we were there, all of the restaurant owners were busily touting for trade from the tourists. We returned to the old town one evening later in the week, and tried one of the restaurants. Service wasn't anything special, despite the place being fairly quiet, and the food wasn't as good as the tavernas in Faliraki. The bill however was nearly double what we were used to paying! Perhaps they can get away with it because of the fabulous location. A walk through the old town after dark is a real treat, with some of the most important buildings lit by floodlights.

The Acropolis at Lindos

Lindos narrow streets; Below the Acropolis; Greek Trireme carved into the rock; Climbing the steps to the Acropolis.

On Thursday we took the local bus South to Lindos. It's a bit further than the journey to Rhodes town - probably the best part of an hour on the bus. The bus drops you off at the main car park above the village. From there, it's a ten minute walk down a steep hill to the village. Local taxi's and buses run a shuttle service up and down the hill. The Acropolis is a 15 minute climb out of the other side of the village (or you can take a donkey ride!). Admission tickets for the Acropolis were 6€ each for adults; children go free. There was quite a lot of restoration work going on while we were there - it looks as though they're trying to rebuild significant parts of the Acropolis, incorporating the original remains where they can.

Lindos bay from the Acropolis; Views of the Acropolis; Byzantine church at the Acropolis.

View from the Acropolis; Admission ticket 6€ for adults, free for children.

Mandraki Harbour, Rhodes Town

Hydrofoil ambulance, Mandraki harbour; Views of Mandraki harbour; site of the Colossus

The Greek Orthodox cathedral, Mandraki; Shades of Blue, Mandraki; View of Mandraki harbour

On Friday we went back to Rhodes town for a last bit of sightseeing and souvenir shopping. We explored the Mandraki harbour as far as the cathedral, and the entrance to the harbour (reputedly the site of the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world).

The last day - everything closing down

Faliraki centre near the beach; What's on in Faliraki; Bar Street Faliraki; Faliraki beach

By the time the end of the week came around, the resort had already begun closing down for the season. Friday 31st October seemed to be the point of no return; when we looked around the resort on the Saturday morning it was like a ghost town. I was half expecting the tumbleweed to roll down the street! All of the shutters were down on bar street and club street, and the shops were busy stocktaking and packing everything into boxes. We arranged to keep our room until the evening because of the late return flight time, so we could enjoy lounging around in the last of the sun by the hotel swimming pool. An early meal at the taverna, followed by a few hours sleep before our coach pickup.