Rhodes and Corfu, Greece

On Friday, April 25th we arrived at the Greek island of Rhodes (Rhodos, in Greek).  After 2 long days of organized tours in Israel, we were happy to explore this beautiful island on our own on this bright sunny day.  We walked off the ship and followed a boardwalk along the harbor where colorful fishing boats were moored in the sparkling clear water of the Aegean Sea.  The harbor area reminded us of the Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs.  The boardwalk led us to the main entrance to old, walled, medieval Rhodes Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  A huge ancient wall surrounds the town.  One of the original roads dates back to 408 B.C.  The cobblestone roads within the wall now are filled with shops, restaurants and bars in the charming old buildings among the beautiful olive trees.  We toured the Palace of Grand Masters, a huge fortress that dominates the town and the harbor.  The Palace now houses an extensive history museum that we enjoyed visiting.  Later, we ate a lunch of Mediterranean cuisine outside under the shade of olive trees.  Of course, we tried the locally brewed beer called Mythos.  All of our fellow passengers enjoyed their day in Rhodes and many of them made the comment that they were "glad to be back in Europe".

The walled city of Rhodes Town

Entrance through the ancient wall

Palace of the Grand Masters

 

Inside the Palace

 

Plenty of bars and restaurants and shops

Old World charm

Colorful fishing boats in the harbor

Relaxing on the fortress wall

The lighthouse

Our second stop in Greece was at the island of Corfu (Kerikyra, in Greek) in the Ionian Sea  on Monday, April 28th.  We spent the morning exploring the town.  Unfortunately, our good weather luck ran out this day and it was drizzling rain as we walked around the charming town with its signature feature of two fortresses, one of which has a moat around it.  We walked around and shopped, but returned to the ship when heavier rain started up.  However, later in the afternoon, the weather cleared and we went back ashore to attend a special Seabourn event at the Mon Repos Palace and Gardens.  We were greeted at the Palace by a marching band.  We walked up the long, winding driveway through a picturesque garden to the Palace which overlooks the sea.  As we approached the Palace, a string quartet played classical music for us on the front steps.  We toured the magnificent Palace which is the birthplace of Prince Phillip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II of England.   After the tour we enjoyed champagne and snacks on the Palace grounds.  It was another great Seabourn treat for us.

Arriving in Corfu

Ancient fortress

 

Streets of Corfu

Rainy day in Corfu

Fortress with a moat

 

 

Greeters at the Mon Repos Palace

Mon Repos Palace

 

Classical music at the Palace

Inside the Palace

 

Champagne at the Palace

 

 

We really enjoyed our stops at these 2 Greek islands and hope we can go back and see more of Greece in the future.  The European charm is everywhere.  However, we did notice that some of the historic buildings are showing signs of neglect.  Hopefully, Greece can overcome its economic woes soon and revive its tourist industry so funds are available to preserve these precious buildings.