We trundle off towards the terminal
The Cats of Rhodes, Ρόδος, Greece - 24th October 2023
Once again, Isobel sorts out the half-term family holiday, this time to the Greek island of Rhodes, down in the southern Aegean. We're staying at the Mitsis Grand hotel on an all-inclusive deal, which is a novelty in itself, although we never did quite get used to leaving the retaurant after lunch or dinner without having to settle some sort of bill. After we've done a late-night buffet and breakfast, we start exploring Rhodes old town, which is only about 15 minutes walk away. If it was the Dogs of Barcelona, then it's definitely the Cats of Rhodes as there are cats and kittens everywhere, although unlike some other places with feral cat populations, these all seem to be well fed and generally healthy. After a day or two, we're walking along the pier at Mandraki Harbour (Μανδράκι Νισύρου) and finally get sucked into signing up for one of the many tour boats touting for trade - this one being the Yellow Submarine. It's only an hour long, and it's a fun trip as the glass-bottomed boat even has a resident diver who swims around feeding the fish and doing some impressive underwater bubble rings. Then, we catch some of the hotel's nightly entertainment as we drink ouzo and espresso martinis, and then stop at the Suomalainen Baari around the corner - the legendary Finnish karaoke bar.
next album: A Trip to Lindos and More Cats of Rhodes, Ρόδος και Λίνδος, Greece - 28th October 2023
previous album: A Giant Load on the A140, Yaxley, Suffolk - 22nd October 2023
The gang wait for Nosher to actually lock the car
We get a go in the 'Escape Lounge' at Stansted
It's off on the train to Gate 6
Fred has a moment of ennui
Someone has a sense of humour
It's Harry's turn to look bored
Same plane as usual, different livery
Stansted's fire engines are all out
Another plane looks like a missile above the clouds
We've arrived at Diagoras airport in Rhodes
It's quiet at Diagoras arrivals
Harry heads down the long corridors of the hotel
Our first all-inclusive drinks of the holiday
It's quite the operation in the restaurant
It's the first breakfast in Greece
We scope out the hotel's games room
Isobel and the boys float in the Mediterranean
Fred pokes around in the 'everything' shop
We head off for an explore
A 1930s building, which is now an aquarium
An enormous cruise ship dominates the harbour
There's a Love Lock window thing going on
The fort of St. Nicholas in Mandraki Harbour
Fred roams the tat shops of Rhodes old town
A cat lurks amongst silk scarves
The Virgin cruise ship lurks behind a city gate
A Rhodian street
A cat looks guilty about something
Harry shows off one of his new Pokémon cards
Inside Island Lipsi/Niki's Place on Agessandrou
Isobel looks up at Niki's Place
There's a wall of fridge magnets on a side street
One of the millions of shops in the old town
The Suleiman Mosque at the top of Sokratous
The boys find more cats to interact with
A lone cat roams some ancient ruins
We head off to the castle
The Palace of the Knights of Rhodes
Two women look at a wall inscription
A cat gets fed scraps from a window above
There's an Arabic inscription above a city gate
A pigeon sits on a hole in the wall
Another 1930s Italin building
A derelict apartment block and supermarket
We head back to the lobby of the Mitsis Grand
Isobel on the beach
The boys work on trashing their room
There's a nice view from the Italian restaurant
We're in the hotel's Italian restaurant for dinner
There's an enormous wood-fired pizza oven
Harry has a little sleep on the table
The adjacent restaurant does a late-night buffet
A young BBs fan roams the corridors
There's entertainment every night at the hotel
Someone gets a photo with the band after the gig
Renting a car's not the best time to push limits
An evening view from our balcony
KiKA's bonkers Bernd das Brot - Bernd the bread
The derelict Imperial Hotel on Georgiou Papanikolaou
The awesome Imperial Hotel from the late 1960s
The alley besides the Imperial Hotel, Rhodes
Hands up for a mannequin in a rubble sack
Some derelict 1930s architecture
A mosque near Evdomis Mertiou
One of many submarine boats trundles around
We walk the pier to the Rhodes windmills
One of the traditional windmills of Rhodes
A view of St. Nicholas fort
A fountain in the old town
Isobel finds a very wiry kitten
A very rustic house
Some ruins in one of the few quiet areas
An old house in Athenas
A pile of old ruins
A cat sits with us in Socratus Gardens
We stop for a large beer
A bright yellow house near Sokratous Gardens
Another cat roams the streets of Rhodes
It's possible to find some quiet streets
Isobel and Harry do the buffet dinner
Harry and Isobel in the lobby of the Mitsis Grand
Tonight's entertainment is a guitarist
The boys make a mockery of the laundry bag idea
A derelict apartment block
Isobel and Harry hang around on a boat
A view from the other side of St. Nicholas
The boat skipper has a good range of icons
There are loads of fish in the sea
Fred and Isobel in the Yellow Submarine
A diver floats by with a lobster
Isobel gets a phone photo
The diver makes some cool bubble rings
Harry and Fred look at the sea life
The famous Rhodes deer statue in Mandraki harbour
We're back at Island Lipsi for a drink
It's busy on Sokratous
A pink elephant
A church on Nikiforou Mandilara
Isobel crosses Ionos Dragoumi
A shop and apartment block look bombed out
An evening view from the balcony
Isobel and Harry are in the Pan-Asian restaurant
The Supermarket Kahlua at night
We stop for a beer in the Finnish karaoke bar
Someone sings a Finnish song
There's a traditional dancing demonstration
A dance about a drunk unkle at a wedding
A dude plays a Cretan lyre
There's more traditional dancing at the hotel
A cat walks onto a boat for a look
There's a tiny kitten in a tree
A helmetless dude on a moped
The Rhodian Goat on a Stick
The pirate ship sails around Fort of St. Nicholas
People on the beach
The sun sets over the Mediterranean
A fishing boat heads back to Mandraki Harbour
Harry gets a cuddle
The Blue Star ferry heads out to Turkey
The lighthouse of Fort St. Nicholas
The Palace of the knights is lit up
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We trundle off towards the terminal
We trundle off towards the terminal
The gang wait for Nosher to actually lock the car
We get a go in the 'Escape Lounge' at Stansted
It's off on the train to Gate 6
Fred has a moment of ennui
Someone has a sense of humour
It's Harry's turn to look bored
Same plane as usual, different livery
Stansted's fire engines are all out
Another plane looks like a missile above the clouds
We've arrived at Diagoras airport in Rhodes
It's quiet at Diagoras arrivals
Harry heads down the long corridors of the hotel
Our first all-inclusive drinks of the holiday
It's quite the operation in the restaurant
It's the first breakfast in Greece
We scope out the hotel's games room
Isobel and the boys float in the Mediterranean
Fred pokes around in the 'everything' shop
We head off for an explore
A 1930s building, which is now an aquarium
An enormous cruise ship dominates the harbour
There's a Love Lock window thing going on
The fort of St. Nicholas in Mandraki Harbour
Fred roams the tat shops of Rhodes old town
A cat lurks amongst silk scarves
The Virgin cruise ship lurks behind a city gate
A Rhodian street
A cat looks guilty about something
Harry shows off one of his new Pokémon cards
Inside Island Lipsi/Niki's Place on Agessandrou
Isobel looks up at Niki's Place
There's a wall of fridge magnets on a side street
One of the millions of shops in the old town
The Suleiman Mosque at the top of Sokratous
The boys find more cats to interact with
A lone cat roams some ancient ruins
We head off to the castle
The Palace of the Knights of Rhodes
Two women look at a wall inscription
A cat gets fed scraps from a window above
There's an Arabic inscription above a city gate
A pigeon sits on a hole in the wall
Another 1930s Italin building
A derelict apartment block and supermarket
We head back to the lobby of the Mitsis Grand
Isobel on the beach
The boys work on trashing their room
There's a nice view from the Italian restaurant
We're in the hotel's Italian restaurant for dinner
There's an enormous wood-fired pizza oven
Harry has a little sleep on the table
The adjacent restaurant does a late-night buffet
A young BBs fan roams the corridors
There's entertainment every night at the hotel
Someone gets a photo with the band after the gig
Renting a car's not the best time to push limits
An evening view from our balcony
KiKA's bonkers Bernd das Brot - Bernd the bread
The derelict Imperial Hotel on Georgiou Papanikolaou
The awesome Imperial Hotel from the late 1960s
The alley besides the Imperial Hotel, Rhodes
Hands up for a mannequin in a rubble sack
Some derelict 1930s architecture
A mosque near Evdomis Mertiou
One of many submarine boats trundles around
We walk the pier to the Rhodes windmills
One of the traditional windmills of Rhodes
A view of St. Nicholas fort
A fountain in the old town
Isobel finds a very wiry kitten
A very rustic house
Some ruins in one of the few quiet areas
An old house in Athenas
A pile of old ruins
A cat sits with us in Socratus Gardens
We stop for a large beer
A bright yellow house near Sokratous Gardens
Another cat roams the streets of Rhodes
It's possible to find some quiet streets
Isobel and Harry do the buffet dinner
Harry and Isobel in the lobby of the Mitsis Grand
Tonight's entertainment is a guitarist
The boys make a mockery of the laundry bag idea
A derelict apartment block
Isobel and Harry hang around on a boat
A view from the other side of St. Nicholas
The boat skipper has a good range of icons
There are loads of fish in the sea
Fred and Isobel in the Yellow Submarine
A diver floats by with a lobster
Isobel gets a phone photo
The diver makes some cool bubble rings
Harry and Fred look at the sea life
The famous Rhodes deer statue in Mandraki harbour
We're back at Island Lipsi for a drink
It's busy on Sokratous
A pink elephant
A church on Nikiforou Mandilara
Isobel crosses Ionos Dragoumi
A shop and apartment block look bombed out
An evening view from the balcony
Isobel and Harry are in the Pan-Asian restaurant
The Supermarket Kahlua at night
We stop for a beer in the Finnish karaoke bar
Someone sings a Finnish song
There's a traditional dancing demonstration
A dance about a drunk unkle at a wedding
A dude plays a Cretan lyre
There's more traditional dancing at the hotel
A cat walks onto a boat for a look
There's a tiny kitten in a tree
A helmetless dude on a moped
The Rhodian Goat on a Stick
The pirate ship sails around Fort of St. Nicholas
People on the beach
The sun sets over the Mediterranean
A fishing boat heads back to Mandraki Harbour
Harry gets a cuddle
The Blue Star ferry heads out to Turkey
The lighthouse of Fort St. Nicholas
The Palace of the knights is lit up