We visited Rhodes, a lovely little Greek island in the Aegean sea at the end of September. Geographically, Rhodes is actually closer to Turkey than mainland Greece. In fact, we could see the Marmaris mountains of southern Turkey from our hotel balcony, only 20 km away! It was a cold, wet, and dreary summer in Norway this year and we were all in need of a little R&R and some sunshine...especially Arthur!
We didn't want the hassle of making a connection so we booked a direct flight from Stavanger. It was nice to get on in Norway and off in Greece...but 4.5 hrs crammed in a small plane with a VERY busy toddler was a bit of a challenge. Xander did not have his own seat and the flight was totally booked so we had to entertain him on our laps for the entire trip. Ugh! Exhausting!
But the nice thing about the direct flight was that we just spent a morning traveling, and by early afternoon we were in our hotel in Greece. We splurged and got a 2-bedroom room with an ocean view. We could put Xander to sleep in the other room and sit out on our balcony and enjoy the warm, salty air. It was worth every penny! We were welcomed into our room with champagne, roses, and fresh fruit. Oh yeah...and a breath taking view of the Aegean sea!
We usually take adventure vacations. Meaning that we're always on the go, sight-seeing and jumping around to different locations. We have never taken a sit-and-get-fat vacations...that's what I call all-inclusives :) But we needed a week of just rest! I was in my first trimester and not feeling so great. Arthur had been busting his butt at work for months without much of a vacation. And Xander is such a water-bug we knew he would be happy to play at the beach or pool all day.
For some reason, Xander attracted a TON of attention in Greece especially from the locals. I'm not sure if it was the blonde hair and blue eyes or just the fact that he's a pretty outgoing kid...but he was a star! Here he is at breakfast waving to all his adoring fans. In fact, it was sometimes awkward to eat because EVERYONE was looking at him and talking to him the entire time!
We enjoyed several meals at the beach cantina. Xander, the VIP baby, even got his own cocktail to enjoy.
Unfortunately, we didn't completely escape the rain. Rhodes had one of their biggest storms all summer while we were there. There was at least 2 days of heavy rain and lightening that resulted in mud slides and flooding all over the island.
But our Norwegian baby is used to bad weather and was still very happy to play on the beach despite the high winds.
Finally, the weather cleared and the warm weather returned to the island. Xander loved walking everywhere bare-footed and "ooooh"ing at all the flowers around the resort. He even picked a few to give to his momma....and my heart melted! :)
We didn't take many trips out of the resort (remember my "sit-and-get-fat" motto?) but I'm glad we made a day trip out to Tsambika Beach, a short 15 minute drive from our resort. The water was crystal clear, the sand was soft and white, and the beach was very shallow out for at least .5 km. It was a perfect beach for kids. We rented a few lounge chairs and spent the day alternating between the water and playing in the sand. When we got hungry we walked up to one of the open-air restaurants and ordered a couple of gyros.
Xander enjoyed wandering around the restaurant and getting more attention.
It was a wonderful day and although we kept Xander out way past his nap time he was a perfect child. He fell fast asleep, still covered in sand, before we even got out of the beach parking lot.
Our last evening in Rhodes we went to a hill top restaurant in Afantou. The service was TERRIBLE but the view was lovely!
The 3 hours it took to get our food (!!!) gave us time to watch the sunset and the moon rise over the quaint little city.
I woke up early our last morning and captured one more beautiful sunrise over the ocean. Our trip was WONDERFUL and just what we all needed! We came back to Norway rested and probably a few pounds heavier!
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