two weeks down, three to go
Sep. 27th, 2004 05:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
memelainai've now finished the part of my greek tour that was new to me, and the next two weeks will be - mostly - things that i have seen before. in part this makes me more comfortable, in part it makes me a little regretful. big news is that kent arrived last night and our five ladies is now kent pasha and his harem.
we are at the hotel agla in rhodes town. a slightly seedy "b" class hotel which is a step up from the "c" class places in the islands, DOES have A/C, but also has a bar with very loud music off the lobby. it's not actually bad in any way, but not someplace i would come back to.
prices is rhodes are higher than they were on the smaller islands. on lesvos we had wonderful meals with wine and different courses and dessert for about 10 euros each - here it's 10 euros for a salad and bread lunch.
monday - as today - is usually the closed day for most greek museums and sites. but the palace of the grand masters here in rhodes opens at 12 noon said the guidebook. so we, and dozens of others are waiting at the gate in the heat of noon to be told that it would open at 12:30. we waited. one woman fainted in the heat, and people gave her water and fanned her and wiped her face with a wet cloth. at noon we went in, walked across the granite paved courtyard and up the stairs through the huge oak entrance door. it turned out to be a free day - no charge for entrance - so up up up the huge interior staircase (no railings) and then through one room after another. big high halls with meter thick cut stone walls and open windows that all - every one - had breezes blowing through them even though there was virtually no breeze outside. i'm thinking the knights hospitalar must have been REALLY tight with the masons when they built the palace.
during WWII the dodecanese islands were under the control of an italian general who was more into antiquities than war. he spent his time having his soldiers, and the local peasants, escavate roman sites (the grandeur that was rome...) and then moving dozens of wonderful mosaics from Kos to the floors of the Palace of the Grand Masters which was his headquarters. NOw i have to agree that if someone suddenly made me in charge of the dodecanese, i would probably put MY headquarters in the Palace. and now all the major, and many minor, rooms have incredible mosaic floors.
had lunch in the old city and then taxied back to the hotel to swim for a little in the cool seawater pool and sit by the pool eating an ice cream - now THAT felt like vacation. then showered and changed and came down to do internet (the hotel has one terminal - 3 euros per hour) and as soon as i sign off i'm going to go sit in the lounge and drink long cool drinks and play cribbage with terry bear. yes, it is DEFINITELY vacation.
we are at the hotel agla in rhodes town. a slightly seedy "b" class hotel which is a step up from the "c" class places in the islands, DOES have A/C, but also has a bar with very loud music off the lobby. it's not actually bad in any way, but not someplace i would come back to.
prices is rhodes are higher than they were on the smaller islands. on lesvos we had wonderful meals with wine and different courses and dessert for about 10 euros each - here it's 10 euros for a salad and bread lunch.
monday - as today - is usually the closed day for most greek museums and sites. but the palace of the grand masters here in rhodes opens at 12 noon said the guidebook. so we, and dozens of others are waiting at the gate in the heat of noon to be told that it would open at 12:30. we waited. one woman fainted in the heat, and people gave her water and fanned her and wiped her face with a wet cloth. at noon we went in, walked across the granite paved courtyard and up the stairs through the huge oak entrance door. it turned out to be a free day - no charge for entrance - so up up up the huge interior staircase (no railings) and then through one room after another. big high halls with meter thick cut stone walls and open windows that all - every one - had breezes blowing through them even though there was virtually no breeze outside. i'm thinking the knights hospitalar must have been REALLY tight with the masons when they built the palace.
during WWII the dodecanese islands were under the control of an italian general who was more into antiquities than war. he spent his time having his soldiers, and the local peasants, escavate roman sites (the grandeur that was rome...) and then moving dozens of wonderful mosaics from Kos to the floors of the Palace of the Grand Masters which was his headquarters. NOw i have to agree that if someone suddenly made me in charge of the dodecanese, i would probably put MY headquarters in the Palace. and now all the major, and many minor, rooms have incredible mosaic floors.
had lunch in the old city and then taxied back to the hotel to swim for a little in the cool seawater pool and sit by the pool eating an ice cream - now THAT felt like vacation. then showered and changed and came down to do internet (the hotel has one terminal - 3 euros per hour) and as soon as i sign off i'm going to go sit in the lounge and drink long cool drinks and play cribbage with terry bear. yes, it is DEFINITELY vacation.
