Hey There,
Before you start reading, get yourself a cuppa, glass of wine, and maybe even your bank card in case you need to book a holiday after, (I am not responsible if this happens).
I am a little bit excited to be writing a post about my holiday to Rhodes. I see so many people going off on holidays or on their travels, and each time I fill up with envy, and become that green eyed monster. But this year, I’m not as bothered, as I’ve got to do it myself – Writing this post lets me relive the past week.
So literally about two weeks before we went to Rhodes, we hadn’t booked a thing. I’m not really a last minute person, I’m actually rather organised, so que the panic and stress that hit me after I clicked that ‘confirm booking’ button and whacked that beauty on the credit card. To add to it all, with a two week window, I had no chance of getting a bikini bod! If anything I think my diet slacked a bit, holiday mode kicked in early, just with added pressure of sorting it all. I actually think after booking a holiday, you just need one to chill yourself out from all that organised admin drama of insurance, passports, check in, luggage and all that malarkey. Normally I just have to think of myself, but as Ben hadn’t been away on his own for 13 years, I felt like I needed to organize him – Of course he is completely capable of doing it all himself, its just the crazy person I become sometimes, (Not selling myself well here am I?).
Anywho, Wednesday 25th June came round pretty quickly, and I was so happy to step on that plane. When we arrived in Rhodes we were greeted with that amazing burst of heat as we stepped out of the plane doors, (There is nothing quite like it). We had a taxi take us to our Hotel, and that was when holiday mode officially commenced.
With Ben just recently coming out of university, training courses, and only getting his first full time wage packet the week before holiday and me still sorting out my student money worries, we just wanted some cheap and cheerful – But not so cheap that I couldn’t sleep at night, or spent the week with food poisoning. After looking at several holiday sites, and being put off by practically all the trip advisor reviews, we decided to just go with what deal we could get and liked the sound off. And that is how we ended up in Belair Hotel Rhodes, booking through lowcostholidays.
We arrived at the Hotel, and to be honest my first impression wasn’t great, (I can be a bit of a snob at times, I want a champagne lifestyle when I cant afford it – basically). But after settling in, I realised how nice the place was. The staff were so polite, and we received great customer service all holiday. The time we went was very quiet, there was a few families there, but mainly couples, or middle aged friends abroad. The Hotel has a lovely pool, where we could always get sunbeds, (I think it was because of the time of year we went), they had tennis courts, table tennis, pool and snooker tables, the table tennis one being our favorite. We had fresh towels every morning, our air con was so good that I had to sleep in leggings and a fleece blanket, and the hotel itself was immaculate. The main things I want is a clean bed, working shower and good food, and it ticked all that. Even the location was ideal, having a beach on our doorstep, restaurants and bars both on our left and right, and only a 4k walk from Rhodes Town – The only thing I would recommend to the hotel is to give itself a little TLC. The red carpets, blue and white walls were a little dated, and a few things just looked worn out.
Before we went out, Ben was told to eat the fish and pork in Greece, and they were so right. I’m not a massive fan of either, but Greece has changed that. I had the BEST ever smoked salmon in our hotel, and every pork dish we tried was delicious, so tender and yummy. I am already missing the Greek cuisine. I ate so much fabulous food out there, I loved the stuffed vine leaves and veg, Greek salad, pita, the pork gyros, mousaka, and all the stuff I ate but couldn’t pronounce. A few people in the hotel weren’t to keen on the food, and favoured the Chinese night – But why would you go abroad to eat what you can get in Britain? (It Baffles me)! I’d much rather their local traditional food, than burger chips and beans thanks.
On the first day, we did a little bit of walking, got our bearings of the place and discovered a restaurant, which little did we know, would end up being our daily boozer. A place called ‘Ideal’, the service their was great, can you get any friendlier than the locals in Greece? And that is why we went back so often. With most restaurants offering the same thing, and after trying other places we often spent lunchtime in their, or at least went over for a drink in the evening, especially to watch the World Cup. It would of been a great atmosphere to see Greece go through while we were there.
On the second day we made the decision to walk to Rhodes Town, we were told it was an hours walk, but it felt a lot quicker than that, (Roughly 4k). The views along the way were outstanding, so beautiful, and we often came across locals, (Who obviously know the good places to swim). We were unsure as to why people made such a fuss of the walk, until we got back and noticed Ben’s very sunburned shoulders and back, (The sea breeze can be lethal, and walking in that heat also). When we got in to Rhodes town we browsed the shops, where I repeatedly picked up and put back the fake Rayban aviators. We had some Greek food, made friends with a stray cat, and indulged in a Chicago sundae and nutella crepe. It was the perfect day, and probably one of my best ones.
After Ben’s sunburn, we spent the next couple of days chilling out by the pool, while I toasted in the sun, and Ben read his book. To be honest, this is exactly what I came to do on holiday, chill and relax. We often found ourselves napping mid morning and in the afternoon – living the life.
There is a lot to do in Rhodes, (More than I realised), there is the Butterfly Valley, Ancient ruins, the old and new town of Rhodes, the Harbour and of course other areas of the Island to visit such as Falaraki, Lindos and so on. We heard that Lindos was lovely, and the plan was to go and see it for ourselves, but we soon found ourselves getting to caught up in the sunbathing, and fun of doing just nothing, (Call it lazy if you want).
After Ben’s burn had calmed down, we thought we would walk to Old town, (Erm thankfully we got the bus), definitely would have got lost, or at least run over. I had seen lots of photos of the old town so I was excited to go and see it. It is basically a castle which has been turned in to a market town, and full of restaurants and shops. From the outside it looks like a lovely part of history which you can go and explore, and inside it is absolutely buzzing and full of life, (So weird in a way). I warn you though, behind those high castle walls the sun must feel at least 5 degrees hotter. The castle surroundings were beautiful, so well maintained and authentic. At the start we managed to get lost in the moat, but after following another couple found our way soon, (Only to be lost again once inside) – if you have ever been there, you will know what I mean. If we turned right or left it all looked the same, I was surprised we made it out alive. To finish our day out in the Old town we walked around the Harbour, fantasising about owning one of the glorious sunseeker yaughts, (One day).
To round the holiday up, we pretty much spent our time there eating, drinking, sleeping, and sunbathing, with the occasional site seeing. It was so lovely though, being in a long distance relationship it was nice to be able to spend so much time together.
Where are you off to this summer? Have you been to Rhodes?
Lots of love,
KBxx
