Rhodes, Greece

Our next stop was Rhodes, Greece. This was by far, one of our 

favorite ports. It is such a historical town and 

so rich in culture. 

It is here that the famous Colossus of Rhodes once stood;

One of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

It was built in 304 B.C. and was toppled a mere 

56 years later by an earthquake.

Help was offered from Egypt to rebuild, but

after consulting with an oracle, the 

offer to rebuild was declined. 

This is what it was imagined to look like.

Does it remind you of another very famous statue?

One in the United States perhaps?

It should. 

The French sculptor who's masterpiece was the 

Statue of Liberty was inspired by the Colossus. 

I think they resemble each other somewhat.

(Image from www.rhodesguide.com)

This was our view from the ship.

It was so majestic and medieval looking, like a castle 

surrounded by walls. 

We bought a guide book and began to walk around the city. 

It isnt a large city, so it was quite easy to navigate.

This was the port in which we had the longest time (8 hrs.), 

so we took our time exploring.

Knight's Street

I loved the roads! 

The ruins of Aphrodite's Temple

Our favorite stop of the day was The Palace of the Grand Masters. 

It is the largest building in the city and was badly damaged by 

an explosion in 1856. It was originally built in the fourteenth

century. They are currently working to restore it by to it's original glory.

It was filled with artifacts and antiques from B.C. times all

the way up to WWII.

The Palace of the Grand Masters

The inner courtyard

The Mosaic tiles were brought in from the island of Cos 

and date back to the sixth & second centuries B.C. They were all so gorgeous 

and intricate and they all told a story. 

Medusa, from the 2nd century B.C. 

This was actually made for the Italian king in anticipation of
winning WWII. He was going to take over the palace if they won.
Luckily, they didnt win and the Greek people maintained
control of Rhodes. 

The Nine Muses

From the Palace, we walked to the clock tower. It has the best views
of the city and is the tallest building in the city.
With a ticket, you also received a free drink.
We didnt have to be talked into it. =)

Clock tower 

More ruins, view from clocktower

I loved the little alleyways!
They were very authentically European,
at least what I would picture in my mind.

Rhodes was the first port of call that had decent shopping,

something other than the typical "touristy" stuff.

They are well know for their linens and products made from olive oil.

We bought a little of both! 

After a late lunch we decided to wander out to the lookout point. 

We both love the ocean so seeing the harbor was a must.

There were boats anchored in the harbor selling seashells. 

My love helping me climb the rocks.
Such a sweet gentleman!

Rhodes was a huge hit with us and we'd love to venture out of the main city
and visit Lindos one day.
The problem with cruises is that you never have enough time
in each port.
But it's a great way to see places that you might
not otherwise get to see.

Next up,
our other favorite & the last stop:
Croatia!

Mediterranean Cruise 2010!

*Thank you for all of the sweet responses to my last post.

*As for the Christmas cards, I chose the 2nd one since

that's the one our photos would fit in.

I cant wait to get them in!

*Uncork & Unwined will soon have a completely new look!!!

I am beyond excited about this remodel.

I've been working with a fabulous designer

and Ill provide you with all of the details once it's

installed. *SO excited!*

Sooo, I'm sure you've all been breathlessly awaiting to hear about

the exotic locale of our latest trip, right? ;)

Well, the wait is over if you read the title.

We went on an Eastern Mediterranean Cruise!

We left out of Venice/Treviso, Italy and went to:

Bari, Italy;

Katakolon/Olympia, Greece;

Santorini, Greece;

Mykonos, Greece;

Rhodes, Greece;

&

Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Since I have a thousand photos, Ill break it down into ports, so it's not so overwhelming.

We didnt see much of Treviso or Venice before we left because it was raining. And flooding.

Same goes for Bari. We got off the ship for about two hours in Bari. By the time we got back on,

we were completely, soaking wet from head to toe. I wish I would have taken photos of our clothes. J was wringing the water from his socks! Needless to say, I didnt get very many photos from that day. The ones that I did aren't very good. When the streets began to flood, we caught the bus back to the ship.

Our next stop was Katakolon/Olympia, Greece. The weather was gorgeous & warm. This was my first time in Greece and it certainly wasnt a disappointment. It was beautiful! I had done some research before leaving and found a winery only 5 minutes from the port, so that's where we headed first. It was gorgeous, interesting, diverse & at only 5 euro per person, very inexpensive. We took an hour long tour that ended with 4 tastings. Surprisingly enough, our guide was a Scottish guy, so we had no trouble at all understanding!

It was a very antique/vintage winery which I LOVED!

There were dogs, cats & peacocks running around the whole place!

Inside the winery was modern, but filled with antiques.

The wines were good and we bought one bottle.

My favorite was actually the sweet red dessert wine,

which I do not usually like, but this was

really good! It was also really expensive,

so we settled for just a taste. =)

This is a pepper tree. Who knew?

It was gorgeous and when you rubbed the leaves,

it smelled exactly like black pepper!

One of the old buildings on the property

from the 1800s.

As we were walking through I saw this piece and

*GASPED!*

I have this very shadow box!

The exact same one!

So cool that Im halfway around the world and see

the same wall hanging that I have stored in

Arkansas.

Antiques from the early 1800s.

Since it was the end of the tourist season, the cab drivers were very flexible and easy to bargain with. Ours waited for us while we were at the winery for an hour and then drove us the 40 minutes to get to Ancient Olympia and back for a very reasonable price.

Ancient Olympia is where the very first Olympics were held in 776 B.C. The ruins are just amazing. I couldnt believe what had survived for over 2000 years. Most of the main structures were destroyed by earthquakes over the years. Even so, there were still buildings, temples and columns standing. It was pretty amazing to be standing in the same spot where real gladiators trained and competed. The actual stadium is nothing more than a large, cleared, dirt field. There is an area to the side made of stone where the judges supposedly sat.

The "Stadium"

This column was rebuilt for the 2004 Olympic games in Athens.

When we got back in to port, we enjoyed some local specialties:

A block of Feta cheese with locally grown olive oil, bread,

taziki sauce & Mythos, Greek beer.

Yum!



From here we left for Santorini, Greece, which was one of our favorite ports! ........