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Rodos part IV - the Acropolis

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 5:55 pm

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The acropolis of Rodos is on Monte Smith (that's how it's pronounced). The ruins of the temple and old stadium are impressive. The amphi theatre has been re-created and is used for performances. Let's go for a tour of the place.

The acropolis, Temple of Athena Polias and Zeus Polieus. It was excavated by Italians around 1912-1945, and then by the Greek from 1946 onwards. Not much standing, but the ruins are still impressive:









A remnant of a column of some kind:



These chaps were all over the place:



The walls are impressive:



Overview of the old stadium:



And the Odeion, the small theatre:



Olive trees are everywhere, even in ancient ruins:



On our way down to the stadium, looking up:





Looks like a threshold but no walls or door:



The Odeion:



A building ruin near the Odeion:



Overview:



Yep, it's really old:



Anyone for a run around here?



The furthest end:



The old stone seats really don't look very comfortable:



Wonder how old this tree is? It's flanked by laurel bushes, so we wouldn't have far to go to make a victory wreath:



Building ruins next to the stadium:



More olive trees. I wonder what they used to build up those small walls around them:



I hope they didn't use any of these pretty pieces of rock:



Is this a foot piece from an old statue I wonder:



A lovely, little stone trough. It would look pretty in a garden (oh, sacriledge!):



Good bye for now, acropolis:



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Rodos part III - Rodini park

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 7:52 pm

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We like to visit Rodini park when in Rodos. There's nothing awe-inspiring or colourful about it, but it's a peaceful oasis with lots of trees, water, peacocks, turtles and fish. There were animals and birds earlier, but not any more. It's been very overgrown for many years, but this year held a nice surprise for us. They've started to clean it up, and the café is open again. Here are a few photos from the park:

The welcome committee:



A lovely pond and fountain:



Waterlilies growing in the back of the pond:



Look at how they've supported the limbs of this tree with concrete columns:



Eucalyptus trees. They look bark-less:



There were a few dooleys floating about:



And a few of these, but they wouldn't show themselves properly:



Some sort of grass growing by the stream. It was at least 4 meters tall:



A lovely piece of aqueduct I think:



This furry herb smelled like Salvia, but had yellow buttonish blooms:



I wanted to snatch a couple of these bulbs, but didn't. I think they're Dranunculus bulbs:



I'm looking forward to seeing the park the next time we're visiting Rodos. There are grottos in the bank of the gully, and we're hoping to be allowed a peek inside them at some time.

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Rodos part II - Mandraki harbour and the old town

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 6:33 pm

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These lovely buildings are near Mandraki harbour:







The old fortress:



A fountain by the harbour:



One of the entrances to the new market. It's 3-400 years old, so of course it's "new":



From inside the new market:



A part of the wall surrounding the old town:



A gate into the old town, from the commercial harbour:



This is the gate we use the most, from inner Mandraki harbour:



The d'Ambois gate. It's so pretty:



A peek into the moat. It's nice to walk in it, but way too hot in July and August:



The Grand Master's Palace:



Shops, and more shops. We usually walk well towards the side with no shops:





The clock tower:



Fountains:





The pavement has a lovely pattern:



Street of the Knights:



This is Sokratous street, the biggest and busiest shopping street in the old town. Looking up:



And down:



The Suleiman mosque:



A couple of pretty houses:





I love their signs:



These towers look so majestic:



You can find shield marks like these on houses and on the outside of the wall. We're told it's the equivalent to "I'm guarding here":



Even the manhole lids are pretty:



And we leave the old town by the gate to Mandraki:



I hope you enjoyed it.

Last edited: Mon Aug 11, 2008 6:33 pm

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Rodos part I - where we stayed and surroundings

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 8:01 pm

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This is the hotel we stayed at in Rodos:



The apartments are very big. This is the kitchen and living area. There were two big bedrooms and a bathroom as well:



View from our balcony:







This is the view from my mother's balcony:








She also overlooked a lovely, little garden:









Narrow backstreets near our hotel:





These art works are at Hundred Palms Square. Note that St. George and the dragon has company. Since he's aiming his spear at St. George I think it must be an animal's rights activist:





The aquarium at the tip of Rodos island:



A different-looking mermaid is guarding the aquarium:



The beach on the windy side of Rodos:



A lovely house we passed by:



The best grafitti I've seen in ages:



We found a few of these around. This one looked particularly relaxed:





Last edited: Sun Aug 10, 2008 8:02 pm

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Food is important

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:23 pm

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During the past three weeks I've been stuffing myself with lovely, Greek food. In my opinion food is a very important aspect of a good holiday. I actually remembered to photograph some of the delicacies I've enjoyed in Rodos.

Garlic bread. There are lots of variations, and a good starter to nibble while waiting for the proper food:



Stuffed champinons. Very juicy, and delicious. They were starters, but the serving was large enough to be a full meal. I nearly regretted ordering a main course:



We had a lot of sea food. These tiny shrimps are devoured with tail, skin and antenna. They have a delightful crunch:



The big sea food plate at Captain's is standard procedure at least once every holiday. A big plate with different delicacies for at least two persons. Fish, calamares, mussels, lobster, shrimps and more. I had started my feast before I thought of sharing the experience:



Big, grilled shrimps and bacon:



Did I mention that I love sea food?

The bowl of lemon water had a lovely flower floating in it. I had to force myself to use it:



I don't like dried figs, but I do love fresh ones. These were picked in my friend's garden. I can't get them fresher than that. This is the result of a ten minute walkabout on her plot:




Last edited: Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:23 pm

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So long and thanks ...

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 10:10 pm

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... for all the fish? Well, maybe not, but the answer's 42 and I'm going to another galaxy. At least it will feel that way.

I'll be off-line approximately three and a half weeks. We're weighing anchor on Monday morning (not literally, we're driving) and the flight leaves on Wednesday. It's time for the summer holidays.

Since we're in coastal mid-Norway with very changeable weather and summer temps equaling other people's winter temps, we like to head south to be certain of sun, warmth and bathing temps. Last year we went to Denmark, but that was too far north, even though we had a lovely three weeks there. After all, we're used to rain.

So this year we're heading for Rhodes, Greece again. We've been going there every other year for the past 12 years. We've got friends there, a nice hotel in Rhodes town we like to stay in, and the girls love the place. There are lizards, old ruins, the old town, beaches, flowers and lots of ice cream and delicious food. It gets dark at night, but we can live with that as long as it's warm.

We've got our little routines too. Up early, breakfast, beach, lunch, siesta, and off to shop, chat and eat until we roll home. We're looking forward to salads, barbecued meat, lovely sea food, dolmades, pastitio, souvlaki and lots of feta cheese. If it's not too hot we go sight-seeing every other day or so. There's so much to see and so many lovely spots to re-visit, we never get round to it all.

I thought I'd just let you know, since we'll be busy packing and tidying up both inside and outside for the next few days. The horses are in good hands, the neighbours will mind the cats, and hopefully the house and garden plants too. Enjoy yourselves, post glorious photos so I'll have something to look at when we get home.

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The loveliest ever!

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:32 pm

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Aren't they all? *lol*

May I introduce you to Sofie, about 19 hours old and sleeping like a baby:



Her big sister sat staring wonderingly at her yesterday, and the following conversation took place:

Dad: - Do you like your little sister?
Big sister: - Oh, yes, very much!
Dad: - Imagine, she's been living in mummy's tummy!
Big sister: - But, daddy, mummy's tummy was so very big, and Sofie is so small! What ever happened here, did she shrink in the wash or something?

***

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Grandma again

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 3:20 pm

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I just got the message, I'm grandma to a big, beautiful baby girl! She measures 51 cm/20 inches, weighs 4 kgs/8.8 pounds and has lots of dark hair. I think she looks very much like her daddy, but I haven't seen her in real life yet. I'm so happy everything went well, and I think I need to go hide somewhere and cry a bit.

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A trip through the fairy tales

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 7:44 am

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Once upon a time there was a man called Ivo Caprino. He built a fairy tale park near Lillehammer, and we went for a visit.

The trolls play a big part in Norwegian fairy tales. This troll didn't manage to hide before sunrise, and turned into stone. He doesn't look too unhappy about it though:



All proper fairy tales need a castle. Here's the one in the park:



All castles need a princess. This is the one who lives in the castle:



All princesses need lovely surroundings, of course:





And all princesses need a hero to rescue her from the three-headed troll:



A few of our fairy tales comes to life inside that castle. The princess nobody could silence:



Askeladden (the ash lad) and the good helpers:



The three trolls that shared one eye in Heddal woods:



The troll horse and the princess on top of the glass mountain:



Look at the crowd cheering:



This is depicting Edvard Grieg's music "The hall of the mountain king":



You can listen to the dramatic music piece on YouTube.

I think the sandbox is very creative:



Nobody played in it because there was cold rain coming down all day long. We had a nice stay despite of the weather.

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More of those mountains and gentler landscape

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 1:44 pm

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Since we live near the coast and smack-bang in the middle of those wild Norwegian fjords, we're used to the mountains surrounding us. They're there and we take them for granted. I like it when visitors comment on them, because it helps me to rediscover them too. On our week-end trip I tried to look at those mountains with a fresh eye. I'd like to share some of them, and the stories connected to them.

This one is about half an hour's drive from us. Every time we pass it, we tell the girls that a huge troll got so hungry he bit a large chunk off the top:



This place is notorious for avalanches. They're not big, and nobody's living in their way, but they're dramatic none the less:



This is Trollveggen, the Troll Wall, where lots of people from all over the world come to climb. They say it's a difficult wall to climb. I wouldn't know, I prefer to stand below and look up:



This is the wall to the left of Trollveggen. Can you see the chimney-looking stone up there? That's the exit point for base jumpers and/or paragliders. Such activities were banned in the 1980's because of threacherous winds and lots of accidents. The rescue workers had to put their lives atstake in order to fetch unfortunate people up there. Lots of base jumpers were killed too. The ban does not stop them though, and people are still killed in that wall:



We've also got gentler scenery. This fence is a traditional skigard, made from young trees and spare planks, and juniper bindings. Well, nowadays it's wire of course. The yellow flowers are Brassica napus oleifera:



This farm has sheep, can you see them dotting the green field?



Next year's beef and mincemeat:



Doesn't this look like a lovely place? But the tall mountains are looming right behind those houses, and I wouldn't feel safe here:



I've tried to put together a slide show with photos of mountains, rivers, waterfalls and other assorted scenery. Hope it works for you, click on the photo:



Last edited: Mon May 26, 2008 1:55 pm

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