Rhodes

It didn't take long for us all to agree that the Island of Rhodes, Greece is a place we could definitely come back and visit. Despite the fact that the morning started with a MAJOR middle child melt down.

The architecture varies on this island between the conquering empires of Romans, Byzantines and later by the Knights of St. John.

We spent the majority of our day exploring the Old Town Citaidel built in 1306 by St. John.

Even if this seem old it is nothing compared to the first city in Rhodes around 408 BC.

The Knights also built the Palace of the Grand masters. It was refurbished many years later by Mussolini when he was in power.

The palace is home to many priceless mosaics.

Around the grounds we found some, shall we say, more modern art. Which came at just the right time for the boys needed a distraction game to help them along our path.

Mom was also a bit over the medieval stuff by this point too and which Chris and I thought funny because that is what this region of the world is all about.

When it was time for lunch we were in search of a Gyro. We found a restaurant with balcony seating overlooking this square.

So other than trying to keep the boys from dropping things on the patrons below we enjoyed both the meal and the view.

The Street of the Knights is lined with inns found in the Old Town. Lively shops and markets, many of which opened just for our cruise ship, where all found in the New Town.

Lastly we passed by the Mosque of Murad Reis. We could see the minaret from almost every vantage point during our day but didn't get up close and personal until the end.

By this point, sadly, we had to return to the boat. Our day definitely left us wanting more. There were several other beach towns that looked amazing from the pictures we saw and are just begging for us to return to explore.