Reminiscing about Rhodes

Rhodes will always be special to me because it's where the boy proposed. But despite being the highlight of our trip, getting engaged wasn't all that we did during our week there. Here are some photos and memories from our vacation.

We booked our trip via Thomson, a UK-based travel operator. We chose a couples-only package that included flights and seven nights of half-board at the Atlantica Imperial Resort in Kolymbia, a small town on the east coast of Rhodes. This was our first time using Thomson and we weren't sure what to expect. Looking back, I loved how perfectly easy it was - all I had to do was choose my dates, flight times, and review the hotel options. 

This was also our first beach vacation together, one where we would stay in the same place for all seven nights instead of the city-hopping, sock-losing, two-night-maximum, suitcase-barely-unpacked-before-throwing-everything-back-in-again-and-dashing-off maelstrom that is our usual routine. I actually had some reservations about going to a beach and plopping my ass down into one place for this long. It seemed so... normal. So not mobile. So...not...me?

I was a fool. It was all amazing. Within just minutes of arriving, I could feel my stress and worries and control-freaked-ness wash away with the gentle lapping of the ocean waves.

Our resort was roughly halfway between Rhodes' two main cities. Our first excursion out was to the aptly-named town of Rhodes.

I use Yelp and TripAdvisor religiously when traveling, so I was stoked to visit the most well-reviewed place in town for lunch - a small restaurant named Tamam. I was met with impeccable service, fresh fare, and such a kind group of people who ensured my dining experience was utterly enjoyable. It may have been one of the best meals I've ever had in my life.

Having achieved culinary satisfaction to an extent previously unbeknownst to man, we spent the remainder of our day strolling around the rest of the city and the old part of town.

Then there was one day we went kayaking and exploring the grounds of the resort. I vividly remember feeling so amazed by how clear the water was and how well we could see the bottom even as we paddled far out beyond the bay.

I won't deny that we didn't spend an awful lot of time just lounging by the pool, Kindle in one hand and cocktail in the other. In the photo below you can see me holding the paddles we used to volley a rubber ball around in the water - sort of like tennis/ping pong for the lazy. Really simple good fun. We nicknamed the activity 'bum-paddle' and got mildly addicted to it over the course of the week.

Yet another lazy was spent relaxing on Tsambika beach, which all the locals insisted was the most beautiful of all the beaches on the islands. A perfect place to eat a gyro, down a beer, and get the biggest surprise of my life.

And last but certainly not least, there was Lindos, with her breathtaking views from atop the Acropolis.

As I hope the pictures show, Rhodes was just forehead-smackingly beautiful. I can't think about the trip or look at the pictures without grinning, salivating, and sighing hopelessly - usually all at the same time. It really was the vacation of a lifetime, one that will be hard to top.