Midlife Travel Post | Celebrationg Our Wedding Anniversary in Rhodes, Greece!

The Bay of Lindos.  I took a few photographs as we were heading into the Lindos for drinks and dinner.

Foreword 

As I settled down to write this travel post, I was alarmed by what was coming through on the UK national news. The newscaster said that, due to over forty-five degree temperatures, and wind, there were reports of wildfires beginning to sweep across an area of southern Rhodes, Greece.

We have just recently returned from this area and my son is currently holidaying in the north of the island. Luckily, he is completely safe and contacted us saying all was normal in the area where he was staying. The scenes on television were harrowing, showing holidaymakers fleeing their hotels onto the beaches for safety, and the menacing orange flames in the distance, the air heavy with smoke.

The reports said the fires were quite near to where we stayed in June of this year to celebrate our fortieth wedding anniversary. My thoughts went out to those trying to control the flames. The planes and helicopters dropping water scooped up from the Aegean Sea over the affected area. Sadly, two pilots lost their lives when their plane crashed, which is devastating for their loved ones, friends and colleagues.

I have been constantly checking the Pefki Island Resorts Facebook page for updates (where we stayed). They have remained open throughout and guests who booked direct have remained on the resort while being well looked after by the staff.

We are now a week or so on and today the news is good. The wildfires are under control and some of the resorts including Pefkos are reopening for business. My thoughts are with the safety of all, especially those who look after us when we visit them on holiday. They depend on us as tourists to visit their beautiful country and islands while enjoying their superb hospitality. I am hoping that the damage done can be restored. My heart goes out to them, and we will be returning.

The Beautiful Bay of Lindos!  How stunning is this view?  Taken with my little “point and shoot” Canon GX7, which is the handiest camera for holidays as it fits in my handbag.

The Holiday 

Onwards to my overview of our stay in Pefkos, Rhodes…

We have been visiting Rhodes since our early twenties, staying in various resorts all over the island. We have always enjoyed ourselves, immensely. Rhodes is an island where you can pick and choose your budget, whether it’s quiet and remote, bustly, cheap, and cheerful, middle of the road or expensive and posh – the choice is available for everyone’s taste, here.

Shopping in Lindos!

We have stayed in basic tavernas, middle-of-the-road three-star accommodations and high-end corporate hotels, enjoying our experiences in most of them.

Lately, we have found that we enjoy smaller family-run properties. We like the intimacy and friendly vibe – we have good, and often funny, memories of staying in these types of places in the past. They’re authentic and we enjoy seeing more of the Greek culture while experiencing their delicious food and seeing familiar faces, every day.

The Pefki Island Resort – where breakfast was served and the pool view from our balcony.

This brings me to our choice of accommodation for this trip. The Pefki Island Resort in Pefkos is where we decided to go. Mainly because of what it has to offer and its location. We stayed here about six years ago with our family and thought it would be perfect for a return visit as it ticked so many boxes for everyone. We booked directly with the accommodation team who were extremely helpful, efficient, and friendly. We booked a two bedroomed apartment – the aircon, safe and transfers to and from the airport were all included in the price and with a ten per cent discount, which is so reasonable.

All we had to do now was book our flights, which we did with JET2, and we were on our way.

Location-wise, this accommodation is an excellent choice for the beach and the centre of Pefkos. It is only a five-minute walk down a few steps to the pretty sandy beach with the crystal-clear waters of the Aegean Sea – perfect to snorkel in. There are lovely little bars and restaurants scattered along the beachfront, too – which we sampled with an afternoon coffee and snack.

The Beach at Pefkos, which is only five minutes from the accommodation.

The resort centre is a five to ten-minute walk away – again, great bars and restaurants to choose from – delicious food and reasonable prices. We found all of the restaurants we visited had a wide, varied menu at affordable prices. We checked the restaurants on Trip Adviser and they had great reviews. We even returned to one a second time. Not only was the food amazing but the staff were so lovely and really looked after us, making us feel welcome – which I find is so important. I will recommend our favourites, later. Beautiful Lindos is, of course, extremely near and just a short cab ride away…. here is a little bit of its history.

The Acropolis, Bay of Lindos

Lindos 

Lindos dates to the 13th century BC.

From the beautiful small whitewashed houses dated to the 18th century to the cobbled streets and the fascinating beach of Lindos Bay, Lindos is a “must-visit” when you are in Rhodes.
We visited Lindos twice on this trip and have done many times in the past, along with Rhodes town which, again, has lots of historical significance and is a “must-visit”.

Some bribery had to be done for me to show this pic….ha ha. With my youngest son in Lindos

On this holiday, we visited Lindos, twice.  Once in the afternoon, finishing with a coffee and chocolate crape and once, in the evening, to have a wander around the beautiful little quaint shops – finishing off with a lovely dinner, before heading back to Pefkos in a cab.

The Accomodation – Two bedroom/bathroom apartment.  Bright, cheery and spotlessly clean.  Plus a lovely view of the pool from our balcony.

Pefki Island Resort  

Part of the charm of this resort, for me, is its old-fashioned appeal. I was checking on both Facebook and Trip Advisor where there are many return visitors who have been coming, here, for years. It’s great value for money.  Everyone I met during our stay was smiling and having a lovely time, which is all you want on holiday. It was easy to go into “chillax” mode. Of course, it may not suit everyone but, for my family and I, this was perfect for pleasure and relaxation as well as having some fun.

The rooms were very spacious and clean with a lovely large comfortable bed – which is a “must-have” for me, on holiday. The rooms are simply furnished but tick all the boxes and were adequate for our stay.

This very good looking chap was the “owner and occupier” of the area outside our apartment. Cats have a chosen one – and his was the gardner who looked after this area of shrubery, and him.  Of course, he only had eyes for his friend!

The hotel has a spa, gym, and a beauty salon – they cater for weddings and there is a chapel, too. There are two swimming pools, one of which was in front of our room. There is also an adult-only pool which is where we spent most of our days, lounging. There was no music playing, just blissful quiet….and enough sunbeds to go around. The Pefki Island resort has two neighbouring sister hotels, so we had the choice of using their swimming pools, too. There are five swimming pools, in total, so plenty of choice. We were on a bed and breakfast basis which I particularly enjoyed – the breakfast seating area looked onto the beautiful adult pool and hills, beyond – blissful!!

If there was a negative which was not mine, but more my family, it was the internet, which they found to be poor at best, and non-existent, at worst. I, on the other hand, have cut my time down on social media and the internet, preferring to write my blog, take photographs, read and listen to my music, more, while gazing at the beautiful scenery.

Here are a few restaurants and bars we enjoyed.

Restaurant Tsambikos

We had a beautiful meal, here – so much so, I wanted to return for a second visit. But, our holiday was coming to an end, unfortunately, so there was no time left to fit it in.  As well as the varied selection on the menu, the restaurant is located at the top of a hill and the view over the resort is something to behold.   It is a family run restaurant. The owners and staff were as delightful as the menu on offer.

Greek Story

This is an authentic Greek restaurant located right in the heart of Pefkos.  I didnt manage to take any photographs of our food on our visits , but I can highly recommend it for its cuisine and varied choice on the menu.  I had King Prawn skewers from the grill, served with roast potatoes, veg and rice – my party had both steak and chicken dishes – all beautiful!  We loved it so much and managed a return visit.

Sunset Restaurant Creperie Bar

I asked my son to write this review as he “dined” here every morning for breakfast – missing the one on offer in our hotel, due to sleepiness.

“This was a quaint ivy-laden family restaurant I’d visit, each morning.  The staff were very warm and friendly, particularly the older woman who worked and served me each day.  They quickly learned my  bacon, eggs, toast preferences, so that I’d simply have to make a ‘same again’ hand gesture (clockwise spin of the index finger) on arrival (with a smile), to start proceedings.  They lacked a coffee machine, or said ‘it was broken’, so Nescafe was the standard.  Unfortunately, they seemed to try to make up for this by making super-charged/too-strong Nescafes, hence I’d come out a few mornings with my head-spinning. Overall, the restaurant had a lovely ambience and tranquillity and was a beautiful place to start the day.”

This beach bar has everything you could wish for.  It’s a haven of tranquility and the view is so relaxing.  We would wander along the sandy beach in the late afternoon sun for a toastie and coffee.  The cocktails looked very tempting – instead, we had a banana milkshake which was so delicious.  Perfect for an afternoon treat.

Who said sequins are just for Christmas!

Not many outfit photographs on this holiday as we were here to relax and be in the moment. Hence, I felt asking someone to stop and take photographs of me in various garbs all of the time was going to be, well….a pain in the neck. However, I’ve managed to get a few.  This dress was the outcome of my winnings from an Instagram competition (French Connection).  I wore it a few times on this holiday. It is a beautiful, quality dress and style. And, it has the added bonus of pockets. What’s not to love?!  The second outfit is a black satin, maxi slip skirt and sequinned top which I bought from River island. And, for the final and third outfit, I am wearing some longer length shorts, worn with my linen jacket, which I felt good in.  I’ve always been a little bit nervous of shorts but  these are longer in length and slouchy  (I sized up).

I hope you have enjoyed my post.  If you have any comments let me know, I’d love to hear from you.

Take care – and until the next time.

Alison x

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