On our recent holiday to Rhodes, Greece, several people told us that we must visit Lindos. So so we made sure to fit in a trip one afternoon, and we are very glad that we did!
Lindos is generally accepted as the best archaeological site on Rhodes. The Lindos Acropolis stands at the top of a large hill, surrounded the maze of streets that forms the town of Lindos covering the slopes below, filled with cobbled streets and attractive whitewashed buildings. We were dropped off by our taxi in the main square, with beautiful views out to sea along with the town and historic buildings.
From the bottom of the hill you need to climb up to reach the Acropolis. It's well signposted, but there are several different routes. Really you just need to keep heading upwards and you can't get lost! The first part of the walk takes you through beautiful little cobbled streets, well shaded from the sun. They are lined with shops selling all sorts of different goods - clothing, tableware, tourist souvenirs like postcards and magnets, honey and olive oil based products, lots of gorgeous things! The prices all seemed very reasonable too and there was no hassling to buy.
Then the climb continues up the more open side of the hill. It's a bit steep and uneven, but not too difficult to walk up as long as you go carefully. There are donkeys available which will take you to the top of the hill via a longer and more gentle route, which is also an option for pedestrians to use. The Acropolis is situated right at the top, and once you have paid to enter the site there some more climbing over uneven ground and steps, but nothing too strenuous.
The Acropolis site is big and a bit confusing at first. The site has been built and rebuilt over the centuries by many different civilisations so it's a bit of a jumble of different bits of stonework, but there are plenty of informative boards in English and in Greek to explain what you are looking at and which parts of the structure are original to which era.
You can see the main structures and columns, most of which have been restored over the years. But anything loose that could be taken away, like statues and other artefacts, has been removed. While some is displayed on the island, much of it is now as far away as Denmark (some of the archaeologists were Danish) so instead of statues for example all you can see is the blocks with foot holes where a statue would have once stood - like at the bottom of the photo below:
It's a very impressive site, and the remaining columns and steps give you a good idea of what it has looked like at various points in its history. There are some lovely views from the top across the beautiful blue sea and surrounding countryside.
If you are visiting the island of Rhodes I think that Lindos is definitely one of the must-see sights.
We visited the Acropolis in October 2021. Entrance to the Acropolis was 12 Euros for adults and 6 Euros for children. The whole Acropolis site is outdoors, and we were not asked for proof of Covid-19 vaccination to enter.
We travelled to Lindos from our hotel just north of Faliraki by taxi. It took about forty-five minutes and cost 52 Euros each way, which was clearly posted at the taxi rank and agreed before we got in. The taxi driver dropped us in the main square where the path begins to the Acropolis, and we easily found a taxi here to take us back to the hotel. There are also frequent and very cheap buses available to travel around the island of Rhodes, however for this longer journey we took a taxi because we found on a shorter journey that the bus was very crowded and it would have been uncomfortable to stand for that long.
As I dragged myself out of bed this morning, knowing that I had 'Get out for a run' on my to do list for the day, I found myself thinking up excuses. I was feeling tired, it looked like it might rain, I had lots of other things that I wanted to get done. But I managed to get out, and of course when I got back I felt so much better for it - both for having done the exercise and for having encouraged made the effort.
It made me think of sharing a few of the ways that I motivate myself to get out for a run, and some tips to make sure that you always manage to get out when you are planning to.
I like to schedule regular days for exercise. At the moment that's Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with anything extra at the weekend being a bonus. So I always know that these are my exercise days and I can plan my timetable accordingly, whether that's a run, swim or cross trainer workout. I've had this plan for over a year now, and although I do occasionally miss a workout or swap things around, for the main part it has stuck.
I like to get exercise out the way first thing in the morning. Of course this doesn't work for everyone's schedule, but I feel much happier when it's done. It's all about eating the frog!
So to help with this I always make sure that to get everything ready the night before. My clothes are laid out and my running belt and headband are by the front door. If I'm planning on wearing my headphones then I make sure that they are charged and that I've got a running playlist in mind.
If I'm not feeling particularly inspired at the thought of a run the following morning then I pull out Google maps and try to find a new running route. I have a number of different routes that I like to run from my house, and sometimes even just running one in reverse is enough to switch things up a bit.
If I really want a change (and if it's not too windy!) then I'll drive down to the seafront and run along there. I also use MapMyRun which makes planning routes of specific lengths really easy. Sometimes I like to look for points of interest on the map, like a church or a park, and plan a route to take it in.
I've also begun to reconsider whether tracking runs is really a good idea. I used to log every run that I did in Strava, just for my own information as I only have one friend on there. I liked seeing how far I'd run, how fast and so on. But then I realised that if I only fancied a short run I didn't want to log it, as it didn't feel like a proper effort! And so then I'd wonder whether it was actually worth going out at all.
So now I tend to just check my watch when I begin, and if I've been running for half an hour or longer then I call that a good run. I can always go back and plug the route into MapMyRun if I'm feeling curious about my distance.
Finally as I get ready to go out I always remind myself that I've never felt worse after going for a run. Barring injury or an accident of course, it would be very rare to come back from a run and regret it!
On our recent holiday to Rhodes, Greece, we spent a few happy hours wandering around Rhodes Old Town and so I thought that I'd share a few photos!
We reached Rhodes by bus from the stop just outside our hotel near Faliraki. The buses were easy to use and very cheap, but the bus that we took was very crowded with standing room only. If you don't fancy the bus there are plenty of taxis to take you from place to place around Rhodes, with clear pricing structures so you know exactly how much you'll be paying.
If you are planning a visit to Rhodes Old Town there are lots of historical walking routes that you can download, for example this Self-Guided Medieval Town Walking Tour which has plenty of information about all the sights. Alternatively, when you arrive there are plenty of maps around with suggested walking routes, just take a photo of one to follow.
We followed a simple circular route through the old town which took in the main sights, and then we just wandered off if we saw a street that looked particularly interesting.
There were plenty of cafes and restaurants, and also lots of tourist shops selling souvenirs. We found that the prices for touristy gifts were very cheap compared to other places that we've visited. For example Harry collects magnets and we would usually pay about 5 Euro, but here they were usually just 1 Euro. So we bought a few bits and pieces here and there, I found some bracelets and Mia's eye was caught by many shops selling her favourite popit fidget toys.
There are plenty of lovely old buildings to admire. We had to wait our turn to take a photo of the staircase and door below which was a very popular spot! The Street of the Knights was also one of our favourite areas, a narrow cobbled street which is one of the best preserved medieval streets in Europe.
Kolona Harbour is located in the old town, accessed through a gate in the city walls and with a path that runs beneath them. There are lots of smaller fishing boats moored here and it's a lovely walk along the edge looking back towards the old city.
There are also a couple of amazing boats selling sea shells and other marine bits and pieces that are all beautifully displayed, you could stand here and gaze for hours!
If you are visiting Rhodes island I'd definitely recommend a visit to the Old Town, it's a great place to explore, shop and spend time.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review. This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
As a teenager I took piano lessons for several years and enjoyed being able to play at a decent standard, so I was very keen for my children to take music lessons when they were old enough. Harry has been having piano lessons since he was around six and recently passed his Grade 4. He plays beautifully now, I really enjoy hearing him practice and he can play some really lovely pieces.
So I was very interested to take a look at the book Notes on the Piano by Christopher Russell. Written by a concert performer and teacher, in the author's words it is "an encouraging companion to someone's piano lessons in the exciting journey of discovery that learning the piano is all about."
The book is divided into essays, each one themed around different aspects of learning, playing and teaching the piano. It's an enjoyable read for anyone that has learned the piano in the past, is currently learning, or has a child currently taking lessons.
Now that Harry has reached a slightly more advanced level he has recently started working with a new piano teacher. He's always had his lessons at home, with me half listening in from the next room. I found it really interesting to pick out some of the techniques that I've noticed his piano teachers using and to read about the theory behind this. For example, his new teacher has encouraged him to work on improvisation which he loves. I discovered that as well as being a way of helping with the aural tests in the exams it also helps to develop the musical ear which is vital for successful playing.
I was also interested to learn about the importance of scales - for warming up the fingers, improving the strength and flexibility of the fingers and reinforcing the flats and sharps which are found in different keys - all skills that are useful when it comes to playing pieces. It's definitely information that's worth sharing with people that can't see the benefits in practicing scales over and over.
The book is clearly arranged with each chapter focussing on a different aspect of learning and playing the piano. I found the chapter on Methods of Practising particularly helpful, as Harry still needs some guidance when it comes to his practice! It was a good reminder that a shorter session of quality practice will reap better rewards than a longer session of poor quality practice. There were also some excellent tips about the different ways that you can practice a piece, as well as how this can vary person to person and is learned and improved by experience.
Another section that I found useful was about memorising pieces, as this is something that I'm terrible at. Although I can play reasonably well, I can only play with music in front of me, which is no good if I encounter a piano and someone asks me to play a piece! I hadn't really thought before about making a conscious effort to memorise a piece or two, but it's something I'm definitely going to have a go at.
I found this book a really interesting and accessible read, great for dipping in and out of, and perfect for piano teachers and piano players, whether beginner or advanced, child or adult.
Rather than buying one, I love the idea of putting together my own Advent calendars with a particular theme. This was sparked by the first ever wooden Advent calendar that we bought our then toddler, and I wrote a popular post filled with ideas for things to fill your own Advent calendar which I loved researching and updating.
As a crafter I would really enjoy receiving an Advent calendar filled with crafty bits and pieces as I count down to Christmas, and so I thought I'd have a browse for some ideas which would make great Advent calendar fillers for the crafty person in your life. Some of these gift ideas are a little large for the traditional wooden Advent calendar, but they could easily be wrapped and numbered separately for a small treat every day in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
So here's a big list of small gift ideas which would make wonderful fillers for a craft themed Advent calendar.
Mini craft kits, especially those with a Christmas theme
They sound like an expensive item, but craft kits can be reasonably priced if you keep your eyes open, or if you buy a larger pack that can be split into smaller parts. I bought these lovely mini Christmas cross stitch kits in Hobbycraft (sneakily positioned by the till for impulse purchasing) and they were priced at just £5 for 3. There are many mini craft kits available, and if you buy a multipack you can spread them out over several days of your crafty Advent calendar.
Christmas decorations to make
There are lots of options for blank decorations or gift tags which can be decorated for Christmas. We had a lot of fun decorating some blank wooden ornaments a few years ago - it's a simple and quick craft which is easy to do with pens and paints that you have lying around. Blank gift tags are also fun and easy to personalise as Christmas approaches.
A Christmas jigsaw
There are lots of Advent Calendar jigsaws available, or you could just buy a large Christmas themed puzzle and place a few pieces into a small box for every day of Advent. It's a good idea to put the jigsaw puzzle together first and break it up into sections otherwise it might get frustrating to complete the puzzle at random!
Small craft supplies
This can be tailored according to the crafts that the recipient enjoys. For example a small skein of floss, a pack of needles, a piece of fabric, a coloured pen - there are endless possibilities!
When Apple announced the release of the Apple AirTag earlier this year I knew that they were something that we'd be buying. We could imagine all sorts of uses for them! And one of the first things that I thought of was using an AirTag to track your suitcase and other luggage while flying. I would feel much happier sitting on a plane knowing that my suitcase was sitting right underneath me, and if your suitcase does end up going walkabout, as has happened to me in the past, at least you have an idea of where it's ended up.
We've been using the AirTags successfully over the last few months to find our keys inside the house, and also to send out with a child if they are popping down the road. But with Covid it has taken a while for us to be able to actually test them out on a flight!
So on our recent holiday to Rhodes we placed an Apple AirTag inside each of our suitcases to see how well they worked. We put the AirTags in small pockets inside the suitcases, rather than hang them on the outside, as that seemed like the best way to keep them safe. Before we left we made sure that the AirTags could still be located and it worked perfectly. Then after we checked in at Gatwick we waved them off from the bag drop and went on our way through the airport!
When we were waiting at the gate before boarding we loaded up the app and were pleased to see that all three suitcases (tracked across our two phones) had made it to the general vicinity of our plane which was located at the far gate. I'm the blue dot, and so you can see that mine was nice and close to me!
Then when we had landed and disembarked the plane we did another quick check to make sure that our luggage had arrived along with us. Fortunately there had been no mishaps, and the suitcase was there, just outside the terminal building waiting to be moved from the plane. Once we arrived at baggage reclaim we checked again and found that it had made its way into the terminal, so all we had to do was to sit and wait for it to appear on the carousel.
Apparently there is one situation when the Apple AirTags don't work with luggage and that is when the suitcases is moving at a reasonable speed, for example while moving through the airport conveyor system or being transported on a baggage truck. This means that you can't use precision finding to track it to within a few feet.
However this wasn't a problem for us, because once we knew that the suitcase had made it to our arrival airport we just waited patiently for it at baggage reclaim. Presumably if your suitcase ends up in a different part of the airport by mistake it would be left waiting somewhere, and you could track it properly once it had stopped moving.
As well as being fun to track our luggage it certainly gave us some peace of mind to know that our suitcase was where it was supposed to be during our flight, and I think that we'll definitely be bringing the AirTags along every time we fly!
Update May 2022
We recently made another trip abroad, this time a long haul flight to Mauritius, and once again we took our AirTags along to track three suitcases. It all worked perfectly once more. We were at the gate ready to board and could see that our suitcases were located near the plane, we couldn't see them waiting on the tarmac so were able to confidently assume that they had been loaded!
On arrival it did take a little while to update the location of our bags, but by the time we had walked through the airport and reached the baggage reclaim the tracking had updated to confirm that our bags had made it to the same airport as us.
We place our AirTags within the suitcase in a zipped inside pocket. There are devices available that you can use to attach your AirTag to the outside of the suitcase but I think that these are unnecessary as they leave the AirTags vulnerable to loss, damage or theft.
We have just returned from a lovely holiday at the Amada Colossos Resort in Rhodes, Greece and I thought I'd write a quick review in case anyone is looking for some holiday inspiration as we begin to adventure and holiday abroad again!
We visited during our October half-term holiday which falls a week earlier than much of the UK. The resort was full, but mainly with adults and older children. We booked the holiday as a package with TUI as they are currently offering fee-free changes if you need to alter your booking due to Covid-19 related issues. At the time we visited, fully vaccinated adults and unvaccinated children under 12 could enter Greece freely with just a Passenger Locator Form and our unvaccinated 12 year old needed to take a private antigen test two days before arrival which was easily booked through TUI.
We stayed in a swim-up family room which sleeps four. This room had a large private terrace with two sunbeds, and access to a long pool shared with nine other rooms. There was a sliding partition to separate the two sleeping areas with a double bed and two single beds. Because it had been so long since our last holiday abroad we splurged a bit for a fancier room than usual, and are very glad that we did as the room was fantastic. It's swim-up rooms all the way for us now!
We loved having access to the pool from our room and it was great to have two guaranteed sunbeds as well as two chairs and a table. The terrace was hot and sunny in the morning and shaded in the afternoon. As well as the view over our pool we could also see over the main pool and had a wonderful view of the sea in front of us and to the side.
The water in the swimming pools and the waterpark was a little chilly and you really had to brace yourself to jump in! Once you were in it was fine, and it was nice to come out into the sunshine and warm up. The waterpark was open for most of the day, but not all the slides were open at once, so if you wanted to try them all you had to visit at different times of the day. They were also closed for disinfecting for an hour over lunch. Our children did find the water a bit too cold to spend very long here, but plenty of other people didn't seem bothered. The area seemed to be well supervised with a good variety of faster and slower slides. There was also a lazy river and pools to splash around in.
We spent most of our pool time in the pool by our room, but we did venture out a couple of times. There was quite a lot of sunbed reserving going on which was a bit of a problem, but we always managed to find at least one lounger spare. We don't tend to spend long sitting by the pool anyway, so we only needed somewhere to put our things while we were in the water.
The main pool is very large, with a separate adults only area at one end. It was never busy with people swimming so there was plenty of space for relaxing on a float or attempting to swim the long length all in one go.
We also spent an afternoon on the private beach. We found plenty of sunbeds here, and there is a bar close by for drinks and snacks. The beach is quite stony, so we were glad that we had read this in a review before we went and so came equipped with water shoes. The sea was usually calm and no colder than the swimming pools. It gets deep very quickly so it's perhaps not so good for toddlers and small children to play in, but it's great for swimming as you don't have to go out too far from the shore. The water was beautiful and clear.
We don't tend to travel for the food, so the buffet restaurant in the resort was more than adequate for our needs. It did get quite busy at peak times so we tried to get there as soon as it opened for meals. There were always several clearly labelled vegetarian options as well as a separate children's buffet with simply prepared vegetables, chips, nuggets, salad bits, ice cream and so on. There was a different theme every evening in the main restaurant, for example Mexican, Greek or Italian, and there was plenty of bread, salad and so on. There were also lots of delicious desserts, including an amazing chocolate fountain buffet one evening!
The resort also offers three specialty restaurants which can be booked during your stay - Asian, Greek and Italian. We didn't eat at these though as our children get on better with the buffet dining.
The resort is situated really well for travel to other places on the island - we visited Rhodes town (about 20 minutes on the bus), Lindos (about forty-five minutes by taxi) and Faliraki (less than ten minutes by taxi). There is a bus stop right outside the resort and a taxi rank a minute's walk away. The taxis have very clear pricing so you know in advance how much you'll be paying. The buses were convenient and easy to use, however we only used the bus to get to Rhodes and back as on our outward trip the bus was very crowded and we had to stand in the doorway which wasn't very comfortable.
There are some small shops within a few minutes walk and the hotel also has a supermarket and souvenir shop. We found the prices in the shops very reasonable compared to similar places that we have visited, there were some lovely cheap souvenirs to buy like hand painted bowls and ornaments along with postcards, magnets and so on. You could also buy inflatables, snorkels, beach shoes and that sort of thing as well as toys, games and snacks in the supermarket.
There is a very large Waterpark just opposite the resort which looked pretty amazing if that's something that you are interested in. It was closed at the time of writing but it looks like it will be opening again for 2022.
We had a lovely stay at the Amada Colossos Resort. We felt that it represented good value for money with plenty to do in terms of swimming and relaxing. The food and drink selection was very good, and there was no problem with getting food or drink when we wanted it. The staff were friendly and helpful and although it was busy it all felt clean and well organised.
Here you can see a short video that I put together with some clips from around the resort, including some footage of our swim-up pool.
I've also written about a couple of the trips that we did from the hotel:
A note about Covid-19 considerations (October 2021)
We felt that the coronavirus precautions taken by the hotel were excellent. Both staff and guests were strict about wearing masks indoors, even when just going to and from rooms. The buffet restaurant did get a little crowded, but masks were worn, plastic gloves were provided and used for handling utensils, and the tables were situated at a good distance from each other. There was plenty of outdoor dining space and bar seating, and when wet weather meant that it was necessary to eat indoors there were two sessions for dining to make sure that everyone could be accommodated safely inside.
However I must mention that unfortunately my husband tested positive for Covid-19 on our return home. There's no way of knowing where he caught it of course, although we feel that the places on our holiday where we were most vulnerable were on the flight or the local bus rather than at the resort as it genuinely did feel like a safe environment.
