Kos, Greece

This past Wednesday we left for our last hurrah, a relaxing vacation in the Greek Isles.  We chose the island Kos, mainly because Ryan Air had tickets for $150 for all five of us.  Not each - total.  First we had to drive to Frankfurt though, as our flight left early Thursday morning.  We stayed in a cute little town that we didn't get to see because we got in late and left early.

This trip was intended to be a beach vacation for the kids as a reward for dragging them all over Europe.  We booked a nice hotel that had a couple pools and what looked like a great kids program.  When we arrived we found out that the property had been sold to a different company that catered to couples over 40 which was disappointing.  It was a beautiful resort though and the kids hit the pool right away.  We had dinner at the resort that first night and afterwards the kids put on a 'show' for us at the resort's amphitheater.

Dinner at the Resort

Adriatic Sea

The Night's Entertainment

Our reservation included breakfast and the resort provided a huge breakfast buffet, with eggs, bacon, pasties, fruit, etc.  What we did on this trip was entirely up to the kids so right after we hit the pool.  The main pool is what is called an Infinity pool, built so that it looks like it drops off right into the sea.  The kids hopped around the different pools, played in the kids playground area and had a great time while Mom and Dad relaxed in the sun.

View from the room

Infinity pool

A little later in the day we decided to check out the beach, which to our disappointment was not sandy.  It was pretty rocky so instead of the kids building sandcastles we took a short walk.  We spent quite a bit of time skipping stones and saw some wildlife along the way as well.

Resort Grounds

Random Goat

Having fun on the beach

That night we drove into town for dinner.  We had dinner at a place along the water - the food was fine but really no different than what you'd find at a Greek restaurant in the States.  We followed dinner with a stroll around Kos Town.

The next morning a storm rolled in after breakfast.  The pictures don't really do it justice, but it was actually quite beautiful.  While the rain poured outside we spent some time in the game room playing air hockey and ping pong.

Storm Rolling In

Resort Game Room

That afternoon we headed back to Kos Town to check out some ancient ruins.  Kos has been inhabited since the 11 century BC.  Due to it's location it was an important military outpost and trade center.  The ancient town was very sophisticated and had many buildings - unfortunately most were destroyed by earthquakes.  The ruins are still there, with placards describing what each pile of rubble used to be.

Behind Lydia is an incredible mosiac floor

Apparently the Father of Medicine, Hippocrates, grew up and studied in Kos. One of the main sights in Kos Town is the Tree of Hippocrates, under which he used to teach his students. The current tree is only around 500 years old, but is most likely a descendant of the tree under which Hippocrates taught.

Tree of Hippocrates

 
That night we ate at another sort of generic Greek restaurant off of one of the town squares. We wandered the streets afterward, got some dessert and let the kids play at a park before we went home.

Kos Town

Saturday we spent the whole day at the pool just relaxing and having fun. The kids started a craft hosted by the hotel near the kids area. Elise and Haaken (Carissa) did mosaics while Lydia did some painting. That night we asked for a recommendation for a place to eat from a hotel worker. They directed us to a great Greek Tavern with some much better, less generic, traditional Greek food.  It probably should be noted that Kos has a real problem with cats.  We counted over 30 stray cats round trip (about 20 minutes) to the restaurant and back.  Bob Barker would not be pleased

Sunday was our last day and we had been throwing around the idea of taking a ferry to Bodrum, Turkey (only 25 min away). We let the kids make the call and they decided they wanted one more day at the pool. Thankfully it was a beautiful day and we all had a great time relaxing. That evening we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner.

Water Aerobics

Chillin'

Monday we spent the whole day travelling back to Graf.  Unfortunately we now have to get serious about packing up - only one month until we return home.