# 4: rhodes city – a little old. a little new.

no. we didn’t stay at the hotel area the entire time, tempting as it was to just bask in the warm sun. and yes. we did explore a little of the greek culture and see the city of rhodes. rhodes (the city. it is also the name of the island) is divided into 2 parts… the old town & the new town. one day we figured out  the best way to get into the city (by trial and error. and it’s not the public bus. hehe.) and spent a very warm, dare i say hot, day walking through the tiny old streets, shopping a little, and eating a yummy greek meal. of course, true to us, lina and i found the not-so-great part of the city while we walked aimlessly through little stray-animal-filled alleys where people lived in really, really old and really, really run-down apartments and local greeks drove little mopeds/scooters like crazy people all through these little spaces. but, what kind of a trip would it have been if we hadn’t taken some risks and had a little bit of an adventure? i always know we’ve made it to the edge when lina begins to walk fast and says, “shouldn’t we find our way back? do you know where we are?”. geez. how i loooove exploring new cities!

took the bus into town. well, some of us. others ended up in a cab. turns out the cab is waaaay better.

the bus driver & all his icons. it may have been overcrowded, hot, & crazy… but, at least jesus, paul, & some others were watching over us.

there is a wall around the old city (seen in the 2 pics above too). looks like the entrance to a castle! well, the wall is from medieval times, actually, and i guess castle-style was all the rage in those days.

inside the wall: markets, restaurants, shops galore! a tourist trap. but, still fun & beautiful!

typical. greek men standing outside their shops just waiting for you to pass by so they can flirt with you & sell you something. i think it’s fun!

greek women. sunshine. old buildings. bright pink flowers. little alleys. perfect.

deadly mopeds that will run you down in the little alleys. but, a smart way for locals to get around.

freakin’ cool.

stray cat. greek man. old buildings. i never get tired of seeing this.

 the old town square.

lina’s down sitting on the corner under the word “change”. hehe.

time for lunch!

mmm… greek food.

at the end of the meal, the servers (greek men who flirt with everyone) brought all the adults a shot. we didn’t ask for them. it was tough…

but, when in greece… ooooo-pah!!!

i wanted to grab all the people around me & do a greek dance… something with a line, or a circle, and a lot of oooo-pahs!

gorgeous.

now. for the new town in rhodes city. interesting & fun in a totally different way…

 after walking around the new town, shopping a little more (oh yeah.), and because we had no idea where we were, we stumbled upon this restaurant-type place. i was drawn to it because there was a giraffe and an elephant statue outside. huh? we walked into the opening (there was no door) and noticed the front part of a ship. what? we went further in and saw that it was a pirate-themed restaurant/bar/club. freaking cool! and soooo cozy! the entire inside was like the inside of a pirates of the caribbean ship. in the middle of a greek island. weird. fun. still don’t know why there was a giraffe & elephant outside.

and then…. no way!  heaven!! yep. as we left the pirate place, we turned left and literally next door we saw THE sign. STARBUCKS!! there is only 1 starbucks in all of sweden (and it’s at the airport in stockholm after you pass through security = there are no starbucks in sweden), but on this little island we found one!! or it found us. destiny, i believe.

more to come… peace!