The Other Acropolis
When I woke up this morning I felt very rested and had another great breakfast at Spirit of the Knights Boutique Hotel. My first stop of the day was the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes. It was quite the place! The palace dates back to the 14th century and it was amazing just how grand it was. I really enjoyed walking through, especially as I was the only person inside at the time. It makes sense that this is the main sight in Rhodes as it really is quite the spectacle.
After finishing the palace I made my way to the bus stop to head out for my main stop of the day. While the island is called Rhodes, and the main town on the island is also called Rhodes, there are actually other cities on the island. Today I am visiting the town of Lindos. I decided to come to Rhodes because my younger brother actually visited this summer and said that Lindos was his favorite part of his trip through Europe, so I had to come and see for myself! The bus ride took about an hour. It was pretty bizarre, though, because multiple groups of school aged children kept getting on and off with their backpacks on in the middle of the day. I couldn’t quite figure it out, but at one point it seemed like an entire class of middle school aged kids were on the bus.
When I arrived in Lindos I walked around the very small city on my way to the Lindos Acropolis. On my walk I stopped by the small, but picturesque, Church of Panagia. The walk up to the Acropolis took about twenty minutes. At the top was a massive ancient structure similar to the Parthenon in Athens. The entire Acropolis area was very large and included many different things to see. The best part, though, was the incredible views offered from the top out over the island. You could not only see Lindos and the beautiful Lindos beach, but also the countryside and the water that stretched as far as the eye could see. While I was walking around the Lindos Acropolis I had a cat following me pretty much the entire time which was both adorable and very entertaining. The Lindos Acropolis was stunning not only in the actual Acropolis itself, but the indescribable views of the beautiful Greek island. It was definitely worth the visit!
After finishing my time at the Acropolis I made my way back to the bus stop for the hour ride back to Rhodes. When I got back I spent a little while walking around the moat that surrounds the gates of the city. I then made my way back to the hotel where I rested for a bit before going to get dinner with Lena! She had suggested it since I was eating by myself and I was more than happy to get to know her over dinner. We went to a really cool little spot located in the new part of the city which, contrary to the old city, was actually open for business. We had a great time at dinner! I really enjoyed learning about her time spent in Rhodes, the US, and talking with her about Russia (where she is originally from) as well. I had a special Greek version of lamb for dinner. I don’t normally eat lamb but Lena said it was the best thing on the menu so I gave it a shot - and she wasn’t wrong! It was so tasty and quite filling. We also had a great cheese dish to start with that was awesome. It tasted a bit like a Greek version of queso! I had a great time at dinner and am so glad that she suggested it.
After dinner Lena drove me back to the hotel where I told her goodbye and then headed back to my room for the night. I have an early and long day of travel to Malta tomorrow so I went to sleep as early as I could. I have had an amazing time on Rhodes and am so glad I was finally able to explore Greece over the past few days!
90 countries down, 106 to go.
Read about my second day in Greece here.
To learn more about Spirit of the Knights Boutique Hotel click here.
