After Heraklion our next stop in Crete (at the suggestion of a very nice travel agent!) was the town of Rethymno. It's a small city of about 30 000, and like Heraklion Rethymno had some ruins from the Venetian rule as well as the Ottoman rule. It's a very cute city with a wonderful "old town," where we were lucky enough to stay during our time here. The old town has cobblestone roads and lemon trees in the gardens!We couchsurfed here and was hosted by a really sweet and super-friendly girl named Maria who took the day to show us around!
Some great old architecture left over from Turkish rule. They look great in person because of their wood construction and character given their weathered look. It was a great contrast to the rest of the typical Grecian architecture.
A church in the old town.
The board of DEATH!!! In public square there are boards like this one where obituaries are posted. They list the person's full name as well as the name they were known by around town, plus all the other standard things like birth and death dates.
A view of the Rethymno harbour with a little lighthouse in the back!
A view from the top of an old fort (we can't remember if it's Turkish or Venetian) overlooking Rethymno.
Some cool headstones found in the fort and placed and displayed in an underground room.
A shot (from a window in the fort) of the coast where Rethymno is located.
Us trapped in the lookout point!
Throughout the old town you could find these beautifully coloured flowers!
A cute walking street in the old town. Notice the huge vine that runs up one side of the building and grows across to the other!
An old town street.
By the water in Rethymno you can find this sculpture, which is the official emblem of Rethymno.
Another shot of the harbour.
FOOD! This was a slice of chocolate-covered pastry-like bread with sweet crunchy bits on top. Most of the time you saw this as a full loaf about 10 inches long! Sadly we were too full (and not piggish enough) to eat a whole loaf so we had to settle with just a slice! Cover anything with chocolate and it's delicious!
A picture of one side of the fort facing the water.
Maria, our wonderful Couchsurfing host, with Cliff! We only had one day and one night with her but we would love to spend more time with her (whether it's in Greece or Timbuktu!) in the future!
An old town street at night!
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