Greece 2014

Crete
Crete
The Villages
The Villages
Peloponnese
Athens & The Peloponnese


Crete with Molly & Alexander

Monday, July 28th

Crete In our sluggish, stick-shift rental,

we drove east from Irakleio to Agios Nikolaos to Siteia;
south from Siteia to Lerapetra:
along the mountainous south coast to Tsoutsouras
(located on this map south of Palace of Knossos );
north to Knossos and Irakleio;
west to Chania and Kastelli Kissamou;
south to Elafonisi Beach (at the southern tip of the west coast);
and back to Kastelli Kissamou for the ferry to Kalamata.

Molly, Charlie and I flew from Boston to Frankfurt to Athens to the tiny airport in Iraklio. Alexander had a much more complicated route, so we worried a little about connecting, but as soon as we picked up our rental, drove back to the airport, and let Molly out to look for Alexander, he appeared! We reached Athena Villas in Istro after sunset, dropped our bags, and went to a local restaurant for dinner. A typical Greek meal with great appetizers, a delicious dinner, and outstanding service.
 
Alexander Molly
Pre Dinner Text Check

Tuesday, July 29th
Agios Nikolaos


	Old Orthodox Church in Agios Nikolaos
Pappou at the 11th Century Church of Agios Nikolaos
 
Alexander Molly
Breakfast by the Agios Nikolaos town beach. Here Alexander found out that tost does not mean toast. Along with his hearty breakfast, he ordered tost and got a plate of ham & cheese sandwiches.
 
Coffee in the Mountains Charlie the fortune teller
 
We dedided to spend our second night in the seaside village of Tsoutsouras. On the way we stopped for a swim at a little beach in Siteia, then headed south through the mountains. We stopped at the top of a hill, at the only taverna on the way, which was deserted, except for one lady who made us coffee and brought us hard bread and honey to go with it. Then she came with her coffee and joined us, just as Charlie was telling our fortunes in the coffee grounds (a Greek tradition). She asked Charlie to tell her fortune. She was very serious, and Charlie looked nervous. He told her a few things, but she wanted more details, and smiled when she heard she would always have people around her who cared about her.
 
Nice Lady

Over the mountains to Tsoutsouras

Tsoutsouras Tsoutsouras
 
Tsoutsouras Tsoutsouras
 
The seaside village of Tsoutsouras, Crete
 
Tsoutsouras Tsoutsouras
 
Our Hotel
 
Tsoutsouras Tsoutsouras
ZORBA'S

Wednesday, July 30th
Iraklion
Irakleio Archaeological Museum

 
Alexander Molly
 
Our walking goal? The Irakleio Archaeological Museum. Molly & Alexander will find the way, and we will follow.
 
Coffee in the Mountains Charlie the fortune teller
 
We loved the beautiful, intricate, delicate Minoan jewelry and the miniature figurines of people and animals created 3,000 years ago on Crete.
 
Fresco Fresco
The Hall of Frescoes
 
Minoan Bull with the Golden Horns
Minoan Bull with the Gilded Horns

Knosos

Knosos Knosos
 
Knosos Knosos
A very impressive bathroom!

Chania

Winery
Karavitakis Winery in Chania.
We bought home two bottles of white wine, Malvasia Aromatica and 3 Klimata, and a liquer, Liastos awo Puriaiiko.

Thursday, July 31th
Kastelli Kissamou
Elena Beach Hotel

Winery Winery
 
We loved this hotel. The little private beach in the back. The amazing shower. The nice manager/chef and his wife.
 
Winery
 
Charlie asked the manager/chef of the Elena Beach Hotel to buy a forequarter of a lamb for our last-night-in-Crete dinne.r
It was a special dinner, from the appetizers to the main course to his special home-made Raki, which was even stronger than
all the other strong Rakis we were given at the end of the other meals on Crete.
 
Winery Winery

Friday, July 31th
Elafonisi Beach
One of the most beautiful beaches in Europe!

Ferry Ferry

Saturday, August 1st
Molly: train from Chania to Iraklion for ferry to Mikonos to meet her Mum, Dad, James, Laura, & Lindsey.
Alexander, Charlie & Bette: ferry from Kastelli to Kalamata to meet cousin Panayioti Tsoutsouras, who will take us to Tourkolaika, his mother's village,

Ferry Ferry
 
It was a long ferry ride, from 2:00 pm till midnight but we had a stateroom and the dinner was great.
Above right: That's an old broken-down ship next to the island.
 
Winery Winery
 
Charlie's Tattoo
When I asked Charlie what was on his hand, after he returned from one of his walks around the boat, he said a lady on the bow of the boat was giving tattoos, so he got one. I was horrified and let him know it. How could he do this? Why? Was it a post-mid-life crisis? I was extremely upset so I took a walk around the boat. I found Alexander and told him what happened and how shocked I was. He listened and smiled and didn't think it was such a big deal. So, after a while, I concluded that Charlie must have had his reasons for doing this at this point in his life, and I would accept it. I went back and apologized for my outburst, but I still was troubled and worried by his impulsive rash behavior. I thought about emailing Deahn, Lori, and Mia. But I didn't. The next day I found out it was a joke and Alexander was in on it. It was a stamp that was inside a
Cracker Jacks box! They thought it was so funny! Then I was mad at both of them.
 
Ferry
Andio to our week on Crete.
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