Another toasty day on the island of Crete! I went to Knossos (ancient Minoan palace) first thing this morning - still hot, but better than midday! (PS The site is bugging on me and I can’t do pictures - I’ll add them back in tomorrow.) The palace was worth it, but it’s kind of large and… flat? If you will. The audio guide is def worth it for the history piece, but there are some signs here and there to explain what ruins you’re looking at. (It really is ruins - there isn’t much left standing) But the parts that are there are striking, such as the GIANT clay pots and some of the art. After Knossos I headed back into the city to grab some lunch and bakery treat (all the bakeries = SO delish) ... read more

Ok so my friend Stav - who is Greek - gave me the rundown of what to see and what to eat in this part of Crete (I mean, he helped me pick my itinerary as a whole, but specifically here) - I didn't doubt for a moment, and he didn't steer me wrong. Falasarna is absolutely STUNNING and so much good food around here. I'm sure tomorrow will be more of the same. So this morning I left Chania pretty early in order to get to Falasarna before the crowds - it's only about an hour drive, so nothing wild. Sure enough I got there perfect time (around 9:30) there were still some "front row seats" if you will, comfy lounge chairs and umbrellas. Since it was still quiet I went out into the water ... read more

Busy day today! I went to pick up my rental car… I uh, wow driving in Chania city itself is a ride haha. I don’t really have something to compare it to driving wise - lanes? Nah. Parking? God speed. To be fair my very helpful hotel guy told me there’s parking behind the school since they’re on holidays - it’s like a 5min walk from the hotel and omg worth not dealing with the chaos. I had to pickup near the airport, so on my way back towards Chania I made a few stops. First up was Holy Trinity Monastery - I saw the name/sign and was like yes, of course lol. I was wearing a short skort so wrapped my scarf around my waist. (But they had shawls inside if you didn’t have your ... read more

Pretty uneventful day today, which was a nice change of pace from yesterday..! I still don't feel amazing, but at least no more concussion symptom flareups. I took the early ferry out of Kyllini (thankfully no creeper this time!) and started making my way back towards Athens to drop off my car. 130km/hr, let's goooooo haha. I stopped at the Rio Fortress, just outside of Patras. Easy parking, short little visit. Within the fortress you get a great view of the Rio bridge looming in the back. The fortress is mostly blocked off though - idk if it's normally like that or just because of construction..? Signs were in Greek so idk lol. But I did find one staircase that wasn't blocked off so I could go up on to the wall and one of the ... read more

I was supposed to go on a cruise around the island today, but it got postponed due to weather in the northwest, so instead I switched my plans and did my driving tour first. (At the end of this post I will list off my observations after a few days lol.) I headed straight up to the lookout over Navagio beach - it is THE photo spot on the island and it's on a very mountainous / one car wide road... so I wanted to beat the traffic / rush. Also, a giant cruise ship is here today so I absolutely wanted to get there and out before the coach busses started showing up...!! It's famous bc it's a beach with a giant shipwrecked boat on it, and the beach is surrounded by cliffside so only ... read more