Sign In
Blogs from Crete, Greece, Europe
Advertisement
Ancient Athens and Cyclades - Knossos, Saturday 2011 April 30
Published: June 15th 2013Europe » Greece » Crete » Knossos
June 15th 2013
Knossosis surprisingly close to Heraklion – about a twenty-minute drive. The development is a park, and we entered through a gate with coffee shop and a small garden. Moving from there into the rock remains is so gradual that it almost surprised me to recognize the structural remnants of many walls. Kriton gave us a thorough introduction – much of which we have heard before from him or the lecturers. This repetition is not boring; it reinforces the information, so that some is actually sinking into our consciousness. We first saw the Old Palace site, to one side and actually under the New Palace site. The New Palace era started after the earthquake and volcano in Santorini in 1740 BC. We learned that much of the interpretation is still based on the work of one ... read more
Ancient Athens and Cyclades - Heraklion, Friday 2011 April 29
Published: June 4th 2013Europe » Greece » Crete » Heraklion
June 4th 2013
We were only able to see the highlights of the Archeological Museum because the main part is under (reportedly) interminable refurbishment. The most famous pieces are housed in a temporary area. The beauty of each piece made me want to linger. The most famous is the black Minoan bull head with gold horns and mother of pearl snout – for libations. Even more important is the Phaistos Disk which is being used to decipher ancient Minoanscript; Kriton explained that this is very difficult because most of the written texts are inventory lists dated to the massive fire caused by the explosion of Santorini. Our bus took us to the suburbs of Heraklion, a city of 250,000... read more
May 10th 2013
The band width has not been friendly to blogging and updating. Will complete when we can!... read more
May 10th 2013
This is the last port day of a marvelous cruise with lots of ports. We are tired on this day and in no hurry to get up, around and off the ship. We have no plans with no tour scheduled. Though we could sleep in we are up early. Breakfast in our room, which you get nice choices on the Junior Suite menu. We take our time as we are thinking it might rain, though it clears off for us! So we disembark and for 3 Euro per person we have round trip tickets on the city bus to town then back. Not a bad deal. The bus drops you off in the heart of shopping. There is a very busy market with anything an everything imaginable for sale. From meats, vegetables, fruits to gift soap. ... read more
May 7th 2013
Tuesday 7 May, 2013, Iraklion (Heraklion), Crete, Greece Once the centre of the Minoan civilization, as well as the largest of all the Greek Islands, Crete has a rich cultural history that forms a large part of the overall tapestry of Greece. According to Greek mythology, goddess Rhea hid the newborn Zeus in a cave on the Island, where he was subsequently reared by nymphs who protected him from his enemies. It was also on Crete, that Zeus took the form of a bull in order to seduce the maiden Europa. After another early posh breakfast we alighted the ship and walked to the main bus station where we purchased our tickets and caught the no 2 to Knossos which is about 5 km outside of the town of Iraklion. The Minoan Palace is the main ... read more
Advertisement
Celebrating the end of the winter (which wasn't that cold anyway!)
Published: April 15th 2013Europe » Greece » Crete » Chania
April 15th 2013
No matter the season, you will (almost) always find the climate and landscape you want in Crete. Last month, we decided to celebrate the end of the carnival season, the beginning of spring and the birthday of a dear friend, up the majestic Lefka Ori (White Mountains) in the prefecture of Chania. Most people come to Crete for summer holidays, but I believe it is best to visit the island in spring or fall, when it is less crowded and warm enough to swim. But even for the winter, Cretan mountains and villages are ideal destinations (and cheaper than the Alps!). Plus, what many people don't know is that they can even url=http://cretazine.com/en/crete/travel-explore/crete-in-action/item/999-crossing-lefka-ori-with-skisski in Crete! Lefka Ori have 57 summits with an altitude of more than 2.000 meters and 54 summits reaching 2.000 meters. The ... read more
April 2nd 2013
As a traveller (and pirate, of course!) I soon came to realize that the best place to write for is your own. Naturally, you know better the land that nurtured you, the culture that defined you, landscapes and scents you feel connected to. Since I was very young I sailed to discover the world leaving my base for a long time. I came back to Crete where I grew up to 'reinforce' my base and from there I kept traveling, whenever possible. The years I spent on the island revealed to me hidden places I never imagined they existed on such a small piece of land and I discovered the endless possibilites of an isolated 'continent' surrounded by sea. Minoans, Byzantines, Saracen Arabs, Venetians, Ottomans, Greeks and many others called this place 'home' throughout the centuries, ... read more
Greece is Hellas Cool (but it's a shame about Athens..)
Published: December 9th 2012Europe » Greece » Crete » Heraklion » Anissaras
December 9th 2012
Souvlaki, tzatziki, moussaka and ouzo are all obvious reasons to spend time in Greece. The other main drawcard to Greece (in favour of the close runner-up, Italy) were the "Crisis Prices" - a term not coined by us, but by an inordinate amount of souvenir shops in all of Greece's tourist meccas, normally to advertise their sales. Along with the amazing food, we were also excited to explore the pristine beaches and ancient ruins - all on a remarkably small budget. We also managed to time our trip during the perfect overlap of "end of tourist season" (i.e. reduced crowds and even further reduced accommodation prices) with unseasonably warm weather. Most locals we spoke to commented that the weather wasn't normally this sunny and warm at this time of year (October) so we were very lucky ... read more
October 20th 2012
Boat, plane, train, taxi, bus. On paper and in a straight line, Hydra to Hania on Crete isn't overly daunting. In practice it's a full day of backsliding from one form of transport to another. Neither did the three hour bus portion from Araklio airport to Hania inspire. The drive itself is simple enough but scenically it is a mix of sun baked drab land, urban sprawl and a dappling of unkempt coastal hamlets on the wrong side of appealing. Then there was the final 1 klm trudge from the bus station through the urban mediocrity of "New Hania", hangdog expressions ingrained on our faces. Following which: Pay-dirt as we slid into the Old Town of Hania. Kind of walled in parts, the whitewashed facades banished and replaced by glorious stone buildings in assorted varieties of ... read more
October 5th 2012
Chania,Crete - Greece Well neither one of us really wanted another full busy day starting at 6 a.m. so we made it happen at 6:30 a.m. instead..and yup half an hour helped. I have always been the coffee fetcher first thing in the morning…comb through my hair and head for the coffee station. Sian is really not so in need of coffee first thing. Nothing like me or my sisters. Usually it is so early I could probably show up in pjs and no one would notice… It has become a tradition. We are on a shorter tour today..only a 5 hour one and happy for that…we both admit we could easily just stop today…but hey we haven’t been here before …so we get moving…. We are in Chania,Crete, pronounced with a silent C…we head for ... read more
