Week 11 Crete, Greece

Dear Ethel, Family and Friends,

It has been another busy week, starting with our brief visit to London. We arrived at 6am after the 12 hour flight and headed off straight away to Buckingham Palace where we were in time for the changing of the guards. It’s quite a spectacle and worth seeing, I’ve put a video on Youtube. That evening we went out to see my Uncle Murray for dinner. Tuesday it was more sightseeing starting with the London Eye, the big ferris wheel overlooking the whole city. Murray joined us for the day as well as we wandered around town and visiting some quaint old English Pubs.

Wednesday we were on an afternoon flight to Iraklois, the capital of Crete. Arriving at about 9 and getting settled in to the hotel, we ventured out to dinner at about 11pm, most of the restaurants were only warming up as it is still considered early in Greece. In the light of day the beauty of the location revealed itself, a truly stunning place, every ally and street is a postcard setting, from the harbour town fort to the top of the city walls. Thursday we just walked around taking photos and drinking it in. It’s been a bit of a culture shock as we have come from Bangkok to London and now Greece within a week. We feel a little drab as the locals look so stunningly dressed. On the Friday we visited Knossos which is a palace from the Minoic Civilization dating back 2000 BC. Unfortunately some English git arrived in about 1900 or so and concreted everything he could see. So it was a bit of a disappointment, but worth seeing all the same.

Saturday, we caught the bus 80km to the west to another town called Rethymno where we found a hotel room overlooking the Mediterranean and a group of Restaurants with a balcony for only 35 Euros a night, half the price of Iraklio and twice the view. The old city here is even more scenic. There is also a large fort overlooking the town that we visited today. We were a bit worried about money when we first arrived, but we realise that if we stick to the smaller towns it will be cheaper.

We are staying 3 days here and then moving on to Kissamos, a small town on the far western end of the Island on Wednesday, so we can catch a ferry to the mainland on Thursday. We are going to visit some German friends who have a holiday house in Kalamata. So far the plan is to stay a week there and then come back to Crete.

PS: I have posted some more video on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=RicusDeVaux

All the best for now

Ric & Louise