Our Adventures Await

Welcome to our blog, a place for sharing our adventures as we explore Greece and Europe. Join us as we create memories and share them with you, our friends and family back home. We hope you enjoy the journey!

This sea turtle, Suzie, hangs around the Chania harbor.  The fishermen and restaurants feed her whenever she shows up. So cool to see.  We have only lucked out once seeing her. 

We took a side trip to Matala.  The caves in the second picture were once Roman tombs.  In the 1960s hippies starting living in them.  The place still has a bit of that vibe.  The southside is mainly an agricultural area.  There are miles and miles of greenhouses.  The tree outside our airbnb was loaded with ripe figs.  So sweet and good.  

We found a wonderful herb store.  Absolutely everything you can imagine.  Needless to say we left with quite a few purchases.  

First time I have actually seen a praying mantis.  We get quite a lot of them around here.  Cool looking.  We made a 3 day trip to the Southside of the island to a little village called Frangokastello.  Lovely place right on the coast.  I couldn't get over the number of swallows.  There was probably 4 times what is shown in the pictures.  Good old Google maps sent us on a horrible, very narrow and very winding road.  The switchbacks were crazy.  And of course you have to keep an eye out for goats and sheep.  When we left we took a different road out and it was great.  No idea why it would not have been the recommended one.  

This is one of our favorite restaurants.  They have live Greek music every Monday and we rarely miss going.  The music is great as is the food.  Like so many restaurants around here they are only open through the busy tourist season which is about mid May to end of October.  

Well I am in the middle of changing websites as I had so many problems with the old one. For right now I am not sure where I left off (:  So there might be a couple of overlaps.   Anyways...a picture of a restaurant on top of a hill in a little village close by.  When we arrived there was only a couple other people and tables.  As the night went on they just kept dragging tables out from a couple different buildings  to accommodate people.  Lovely meal.  Also a picture of the neighbors artichokes.

We didn’t realize when we booked this place that we are in a very touristy area. We have a very lovely view from the top deck. We also have about 5 cats that come to visit every day and get a meal. The traffic is crazy busy. People are elbow to elbow on the sidewalks. I can’t imagine what it is like in the middle of summer. The main street is very close to the ocean and is a decent size, but not enough to accommodate two driving lanes and parking on each side. People park up on sidewalks and double park everywhere. Of course once you get off the main drag, the roads are pretty much all windy and narrow. A person has to be very careful going around corners here. Drivers pay very little attention to any road rules. They pass pretty well everywhere they want . At least most people will pull over to the far right to let others go past when on the main highway. Motorbikes are the worse. It’s like they have a death wish. They weave through traffic and up on sidewalks. When stopped at a red light they pass everyone and go to the front. Quite often they will even go through red lights. It is rare to see any police so people get away with things very easily. Greece is supposed to be one of the safest countries in the world so I presume that is why there is a very small police presence here.

We arrived in Chania on Crete, September 27. Spent a couple days in an Airbnb before moving into the villa we rented in Stalos, just West of Chania. We have a wonderful view and huge deck to enjoy it from. Weather is hot and sunny.

First stop was Rome. We found a nice little AirBnb close to the airport. Stayed two days so Sophie (and us) could adjust a bit. 9 1/2 hour direct flight from Calgary. Evening flight and no sleep. We are beat. Lovely area. We fly to Athens next with another two day stop.

Well we did it!

We finally received our visas and are on our way. Greece here we come. 😊

 

First stop was Rome. We found a nice little AirBnb close to the airport. Stayed two days so Sophie (and us) could adjust a bit. 9 1/2 hour direct flight from Calgary. Evening flight and no sleep. We are beat. Lovely area. We fly to Athens next with another two day stop.