Crete

After two quick days in Athens we were off by plane to Crete, with an early morning call at 5:30 to make an early flight.  Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits (such as its own poetry and music). Crete was once the center of the Minoan civilization (c. 2700–1420 BC), which is currently regarded as the earliest recorded civilization in Europe.  Our hotel was in Heralion, the capital of Crete.  

The hotel was quite nice and our room had a nice balcony overlooking balconies of apartment buildings behind us as well as the streets below.  In the distance we could see the sea over the buildings.  The food served in the hotel was better than in the hotel in Athens and we enjoyed a nice group dinner the first evening, with breakfast served everyday, included with the room as is the European style.

During out stay in Crete we took two excursions, one to see the ruins at Knossos (in the central center of the island), and the second a full day trip to Chania, west on the northern coast.  I will post separately on each of those excursions.

We enjoyed our short stay on Crete and only wish there has been time to explore more of the island as we saw none of the southern coast or cities.  We found a couple of nice restaurants near the hotel and the last evening ate in one where they took us back into the kitchen to show us what they had prepared for the evening so that we could select our meals.  Apparently this is their normal way of doing business.  The food was great!