Chania Highlights

Here's a smattering of pics from around old town.  Tomorrow at this time we'll be on our way to Seattle via Athens.

Yet one more post on food

A place recommended for lunch by the gal at the front desk of our lodging, with a name of I don't know what, but a damn good lunch.  We'll go back there again tomorrow for our Chania farewell meal.

Beer and bread, so far so good.

Stuffed zucchini (this is actually a main course, but they gave me a have serving as a side dish).  The lemon sauce around the plate was fantastic.  What didn't get eaten with the zucchini was sopped up with the bread.

Roasted chicken, seasoned with paprika and chili powder I would guess.

And a Chania best practices, they serve complementary desert and raki with each meal.  Desert was this pannacotta drizzled with caramel.  A light and delightful end to a meal on a good hot day.

I didn't take a picture of Cathy's stew.  A mixture of potatoes, spinach, green beans, white beans flavored with herbs and  spices.

They did give us a little "extra," I'm afraid because of my camera.  Because I was taking pictures of the food they may have assumed I was perhaps a travel or food writer.  After we finished our raki they brought out a little carafe of strawberry raki.  After finishing that, they brought another round of honey raki.  Cathy finished mine off, the honey was too sweet.  The waiter told us the women usually take a sip and the man finishes.  This is the first time he's seen the woman finish.  If you've had Turkish raki or Greek ouzo, this Crete raki is different from both.  It doesn't have the strong anise flavor of ouzo or the now forgotten  flavoring of the raki of Turkey.  More like straight, drinkable alcohol.  I'm guessing the Ottomans introduced it when they occupied the island.  Regardless, we'll be bringing home a bottle. First come first served.

Sunrise

Set the alarm for 5:45 this am to climb a nearby hill for sunrise.  Quiet streets, cool air and beautiful sunrise were our rewards.

Dinner and a Stroll

Strike!

We went to the municipal art gallery only to find it (as well as the nearby tourist info kiosk) closed.

But we did find this place where they serve a borek Cathy wanted to try.  In fact it's the only thing they serve.  We walked in and they didn't ask if we wanted a menu, rather, how many portions did we want.  It is a filo dough pastry stuffed with cheese.  Sorry, cameraman was slow on the uptake, so you'll have to use your imagination.

The local archaeological museum was as good as any we saw in Turkey.  And for only 3 euro entrance fee and no crowds.  Minoan artifacts dating some 5,000 plus years old, many beautiful, all interesting.

 

And then we went to the Turkish Quarter to find a restaurant called The Well of the Turk, not to eat, but to locate so that when we do go there to dinner we'll be able to get there. So we wandered around, through narrow and winding alleys and finally   after an hour or two.  Now concerned how we will find it again, I paid very close attention to the landmarks on the way back to our lodging.  Well, ha ha, if not only two or three short blocks we were at the main market which is only a few more short blocks to Vranas Suites.  Anyway, interesting walk and some photos from along the way.

And so comes the heat of the afternoon.  Picnic supplies from the grocery to our room, where Cathy worked on her art journal, I did a thorough job on my nap journal, and now it's gin and tonic time.  Since the Well of the Turk is closed on Tuesday's, need to find an alternative dinner place.  It's a tough job but somebody gotta do it.

Chania Day One

Got to our room at about 11:00, drank a fantastic bottle of Cretan wine we found around the corner.  Cathy said I was loopy and that she's never seen me loopy.  I think she had so much wine she was the loopy one.

A darling room with a small kitchen and a balcony over the street (a while ago while doing these posts the restauranteer below us (where we had breakfast this morn) recognized us and called up and waived).

The town is darling as well.

We did a walk through the market, checked out the orthodox cathedral which is just over my shoulder right now, walked the Venetian waterfront, slurped a lemon iced drink and found Tamam on a narrow side street...a restaurant touted as one of, if not the best on Crete.  Cathy had a Tamam salad which consisted of mixed greens, yogurt and avocado.  I had goat filets with roasted potatoes.  The food was delish.  At the end they brought a little desert and complimentary raki made on the island. 

After lunch we did some grocery shopping, Cathy had a shoe repaired by a local cobbler, who charged a few small coins, and we relaxed with gin and tonics and when the sun went down, a wine made at a local monastery.  Not as good as yesterdays wine.  Here's a few pics from the day.  Unfortunately, somehow I managed to change the settings on my camera and so do not have many jpeg images available from today to share. 

Rodos (aka Rhodes)

 Rhodes was an interim step between the hustle of the Rick Steves tour and the next week of leisure on our own.  Took a large chunk of time to get here Saturday, a two hour taxi ride, a 50 minute ferry to Kos, a 4 hour layover in Kos, a 2.5 hour ferry to Rhodes.  In the evening we strolled inside the old city walls amongst the cruise ship oriented shops.  Next morning after a rough night in a hot hotel room on a noisy street we walked the old town again, and in the light, relative coolness and lack of commercial hawking going on, we really enjoyed the fortress and its interior.  Towards the end of the day we flew to Chania via Athens.  It was funny to watch the airline crews trying to serve beverages and nuts to all passengers and then collect the garbage, all within the 35 minute flights.  They have to hustle.