Our Trip - Day Seven

Happy Tuesday and Happy Birthday to a certain someone.

 

 

 

The reason that this trip has happened is because Kim is celebrating a special birthday and she wants to spend it with her friends.  What she doesn't know is that there is a surprise or two planned for her.  We wake up after another great sleep on the hard Euro bed and put on our #yok shirts. It's the Year of Kim.  She loves it and has a great laugh.  She then is surprised again with a lovely card and a beautiful ring.

 

 

 

We start the day nice and slowly with a couple digestive cookies, more great coffee and the view of the bay and more warships.  Al whips up a great breakfast using some of the leftovers from the night before of Bacon, Eggs, Fried Mushrooms, Potatoes and some toast.

 

We work on and come up with our next plan.  Our next move is to head into the beach town of Rethymnon.  The owners of the villa actually own a restaurant in the town and as renters, we've been invited to a lunch at the restaurant.  We one by one get ready and make our way on to the driveway.  We drive the hour along the twisty hilly highway, the gps again lets us down and we miss our exit by a stop.  My excellent navigating skills get us back on track and as a side note,  I'm ready to take on the field in Amazing Race Canada.  We enter the touristy beach town full of cafe's and little shops, some looking to cell your typical beach junk that you can find in any beach town anywhere in the world.  It's some crazy tight streets with cars parked on both sides and the Katie Kab had just enough room, but we made it with some skillful driving by our Captain.  We enjoy the lovely free lunch, gyros, souvlaki, pizza, salads and some of the best milkshakes ever.

 

 

The birthday, sponsored by Mythos.

Fans of those milkshakes.

 

The meat platter.

 

  We all enjoy it and get ready to make a walk around the bay to check out the sites on this scorcher of a day.  We walk around the marina and a quick stop at the beach. 

 

 

 

We keep on moving and head to the small fortress at the top of a small hill.  We enter the fortress and go for a walkabout and check out the stunning views out over the water.  We've certainly seen a lot of old stuff in the past week. 

 

 

We cut through some narrow streets filled with all sorts of shops. 

 

 

 

It's here when I invest in some $10 Beats By Dre Headphones.  As expected, these weren't the real deal.  For the tenner, I had to check them out and see what kind of quality one can expect for $10.  It was on these streets we saw one of the most precise pieces of driving to date.  A driver is bringing in a double decker on to these streets and he must been less than an a quarter inch over the side walk and somehow his front tire doesn't hit the curb.  Amazing stuff.

 

 

 

We stop off at a beachfront cafe to rehydrate before getting to the cars for the hour drive back. 

 

 

 

We chat with our waiter and he's never heard of Souda Bay.  I'm stunned with this news, 55 km's away and he's never heard of it.  The naval base that's there, you have to drive though it to get to one of the islands major cities of Chania and yet he's never heard of it.  That's like me not knowing where Oshawa is.  I drive 45 km's to get work work each day, a very different culture indeed.

 

On our way back, we stop in the small town before Souda Bay and stop off at a grocery store.  We pick up what we need for dinner that night, which will be further known as exploding sausage.  In walking around the store, I discover I need to pee and I see the opportunity for a gag.  So I see the security guard and ask him where is the wc?  He escorts me to the back of the store.  During this walk we stop by Katie, I lower the basket and tell Katie that security has asked me to leave the store.  She is stunned and confused.  I start to laugh and walk to the washroom.  For the next few days, I would go on to be asked to leave several other places, marketplaces, parking garages, restaurants and even the villa.

 

With most of us tired from the sun and a long day of walking, that was an early night for most, including this guy.

 Fade out Day Seven...

Our Trip - Day Six

It's Monday morning and this day starts somewhat early, I never sleep well that first night somewhere, no matter how I tired I am.

 

I was lucky to enjoy some toast and fruit from our basic supply shop of the day before.  Aided with some delicious coffee, this day was off and running.

 

It's the first morning so we get to see that the bay is full of some activity and not all is fun in games in the water this fine morning.

 

 

We've got one major mission today and that mission is groceries.  The list is made and a handful of us go to experience a true Crete super market.  As this was Katie's first time taking the driveway from hell up, the four of us walked up the hill so she could meet us up there and drive it by herself.  Thankfully she rocked it and that dreaded walk wasn't needed every time we left the Villa.

 

A quick drive into Souda Bay and Sherry spots the sign, "Grocery Stores just have that font" she says.  It was so cool to walk the aisles of the small store, the small store that had just about everything we needed.  No big box store here.  You'd recognize a few of the brands, Ruffles chips has different and far few flavours.  I do pick up on the lack of candy selection.  Like hungry stoner teenage kids we run around filling two carts and crack 400 Euro. The cashier just had two questions.

 

Are there more of you?

Are you moving here?

 

I guess they don't get too many bills for 400 Euro. Hahahaa.

 

Between the grocery store and the mini market next door, we get every item on the list.  A skillful packing job to get everything in the van and hoping that nothing slides when taking the driveway back into the villa.  Another skillful packing job is required to get everything back into the small Euro fridge.

 

 

 

Everything away, beers get opened and the patio/pool time begins.  During the early afternoon, I act like a local and take a nap for a couple of hours to get recharged.  Pool time is in full effect. 

 

 

Dinner that night is a lovely pork souvlaki, baked potatoes, grilled mushroom, roasted garlic and Greek salad.  Can't you just taste it. 

 

 

 

A great day in th sun with great friends, great drinks and great food comes to a close.

Our Trip - Day Five

Day Five continues on and let's jump right on in.

Bird transporter lady is checking out her birds and they seem like they're going to rest most of the trip.  Whew.  That could have been rough.

Not too strange, I get bored.  So I go for another walk, this time with a mission.  Katie needs to get that communication device charged up for texting, bbm and most importantly.  The GPS application, because when we get landside, we'll be going on another adventure.  Driving.  So off I go looking for power plugs and as you can guess, there are few and far between on the ferry, but I only found two.  It was on this walk about I found something I didn't expect to see.  Sleeping bags.  Unrolled and laying claim to their spot.  Along wide halls, under stair cases.  Basically the darkest most quiet part of the boat.  There weren't any fights, these holds appeared to be respected among the ferry traveling community.  People must get on the boat, pick their spot and then head up to the bar for a night of drinking and retire to their floor space to get a few hours of sleep.  These were season travellers.  I show Katie to her plug and she stretches out and takes a nap.  We ate at very different times during our broken sleep and I took in Step Mom on the tv.  During one of our walks I did find the Internet Cafe and was lucky enough to find a computer that someone must have bought a couple hours on so I was able to keep an eye on the Jays.  I checked in a few times, apparently this kind person  bought me some Internet time a few times during the night because i did get updates a few times.  We won again!  Katie did wake me to tell me that we were almost there and that I should go up a deck to check the views of Crete as we enter the bay.  Of we go to see the sun rising on to Crete, turns out we more than likely made eyes with our home for the week, we just didn't know that at the time as we entered Souda Bay.

 

We could have showered in the boat, but that would have been like showering in an Airplane bathroom, so we both passed.  So after walking almost 23000 steps in the Athens heat, sleeping in our clothes on a ferry.  We had some, shall we say, travel smell.

We docked at 6:00 am but we were expecting to meet up with the car rental place until 8:00 am.  So we sat for a while and waited for the rush to get back off the boat.  That really worked because apparently those escalators are only one way and we had to slowly make our way down the stairs with our huge pieces of luggage.  We're exiting the boat and heading down the ramp and the strangest thing happens.  6:30 in the morning, exiting a Ferry on the isle of Crete and Katie's cell phone starts to ring.  It was the car rental guy and he's wondering where we are because he knew the boat comes in at 6:00 he came early to meet us so we didn't have to wait 2 hours for the car.  Amazing! What service!  We got to the end of the ramp where we see the kind man holding a sign for Mrs. Katie Meredith.

Katie had to take a picture because we aren't the kind of people that have people waiting for them with signs. We thanked him so much as that was so kind and so appreciated.  He showed us around the mini van which would later go on to be called, the Katie Kab. 

Katie was about to start her biggest challenge on this trip so far.  Driving 5 speed after driving automatic for the last 10 years.

Shaking, sitting in the minibus and talking herself up.  She fired it up and within minutes you wouldn't have known about the driving break.  She would become smooth as silk in changes, mastering hill starts and navigating some of the tightest European streets with ease.  Pro star right there.

We were picking up others in our group at 10:00, so Katie wanted to gas up the van, practice driving a bit and find the airport.  The airport wasn't only 10 km's away and we had lots of time, so no big deal.  It would give us time to tour around the island a little bit.  The locals must have thought we were nuts, a scouting run that was so long.  Later in the week we'd meet a waiter who'd never heard of the town that we were staying in and it's only 50 km's away.  People around here don't travel much.  So we find the airport with ease, really only one way in and out.  So the next mission, find some breakfast.  Katie found something quite quickly, I wasn't ready to let go of the idea of a Canadian type breakfast quite yet.  I wanted something warm, with meat and maybe a potato of some sort.  I'd quickly give up that dream.  No eggs, no browns and no fried pork around here at 7:00 am on a Sunday.  We'd eventually find a great bakery where I basically had a sausage roll with some cheese in it.  I did have some of the best French press coffee I've ever had in my life there.  It was here where I met the cutest wild puppy and we became quick friends.  I think it was the fact I was giving him some sausage that did it.  Look at that face!

We slowly made the hilly turny way back to the Chania Airport.  We parked in a free unmonitored lot that I'm guessing we shouldn't have been in.  But it's Sunday in Greece so things are a little bit lax around here.  We would circle back if need be.  I walked the 30 feet to the 8 gate terminal that made up the Airport and waited for our friends.  It wasn't long before Caro, Al and Jen all appeared through the gate.  Hugs all around, some laughs and travel tales shared as we made our way to the big city of Chania.

We'd find out that rolling around the streets had some serious advantages compared to driving during the week.  Nobody was out driving in town and the streets were very, very quiet.  We parked in a market area, illegally as a local would tell us later when we came back to the van.  Our first cafe visit in Chania and a lunchtime beer.  Having to pee and not a WC in sight, I went on a walkabout adventure through the market finding some back alley to visit, judging by the smell, I wasn't the first to use it that day my friends.

Next up.  A worry we all had.  Getting some groceries on a Sunday afternoon in Crete.

We passed one Supermarket and then stopped for some advice from a local.  Not the last time we'd do that on this day.  Nothing.  All going to be closed today he tells me.  Up the street is a minimarket and that's all you're going to find this day. The market, next to the bakery from breakfast as it turns out.  Some nibbles, veggies, cheeses and meats were bought and that would be enough for this crew to get through the day.  During the "shop" we had gotten word from Kim that they were at the Villa and that it was time to head on down.  This simple appearing task would go on to prove oh so very difficult.  We loaded up our purchases and were off. 

Heading back to Souda was no problem, but the instructions from the Villa we didn't find clear and the photos not all that helpful.  Gas station visit number 2 for some advice.  Off we go for a while again, continuing in the right direction.  But turning wrong or early fairly consistently.  We started to recognize names of things so we know we were close.  We made the first left and made our way down the hill.  Katie's phone beeps with a text.  It reads.  You turned down the wrong street.  You want the next turn.  It's Kim.  All I'm thinking is.  The call is coming from in the HOUSE!  All laughing in wonder.  Can she see us?  We turn around and head back up the hill.  No small feat.  We're making our way back up the hill and Katie spots her, she can see us!  We quickly make our way to the next driveway.  A steep driveway with a 90 degree right turn near the bottom.  Intense.

Let's unpack the minibus.  We're home.

 

A quick tour around the villa and we get our room.  A lovely room with two balconies overlooking the lovely bay.  Another rock solid bed, those Europeans know how to do it.  Throw some clothes in the temporary homes and head on downstairs for a cold one and a great view.  Hours go by and we have our first of many villa Greek Salads, some cheeses and some veggies.

The last of our crew arrives and her driver makes the same first road turn mistake that we've all made.  The driver does something that stuns us all.  He backs down the drivway hill of death.  We all stare in amazement as he finishes it off and Sherry jumps out of the car.  She quickly puts her stuff away and joins the group for a drink and nibble. 

One by one, each traveller turns in early as we're all travel tired as we've all taken different ways to get here.  Katie and I had been up for two days and were in desperate need of a shower.  Cleaned up and ready for bed, this day fades out.

Our Trip - Day Four

Fade in Day Four...

We head on down to the basement breakfast buffet, my how things have changed in 24 hours.  As we enter the seating area, the tour bus from last night is just finishing up and leaving very little food in the buffet.  Who's laughing now?  The buffet not quite as stocked as the previous hotel, but good enough to fill up.  A brief stop at the lobby to see how the Jays did, another win!! 

We hadn't planned the day specifically, we just went out the hotel and started to walk.  We bumped into a family from Glasgow who were heading to the Acropolis, we tagged along with them for the steep long hike up to the entrance.  A quick purchase of tickets and listening to a lot of complaining about the price.  It kind of surprised me because I actually thought the price of admission was quite cheap.  Unlike the Powerade like drinks I bought outside the entrance.  I'd never heard of the brand but here's hoping it's good because I'm sure it just cost me like 14 bucks.  Damn Euro Tourist Traps.

This concert hall is still used today and they're just closing down a concert from a couple days ago.

 

Up the countless slippery steps to the top of the "hill" or small mountain really.  I can't do justice to explain the scale, beauty and preciseness of the Parthenon.  Such massive pieces of stone all in the exact right place, nothing out of place even by the smallest measure.  The restoration project started before Canada was even a country.  So ya, this stuff be old.  The heat was extreme that day, thankfully there was a slight breeze to help keeps somewhat manageable.  The blood orange thirst quench drink was awesome and sadly I couldn't find it anywhere else after this.  I've said this a lot about things we've seen this trip, but when you close your eyes you can still it all like you're standing up there that day.

A rest stop and more overpriced Gatorade before we make our way back down the other side of the hill.  A tour through narrow streets and small neighbourhoods.  Feels like we're walking through peoples yards really.  We turn and head into the small area of Plaka and we love it.  Small shops and restaurants.  We promised the men trying to get you to their restaurant that we'd be back and it was just too early in the day to eat.  They give you business cards and promise you free wine or a free appetizer to get you back.  Turns out the business cards work as I used one to get us back there later in the day for some much needed lunch.

We make our way out of Plaka and we're standing in front of the beautiful National Gardens.  A tour through the gardens and a view of Parliament later and we're at the door step of the Temple of Zeus.

More massive scale and not a single thing out of place. A lap around to take it all in and we were moving again. 

It wasn't me.



Over to the Panathenaic Stadium, it looked big but not 65,000 people big. We take a seat in the first row, rest up a bit and take in some water. 

Look at those steps, people must have been tall back then.

 



We're they greeted by an Australian fellow who begins to rib us jokingly about doing a lap.  You don't come from Canada all the way here and don't do a lap. We have a nice chat with the man and he tells us about the time he spent a month in Banff for a holiday around Christmas time one year.  Off we go for a lap, Katie lines up and she's off.  The stadium is used for the finish line for many marathons including those in the Olympics hosted by Greece. 

We start making our way back to Plaka where we're about to have a fantastic meal and meet one of the funniest waiters, we just don't know it yet.  Being in Greece, one has to have some souvlaki.  Katie was looking at some old favorites; Pizza or a club sandwich.  The waiter and I explain to her that she's in Greece and that she can have that stuff when she goes back home.  So we split a Greek Salad and some Souvlaki.  We ended the meal with some coffees and introduced to Moscato, a lovely dessert wine that's not sweet. We'll be back in a week and we'll be sure to visit Estia in the heart of Plaka again. Another bonus, across the cobblestone street from the restaurant is a rooftop cinema with a view of the Acropolis.  That sounds awesome and we'll have to check that out on the return trip. 

We take a nice slow walk back to our Hotel where we walk by the Acropolis museum and that warrants checking out.  It's on this walk where I meet one of Athens young citizens trying to get me to buy a flower.  Sensing a scam, we quickly moved on and watched our bags.  Back at the hotel for a change, a bag check and some free wifi.  We ask the front desk for a cab, because we're off to the port so we can take our next adventure.  A ferry.

The cab quickly goes through some city streets and we enter what almost feels like a highway.  Nothing like we've got here, but highwayish.  We head through an Industrial part of town and it feels like Hamilton like.  He asks us again where we're going, we respond "The Port" and he starts getting a bit frustrated with us.  "Where from port are you going?" Ohhhh, Crete.  He nods and says Ferries.  Turns out he had a good reason to ask, we'd learn on our return trip that the port is actually 40 KM's long.  He stops outside the great boat and then proceeds to tell us, that because the Hotel called for the cab that there is a $7 charge for that.  Jacking the rate from 10 to 17 bucks.  Very confused and feeling ripped off, we throw the money over the seat.  He hands us our bags and leaves.  Turns out the fee is actually legit, but either way, just start the meter at $7 if that's the case.

It's a bit early so we've got to hang about on the dock waiting for boarding.  We took the walk up the ramp with the fellow passengers only to be told we've got a reservation and not tickets, NEXT!  Katie and I share a look in a bit of a panic.  Where do we get tickets?  He then nicely and calmly says, oh just outside the boat at the travel centre.  Off Katie goes for what seems like forever as I'm standing there with the luggage and everyone is wondering, what's with this guy?  She comes back waving tickets in hand and the man smiles, scans and gives us the go ahead.  We look up the long escalator ride at our next adventure.

Welcome to deck 8, air seats, please turn left here. We cut through a door and we're left looking at the concrete and steel patio looking deck that is 8.  Uncomfortable looking patio chairs and tables are all over the deck and it's already a bit chilly.  I can't imagine what this is going to feel like at 2:00 AM.  We take a seat and tuck away our luggage beside us in a corner, we look back at the city and take in the views.  I think to myself, this is going to be a very long cold journey to Crete.  Already fidgety, I get up and go for a walk and to see what this boat has to offer.  Turns out, a lot.  In the summer season, this must be a party boat.  Pools, bars, restaurants, stores, cafes.  It's got it all. I come back and grab Katie and explore what I've found so far, we can leave the bags because there is next to no one on the boat yet.  We come back and take a seat and I start to people watch.  I keep seeing people come through the door that we did and then disappear through another.  We go and check it out and we're quickly asked for our tickets. 

Katie shows them and we're taken to our seats in a large indoor room, with carpet, airplane like seating, except bigger and with way more room.  A couple of televisions and more importantly, shelving to store luggage.  Ahhhhh.  There we go, this is muuuuch better and will make for a way more comfortable ride.  We grab our bags and stretch out for a bit as we've got a couple hours before departure.  Just before it's time to go, we head to the back and watch it all happen and Athens slowly gets smaller in our rear view.
 

Back to our seats, Katie stretches out and proceeds to read.  I lay back and people watch.  The seniors, the young travellers, the families and the lady transporting birds in a cage.  Wait what?

This ferry ride is an all nighter, so we'll close out this chapter on that note.