K&A Journey

Our time on Crete was intended to be our relaxing down time after the whirl-wind adventures in Rome and on the Med Cruise.  The Koutouloufari Village Holiday Club is in a quiet village with great restaurants and shops, close to buses to get to the larger cities, and feels like home.  This is our fourth time staying here…. we arrived after a short flight from Athens on Saturday (26th).  This is the lemon tree just below our patio this time.

On Tuesday we went to Agios Nikolaos by bus.  This is the top of the stairs leading into old town by the lake.  Lots of great restaurants and shops to putter around.

This is the view across the small Voulismeni Lake in town – really pretty.

The water here is so clear.

We went back to our favourite restaurant called PiATO – this what the view looks like from here.  Amazing greek food – we’ve eaten very well this trip – only a couple of bad meals in three weeks total.

On Wednesday we met up with our friend Eni and her sons from the Koutouloufari Village – they gave us a great walking tour of old Heraklion.  Along the old walls, we were surprised to see a stack of old Ottoman gravestones – really neat!

Heraklion has been a city under Minoan, Byzantine, Venetian, and Ottoman rule over the years and each era has had it’s impacts on the cities architecture – there are a number of old Ottaman style buildings (or their facades) still standing within the old city walls.

We noted a fair bit of graffiti and had some translated – there were quite a few anarchy symbols on buildings along with regular tagging.  This one was quite funny…

… and this one quite beautiful.

We walked up to the gravesite of beloved Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis – it’s marked with a wooden cross and an engraved plaque. 

This is the view from the park looking down at old town – it’s an amazing labyrinth of streets, old buildings, new, and churches.

This is the Saint Minas Cathedral – the large Greek Othodox church in Heraklion.

Build over 1862-1895, it has amazing frescoes.

Many cozy squares and open areas in old town as well. 

Eni lead us to a great place for coffee in one square, later we stopped for a mez lunch and beer in the afternoon.  This was the mural on one of the newer buildings in old town – very wild!

 

What a wonderful day – we ended with a stop at a fantastic bakery called Kritikos Fournos – we will have to come back here again.  

As we wind down our last day, we realise we didn’t plan enough time in Koutouloufari – we’re just getting to relaxing now and getting into the night routine, finding new restaurants, and enjoing the views.  We’re very glad to see our little village doing well, with a vibrancy that we always remembered.

photo by Allan – Cannon G11 

Very sad to be going home tomorrow…  We can’t wait to come back – it’s been to long.

Today we were off the ship bright and early for our transfer to Athens airport and a quick flight back to Crete where we will be spending our next week in our beloved Koutouloufari.  The Crown Princess was great and we look forward to cruising again soon.

We’re on Mykonos today!  We’ve been here once before – it’s another one of those amazing places that you have to see to believe.

The cute, narrow, white painted walkways…

…and brightly painted doors and windows.  We noted there were lots of new, very high-end shops since last time.

The windmills haven’t changed much; although, they appear to be restoring one of the older ones.

This is called the “little venice” area where there are lots of sea-side restaurants to choose from.

The colours on the white backdrop, on this very sunny warm day were amazing.

We looked in a few of the churches that were open – there were lots of tiny little ones.

Wow!

I’m sure we will be back – it would be nice to stay here for a week some time…

Back to the Crown…  We’ve had such a great time at sea – it’s going to be hard to switch to a different routine!

We’re on Crete again!  This is Chania (pronounced hania with a soft ‘h’) – we’ve never been to this the western end of Crete.

Chania is known for its 14th-century Venetian harbor, narrow streets and waterfront restaurants. 

On Chania’s harbour is the Mosque of the Janissaries – an Ottoman-era domed mosque that is now used for art exhibitions. 

It’s good to be back on Crete – the hills are looking pretty dry for late May…

The Church of Agios Nikolaos was built 700 years ago as a Catholic church, but converted to a Mosque during the Turkish occupation of Crete.  The Mosque minaret still stands intact even though the church was converted back to an orthodox christian church.

The Mediterranean Sea is so beautiful!

This is the Orthodox Church of Holy Mary in the old town.

Amazing frescoes inside…

…and carved doors outside.

photo by Allan – Cannon G11 

At the harbor entrance is a 16th-century lighthouse with Venetian, Egyptian, and Ottoman influences.  We’ve had a great day in Chania – I’m sure we’ll be back again some time…

We’re in Corfu Town today – the main city on the Greek island of Corfu.  The town is situated between the old fortress (in the background here), and the new Venetian fortress.

This is the grand Palace of St. Michael and St. George.

It originally served as the residence of the British Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands and was built between 1819 and 1824.

This is the 15th century Saint Spyridon Church.

It was quite busy inside with tourists, priests, and nuns – the ceiling was quite amazing!

The architecture was quite a mix of Venetian, British, and French rule eras.

In one of the many churches that we poked our heads in, there was a wedding in progress!  Not the first time we’ve come across a wedding in progress like this…

Some of the squares were quite beautiful.

The side streets offered a bit of a slice of life with laundry hung out and home entrances.

Corfu was under Venetian, French, and British rule before it was united with Greece in 1864 – this 

French-style arcade faces the main plaza and the old fort.

As we walked along the waterfront to the Byzantine Museum, we found additional signs of old churches – apparently there are 39 in town!

The Byzantine Museum was a great stop – even if we only had 20 minutes for a quick look around.

Corfu was a bit rough around the edges, but old town was quite cute – we may be back some day on a cruise, but we don’t think it will be a specific destination for us in the future.