Trick... Treat....

I got on the flight from Athens to JFK this morning (or, in US time, yesterday). There were a couple and a guy also waiting to get on; I heard them talking, and they had all tried to get on the flight the previous day. Fortunately, we all got on; I was super lucky and got a business seat which made the flight go by very pleasantly. Going back to economy transatlantic is going to be a bummer!

Immigration and customs at JFK was relatively quick and painless. It was only when I hit security for the domestic leg that things slowed down. There were only three lines for the whole terminal, and it took a good 25 minutes to get through. Which in the end was fine, as the flight I'm aiming for next has been delayed. So I'm sucking the life out of the Boingo connection I paid for by surfing the web! All in all, it's been more treat than trick so far. Fingers crossed!

Being Flexible, and Waiting

I'm at the Athens airport, waiting to see if I get on to the flight to JFK. Since I'm standby, my cousin has been checking seat availability for me and when we got back to Athens last night and checked email, it appeared that today is my best chance to get to the US until possibly Wednesday. As much as I'd like to spend 3 more days in Greece, I have a work commitment on Wednesday so felt it best to try to get home today. I'm kind of proud of myself for going with the flow as well as I have! and it's part of the adventure.

It was a great week in Greece. For such a short time, I feel like I did and saw a lot. And ate a LOT of cheese pies. :-) It was great hanging out with Charlotte, too; since I just saw her in July, it's not much longer between visits than it would have been if she were still in the U.S. I know I'll be back for another visit, but I think there will be a longer gap this time, which will be weird. I know it won't matter to our friendship though, and besides - we'll be gossiping and staying in touch through email and texting until then.

So... we'll see where I post from next!

Driving to Heaven

What a full day Friday was! The wind was really blowing, and the bay was very choppy. As we walked around the waterfront to the car, a wave crashed up onto the walk and drenched our shoes and pants! The whole walkway was wet, and now we knew why.

We hit the road around 11 am, and after some searching, found the German War Ce

metery just west of Hania. Over 4,400 soldiers from WWII are buried there.

There's an equally large cemetery in the other direction that is the last resting place for Australians, British and Greeks who gave their lives. The German cemetery bears a message of peace that one cannot help but take to heart, thinking of the terrible losses.

We drove on to a monastery, which we somehow passed by, and over a curvy, narrow road up a peninsula. When we reached the town at the end, we got out to stretch our legs and relax our muscles, which had been tensed up during the ride! We decided to take the road back that went down the middle of the peninsula, and it was less nerve-wracking.

The drive took us down the gorgeous we st coast of Crete. We could see beuatiful blue water, and, as we drove, a kri kri (native goat) in the road. Then a dog, tied to a donkey, tied to the side - we took this as a sign to stop in the small town for lunch. The first taverna we approached was closed, and a man sitting out front gestured to us; I wasn't sure what it meant. We walked to another tavernawhich also appeared closed. As we started back to the car, a little old man came hustling up - he owned the taverna and would open it. He asked if we spoke German, and although we said no, his German was better than his English - and our Greek! - so we ended up using German.

He offered fish or "cutlet" (pork), salad, bread and wine that he had made. Sounded good to us! So he made our meal, right then and there! It was funny to be the only ones in the taverna except for the owner and his wife, especially when we had our meal and they sat there watching us eat! It was so good though - everything was incredibly fresh. We were very lpeased with our lunch, and with a unique experience.

From then on, the roads got crazier. Twisty, turny, high on the mountainside, somtimes with a guardrail, sometimes not. The scenery, when I looked, was stunning; it also made my stomach flip to see how high we were. At one point, the road climbed and the rail was so low that it looked like we were driving into the clouds.

The road finally began to descend, and before long, we were at Elafonisi beach. Gorgeous. There is no other word. Some of the sand was pink, and there were volcanic rocks poking out of the deep blue water. The mountains rose behind us. We walked the beach, wading in the water, taking in the beauty.

Too soon, it was time to go back if we wanted light on the mountain drive. We chose to go up through the middle of the mountains, and it turned out to be a less stomach-turning route. The villages were a little bigger on this road, too.

Dinner in Hania was back to Tamam. It was too cool to sit outside, so we sat in the dining room that was once a Turkish bath. Originally we were giong to order all different food, but we ended up getting the tzatziki again, and a variety of croquettes. Everything was delicious once again.

After dinner we wandered the town looking for a place for a nightcap. In trying to find a place we saw early in our wandering, we stumbled across a bar - a proper bar, which is rare in Greece - and it had an amazing selection of beers! Charlotte ordered a Hoegaarden and I haad a Saint Landelin Blonde. A nice way to wind down a busy day.

Today, we're sticking to Hania, checking out the sites, a museum or two, and the shopping. Then back to Athens, where I'll be for.... I don't know how many days! The flights are pretty booked so it looks like I'll be there a little longer than planned. Stay tuned!

Rethymnon

The plans for yesterday were altered due to Charlotte not feeling well. I spent the morning walking around Hania, catching part of the parade for Oxi Day and checking out the location of the market and some little shops that we can go to on Saturday.

In the afternoon, we drove to Rethymnon, which is another charming little city. There is a large Venetian fortress (fortezza) above the town, which both is and provides marvelous views. We toured the fortress then walked around the old town, which is, like Hania, full of narrow lanes and beautiful Venetian architecture. We managed to locate all of the major sights: the mosque, the loggia, and the fountain (the latter quite by accident!).

Lunch had been at an unremarkable taverna in Rethymnon: mussels, greens, and tzatziki. It was okay, but fell far short of the food we'd had so far. So I hoped to make up for it at dinner and decided we'd go to Well of the Turk.

We spent a good 30 minutes - at least! - looking for the darned place. First in one area, then another. I'd looked it up on the internet, marked it on my map, and was getting ridiculously frustrated by our inability to find it. A guy offered to help us, so we asked if he knew it, and he told us to go in a completely different direction! But we did find it!!! And it was well worth the search - located in an historic building, cozy and charming, and fantastic food. We ordered "chicken cigars" which were chicken and spices wraped in phyllo; a trio of hummus, tzatziki and bhabaghanouj; and meatballs. Yum.

On the way home, we met two little kittens who were VERY friendly! They followed us for a block or so, worrying us that they might follow us all the way home. But they stopped and turned back. We also bumped into a couple dogs we know, which is quite funny that we are getting to recognize the animals of Hania.

Today, the plan is to drive to Elafonisi beach and see a few sights on the way. It's very windy and a bit chilly, so probably no swimming, but we look forward to seeing some new places.

Evacuated! (from a restaurant)

We got a late start yesterday on heading to Iraklion and Knossos. The weather was rainy off and on, and quite windy. It's not far in kilometers, but it took 2 hours to get to Iraklion; the National Road is not like an Interstate at home. We thought we'd eat in Iraklion and then go to Knossos, but after 45 minutes of futilely driving around, we gave up. Iraklion has no street signs in the Latin alphabet and we could not decipher enough names to get where we wanted to go. So, I literally jumped out of the car as we were stopped in traffic and ran to a bakery for cheese pies while Charlotte parked.

Knossos was HUGE. It was truly amazing to envision what it once was. It was sad, to me, that the original archeologist, Evans, had reconstructed parts. Oh well.

We drove back, and as the weather had gotten a little worse, it took a bit longer. We decided to go straight to Hania and walk around before dinner. There are a lot of nice little stores here, and we peeked in to them as we walked around the Old Town.

For dinner, we went to Semiramis, which I had scoped out the previous night. We sat under an outside tent in a cute courtyard, but it was raining so hard - thunderstorms,

actually - that the rain was coming in, more and more. All of the diners laughed it off, until we were all getting pretty damp and the restaurant led us, under umbrellas, to their indoor seating in a little cave-looking room. They brought our food, covered and on trays, and a refreshed carafe of wine. Everyone in the little cave was giggling about the experience; it was quite a bonding moment! The food there was delicious - so delicious I forgot to take any pictures! We had leek pie, cheese croquettes that were AMAZING, Cretan salad, and meatballs. And of course raki with a little sweets for dessert.

Afterwards, we found a cute jazz club and had one last glass of wine before heading to bed. If today is supposed to be as sunny as it is now, we'll head to a beach on the south coast.

Adios, Athens; Yassas, Crete!

Bummed around Athens during the day yesterday. Got the last pair of sandals and went to the Folk Museum, which was really nice - I love seeing traditional dress, and they had tons of mannequins in dress from all over the country. Will post a picture later.

The flight to Hania was quick and we actually managed to find our way from the airport to the hotel - even though at first I was looking at the map of Iraklion, ha! The hotel is truly adorable, and I'm in love w

ith the area of town that the hotel is in. It's the old Venetian port and the "roads" are narrow walkways with gorgeous buildings on each side.

Several people and guidebooks had recommended Tamam restaurant, and since we walked right by it on the way

to the hotel, we decided to eat dinner there. We ordered tzatziki, fried potatoes with warm cheese, the house salad, zuchini croquettes, and boureki (cheese pastry). No, we did NOT finish it all, but we gave it a good try!!! The server brought us a complimentary dessert which I loved, some kind of lemony halva-type creation. Also, he brought us raki, which - WOO - may be an acquired taste.

Today we are off to Iraklion to see the city and the palace of Knossos. More later!

Athens

The first order of the day today was to get my phone set up. That took quite a while, and it was 11 am by the time I got headed to Athens. Of course that meant that by the time I walked from the tram stop to Monistiraki, it was lunchtime! Luckily my kebab stall is still there and was open. I panicked at first when I didn't see lamb on the menu, but when I asked the guy he assured me he had lamb -whew! Delicious lamb pita, loaded with tzatziki, tomatoes, onion, lettuce and french fries. Yum. Sorry, no picture - I felt too conspicuous as the only customer sitting there! (most people get takeaway)

Once my hunger was sated, it was time for the poet sandal maker shop. I spent an hour there along with a couple from China, as the sandal maker customized the fit of our sandals. This was much different from when I had gone in July 2009; it was much busier then, and the sandals were sold as is off the shelf. I really enjoyed getting custom-fitted shoes! I also got one of the two pairs I'm bringing back for others; I have to go back tomorrow and get the final pair.

Afterwards, I wandered Plaka for a while. I found the folk art museum but it is closed on Mondays. I didn't find anything worth buying though. I meandered up a boulevard I walked a lot last year, going past the market. Some of the stalls were still open, so I got some oregano and lavender.

I swung around and headed back to Syntagma Square, and along the way found a little cafe back in a courtyard. So I stopped and had an espresso and rested my feet for a while. I really wanted a pastry, too, but they had no Greek pastries so I skipped the treat.

Charlotte and I consulted via text and since I had accumulated a lot of bags, we agreed to meet in Glyfada and have dinner there. I suggested the taverna we ate at last year, which had tasty food. Unfortunately, when I got there it was closed - stupid Monday!!! So we ended up at a creperie that was pretty good. I'll get my Greek food in the rest of the week. :-)

So tomorrow, back to Athens, maybe a stop in Piraeus, and then we're off to Hania, Crete tomorrow evening!

Arrival in Greece!

Got on to the JFK-ATH flight, in business class, which was fantastic. Dinner was delicious and a LOT of food; I ate way too much! For once I was smart and skipped watching a movie, opting to go to sleep right after dinner. I managed to get about 4-5 hours of sleep - made huge difference!

I was a little concerned about how Charlotte and I would find each other at the airport, but it was no problem, I spotted her checking the flight monitor. It's really great to see her again! Needless to say we have been yakking nonstop since I arrived. :-)

Charlotte's place in Glyfada is gorgeous and suits her very well. We hung out for a bit, then took a walk along the waterfront to downtown Glyfada. We spotted an ice cream store and decided to have a treat - I got baklava and mastic ice cream, yum! We relaxed back at home for a couple hours afterwards, then went to a souvlaki place for dinner, which was quite good. I managed to hang on until about 11 pm, when I felt like my eyes were shutting despite my best efforts!

Today, I'm planning to head in to Athens and hit my favorite stand for a lamb pita, do some shopping, and possibly go to the Folk Arts museum.

Here I Go!

Sitting in the SkyClub at JFK after being up nearly 6 hours already. I had planned to bop to another terminal to get a pedicure and use the Admirals Club, but apparently you have to go landside to do that and I wasn't about to go through security two more times. So I treated myself to a day pass and I do have a teeny bit of lounge envy, it's quite nice in here!

So the day started with my lovely neighbors making sure I got up on time by having a screaming fight on their back porch. At 3 am. I felt bad for everyone they were waking up who DIDN'T have to be up! A couple of us were out on the stairwell listening in - such drama.

Much less drama since then, thank goodness. Taxi arrived on time (decided against taking the El as it takes 3x as long!), got on the first flight, managed a nap. Now just chilling and playing on the internet until the next flight - to ATHENS! Can't wait to get there and see Charlotte and her new digs.

Back to Greece!

I'm heading back to Greece in just over 3 days. I didn't expect to go back, but Charlotte is working and living there for two years, and I suspect this will be the first of at least a couple trips while she's there!

So the plan is for me to leave Chicago on Saturday and arrive in Athens Sunday morning. I say the "plan," because my cousins have graciously allowed me to use a "buddy pass" which is a super cool and adventurous way to travel - all on standby! So my fingers are crossed that I will get on the flights I'm aiming for. It'll be interesting to fly on an airline that is not my usual AAirline. :-)

Once in Greece, I'll have a couple days to refamiliarize myself with Athens. I hope to get one of my favorite lamb pitas that I got addicted to last time, yum! and fill a few orders at the sandal shop. Then we're off to Crete, where we'll stay in Chania/Hania and explore with our rental car. I've read great things about the food of Crete and plan to come back a few pounds heavier!

Tonight is my last night of lazing about at home - tomorrow the packing begins and I hope to have it finished Thursday. I have wild dreams of going to bed early on Friday to get some sleep before heading to the airport at an early (expletive deleted for parent's eyes) hour - if I manage that, I'll truly be impressed with myself.

I'm hoping to post at least a little while in Greece, so feel free to follow along. With luck, there will be food porn to drool over. :-)