Hotel Knossos Agios Nikolaos

... pashas – have all left their mark on towns and villages throughout the island. We had opted against booking an organized tour and decided to team up with our new friends: FIU lecturer David Rifkind (who had given an amazing talk about Crete the previous evening), his wife Holly, Toronto realtor Bill Thom and his girlfriend Angela. It made for a group of six and our attempt to find a van that we could drive ourselves was difficult due to the fact ...

Well I suppose we were pretty spoilt in Santorini. But I have to say Crete wasn't exactly what we had in mind!

We left Santorini on the slow boat (took about 3 hours) to Crete (which we heard was fabulous) and were sorely disappointed!

The weather was grey and pouring with rain - like really p!ssing down - and neither of us had any wet weather gear (or cagoules). Bugger. Not such good weather for people with yucky head colds!

Anyway, we ...

... local sausages from Rethmyio rounded out our meal. After some false starts looking for the bus station, we had a hot slow bus trip out to Knossos, the vast Minoan palace excavated and somewhat Disnified by Arthur Evans in the 1900s. That palace dates from 1700-1400 BC and is a large structure of 1300 rooms. The palace is known for its frescoes, labyrinthian ways, Minoan columns, and frescoes. It also contains the earliest ...

... Greek story tellers - the Minoans were highly organized and technologically advanced some 4000 years ago, and well before the Greeks. The palace grounds were bought from the Turks in 1900, by a British archaeologist, Harold Evans, and he spent the next 35 years investigating and restoring (controversially) the ruins. Well done Evans and another yah boo sucks to Lord Elgin.

We went to one of the beach front bars near Leoniki Residence for cocktails. The view at ...

... My iPod decided it had enough and decided it didn't have aenough energy left =( me being rather annoyed since I had fully charged it that same night << (btw I think we are just flying over Garda Lake in Italy!). Took a stroll outside and by the time we ate our salads and I looked on the information board it said that our flight/gate was closing! Now we looked about 12 ...

... and doing nothing!

I can't believe I only have 2 ngihts left here! The time is coming so fast!!!! Dave is thinking about staying another week! ahha this place it is just like the Hotel California song you can check out but you can never leave! He is already planning on coming back next August and was devising a plan so that I could meet him here for 2 weeks haha! I am excited to go back to Athens and go ...

... where woman are or MIGHT be treated as dirt and he also thinks "american" woman are sluts- BUT for me I can understand to a point- ok touchy touchy but there is a fine libne between touching someones arm and grabbing there ass and I just think that it is an old fashioned theory tht people not covering their bodies are sluts- ok get over it the world is as it is and everyone is different. there could be a girl ina one peice with a sarong that is the biggest slut whilethe ...

... it was because it was at the back of my armpit!) and there THERE IT IS a small little spike sticking out of me and there on the ground is a nasty WASPE!

So ANYWAYS been enjoying myself (not that I wouldn't) 2 days ago Lisa "bob" her name is Odetta but noone can rmember or pronounce her name so her name to everyone else (I refuse to call her that!) and her lovely sister "not bob" AKA Evette arrived! yesterday Gheert (almost pronounced Heee-uuuurrrtttt) from ...

... to crete and though hey I'm here why don't I see if there is a flight and YES therew was! a nd only 45 MINUTES versus the 11 hour ferry ride! all right lets do it spent another 5 hours in that airport! the good thing was I was able to buy 2 new books! the English section is very VERY small!!!

So flew to heraklion the problem was my flight was delayed missed th ebus to Rethymno and then the bus to Plakias! I ended up catching soem bus to the ...