Tag Archives: Chania

Open Top Ending

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Isn’t it strange how a holiday trickles along until half way and then gushes away in a flood as the last day approaches? But we appear to have done most things in Chania now, except for a carriage ride [which hardly seems worth the money and the horses are bad tempered] or a boat trip. We’ve looked at the boat excursions, but most look to involve going out- leaping into unknown waters and returning, rather than visiting anything. I’ve written about my lack of enthusiasm for swimming before…

There is, of course, a ‘glass-bottomed’ boat, also a small submarine, nether of which appeals to us.

There is, though, something we haven’t done. From our car park view balcony we’d watched as a double decker bus became marooned before the road junction, hemmed in by parked cars. Frantic passengers leaped out to make suggestions and give directions; Americans anxious that their cruise ship- moored by the quay and threatening to leave, would abandon them. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t an open-top bus because it had a roof, although the windows are glassless.

I spotted the stop where the bus starts on an earlier walk. An open-top bus trip would be a great way to spend some of our last afternoon and we may get to see things we’ve missed. There’s no timetable for the bus- which makes things tricky- so it’s a case of wandering along to the stop and taking pot luck. And we do get lucky, because as we approach the stop we see the bus there waiting. There’s about half an hour until it’s due to begin, which is fine since it’s cool and shady on the upper deck. Husband goes off in search of an ice cream but returns empty handed.

Then we’re underway, the first few streets uninspiring- past building sites we’ve seen previously. Instead I become fascinated by the Chinese couple in front of us as she has a habit of tweaking his ear when he is cheeky to her. She is also wearing some very flamboyant footwear- yellow Crocs adorned with bunches of flowers.

After a few minutes the bus leaves the shopping streets and travels beyond the town and up into the hills, which affords us brilliant views as it ascends. The higher we climb, the cooler it becomes and there are some expensive looking properties up towards the top, nestling in shady undergrowth.

The bus zig-zags down the other side towards a bay housing a cruise terminal then enters it. A smallish ship is moored there and most of the bus passengers [including the Chinese couple] disembark and make for their ship. We head back towards town, past a commercial area with, of all things, an IKEA!

Soon we’re back in familiar territory- the park, the redundant market hall and returning to our stop.

For a last evening, we go to the harbour and settle outside a lovely looking restaurant to have Greek salad followed by kebabs- all far too much, of course, then it’s back to the hotel for a last drink.

Goodbye to Chania and Crete. It was all lovely except, perhaps for the hotel…

Novels by Jane Deans [Grace]: The Year of Familiar Strangers and The Conways at Earthsend. Visit my website: janedeans.com

Winding Down

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After a couple of days of cold and gales, I wake, pull the curtain and the sky has returned from iron grey and angry to blue dotted with fluffy clouds. Crete’s weather has regained its sunshine and we can go back to our routine of late, leisurely breakfast, read in the sunshine, walk, coffee, relax, drink, dinner. Except that we’ll leave out the read as it isn’t quite unbroken sun yet and everywhere is puddled and damp from the previous night’s storm.

Walking out, it’s a novelty to see how green and verdant the parks and gardens are. There’s a park on the way to new town, shady and pleasant with fountains and statues.

Each time we walk in Chania, we find different streets and pathways we haven’t travelled before- an intricate network of narrow lanes housing gift shops and cafes, tables squeezed outside in spite of the narrowness.

During this time, I’m capitalising on a temporary measure that’s allowing me to walk pain-free, whilst being aware that the chance to walk is finite, but it’s a treat to be able to wander freely like this. So we go further around the bay and as far as the larger of Chania’s two beaches, passing a huge building site as new developments of hotels or apartments with sea views rise up. The coastline is rocky between beaches and there are stretches of wildflowers plus one or two bizarre statues and shrines.

When we arrive to the beach, the seafront bars are busy with lunches but we’re able to get a drink and sit in the breezy sunshine. There are a few striped huts for changing and some rows of sunbeds. Returning through the old town, I’m struck how people have created shady courtyard gardens from the tiniest of spaces. One street has some ancient Minoan ruins, partially excavated, where we stop to look, wooed by a friendly [for once] feral cat, winding itself round our legs but unwilling to pose for photos.

Growing wild along the streets, nasturtiums cascade down from slopes and walls in a riot of colour and prickly pears are already sprouting pinkish fruits. While I know them to be delicious when carved up, I’m unwilling to pick any, having attempted to on previous occasions and experienced their brutal spines.

Throughout the day, horse and carriage rides continue, the horse clopping round on the cobbles and running the gauntlet of traffic jams which build up as the day wears on. The horses look glossy and well cared for but one I try to make friends with bares his teeth at me in a menacing way and I back off!

We’re past the half way point and heading down towards the last days. In the evening we go to the quayside and find another restaurant, where I cannot resist yet another Greek salad. The meals here are huge- a starter alone is generally enough. We are now familiar with this place and seem to have done most things, but we might yet get to see something new…

Novels by Jane Deans [Grace]: The Year of Familiar Strangers and The Conways at Earthsend. Visit my website: janedeans.com

Cold Crete

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We’ve got into a routine by the end of three days: lazy start, late breakfast, read in the early sunshine, midday saunter into town to get a coffee, longer walk, return for later afternoon sun, out for an early evening drink followed by a search for somewhere we fancy eating. We can go close- to the bars and restaurants near our hotel, or wander further to Venetian Harbour, where the wide sweep of the quay is fringed by restaurants. In addition to this, there are many, many more places lining the network of lanes behind the harbour.

On day four though, I wake and twitch the curtain to see a gloomy, cloudy sky, also it isn’t warm. Horrors! Our entire routine is founded on warm sunshine- heat, even. Hmm…

It’s not raining however, so we can still walk if we wrap up. We skip the post breakfast read and set off. If we turn left out of our hotel instead of right, the road takes us straight into the modern centre of Chania, a big contrast to the old town of course. We use our map, provided by the hotel reception. The main road passes a grand, if not old, building set back behind the tourist information booth [firmly closed, boarded up and fenced]. This, then, is the market. There’s nothing to explain its closure. I’m disappointed. I enjoy looking round a market, especially in a different country.

We plough on. It’s quite an extensive shopping centre and there are what feels like an out of proportion number of pharmacies. We need a couple of items and some advice so we step into one. The pharmacist speaks excellent English and the service is super efficient.

We come to the old town and wander the tiny, narrow backstreets. The cathedral square is an elegant space and we enter the cathedral but I’m not allowed to photograph its interior. Nearby should be the archaeology museum but in spite of much searching and use of our map, we can’t find it. Then we’re told it is closed.

Backtracking to the quay, we go along to the maritime museum at the end where we can escape the cool breeze for a while. The first exhibits date back the longest time and are absorbing, as Crete has a rich, mixed culture from being colonised by several different civilisations. Moving further into the museum it is mostly second world war memorabilia, with a huge number of model battleships and upstairs, a collection of uniform pieces and various items in cases, one of which is a ‘German soup bowl’- a white, ceramic, oval plate covered in holes. ‘I don’t think much of this German soup bowl’, I tell Husband, who replies that it’s no wonder they lost the war, as they must have been starving. I feel an overwhelming urge to laugh, which I have to stifle rather than destroy the gravitas of the war relics, so it’s time to leave.

We return to the hotel to relax a bit, but it’s tricky. Outside is windy and cold, our room is not conducive to relaxing [except for sleep] and the hotel bar area is furnished with some of the most uncomfortable sofas I’ve ever sat on. But I can make do if I use a pillow from our room, so we sit and read there for a bit.

We opt to go local for dinner- just down the road, In the meantime, the weather worsens into a deluge of wind and rain and we are to learn that this is the coldest May day in Greece for seventy years. The rain hammers down on the restaurant’s enclosed awning as we share the space with a family celebrating a birthday. Ho hum…

Novels by Jane Deans [Grace]: The Year of Familiar Strangers and The Conways at Earthsend. Visit my website: janedeans.com

The Lie of the Land

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The first couple of days in a new location are all about orientation. The best way is to walk, although there are horse and carriage rides and bus tours in Chania, but no ‘Noddy Train’ which is a surprise.

We’ve opted for early sun then out to explore and find late morning coffee. Since I gave up most dairy products I’m always on a hunt for non-dairy milk- either in a cafe or for use in our hotel- which provides no dairy alternatives. I like oat milk best but soya will do. Our nearest mini-market only stocks almond milk and even then the carton looks a little dated.

We stroll down the road to the front- Venetian Harbour. The wide sweep of the harbour is home to swathes of cafes and bars and, judging by the hoards of tourists, all must do well. I am to discover, though, that few offer non-dairy milk. Once I’ve managed to get some oat milk, I decant some into a water bottle and carry it with me.

The vibrant blue of the sea and the sky, together with the curving bay and the lighthouse make for a gorgeous view anywhere here by the harbourside. There is a terrace of old warehouses and a few other old buildings beside the wide promenade. I’m taken with a gift-shop boat moored up, offering keepsakes and trinkets besides shells and sponges.

Cats are everywhere, as always in Greece, semi-feral, opportunistic as they weave their way through the tables of diners hoping for titbits. They are, however, well cared for by the locals, cat food containers and small heaps of dried food commonplace in the streets. When I first began visiting Greece and the islands, the wild cats were in poor shape, skinny, mangy and often with diseases like eye problems etc. Nowadays they are sleek, glossy and smug as they prowl the restaurants. Sometimes they are friendly and welcome a stroke but mostly they retreat from any attempt at physical contact. On our first night, I donated my sardine heads and tails to a hopeful black and white one, who left me as soon as the meal was finished.

On the busy harbour front there are hoards of tourists of many nationalities, the restaurants touting for business all the way round, most often trying German on us. It’s not the first time we’ve been taken for Germans. There are a surprising number of Americans, presumably doing their ‘Europe tour’, as well as French, Spanish, Italian- and possibly Russians, although I’m unable to identify Eastern European, Russian etc.

After walking and coffee, we return to the hotel for some later afternoon sun. The small pool is surrounded by high, concrete walls which make for a sheltered crater of heat without a breeze. The sunbeds are limited to the smallish space and the sunshades, with their concrete bases, can’t be moved, so it’s a case of careful selection and changing when necessary.

Later on we’ll return to the harbour to choose a place to eat- and we’ll be spoilt for choice!

Novels by Jane Deans [Grace]: The Year of Familiar Strangers and The Conways at Earthsend. Visit my website: janedeans.com

Outbound at Last

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Back we go to Crete, where we enjoyed a warm, sunny holiday in October 2024. This time we’re in Chania, which looked picturesque in the brochure photos.

We land at the small airport and descend into a balmy, sunny evening. Arrival is quick and easy with a quick perusal of passports and the luggage comes with no trouble. Greece has yet to adopt the new, digital scans etc due to wanting lots of British tourists!

Out in arrivals, we’re soon identified and join just one other couple in a minibus- a vast improvement on the unwieldy coach of last time, which took us all down and back along narrow lanes it couldn’t manoeuvre, for hours and got us to our hotel at midnight. This time it’s only half an hour to our hotel, a smallish, four storey, nondescript building on a corner at a crossroads.

After check in, we go to our second floor room, which is, to say the least, snug. There is a small wardrobe, a bathroom with a minute shower cubicle, some shelves and a fridge [which is, at least, cold] a TV, twin beds and a very narrow balcony with two uncomfortable chairs and a little table- all only just fitting and with no sun. Our room and balcony overlook a car park. So far so unimpressive then…

Nevertheless, there’s enough time left int he day to explore a bit. Outside the hotel and to the left, down a short road, there is the sea, together with a few very promising bars and restaurants, some still bathed in late afternoon sun. It seems churlish to waste the evening so we get a drink at an outside table then decide we’ll eat here. Greek salad- lovely salty feta cheese on top of fresh salad greens in an olive oil dressing. Hooray! This is a reason to visit Greece- delicious fresh food in the sunshine.

Back at the hotel, there’s a small bar and some extremely uncomfortable furniture. A large screen is showing…football. It’s quiet and a little lacklustre and I wonder what the barman can find to do…

The hotel does breakfast only, which suits us fine, and better still it goes on until 11.30am, which is great. We don’t need to hurry down to the dining area on the ground floor. Again, breakfast is adequate, although there’s tinned fruit to go with the [delicious] yoghurt and we are to find the cooked items are a little repetitive.

After breakfast we decide to get some sun and a read by the small pool, which does have a few sunbeds. It soon becomes too hot. The pool is surrounded on three sides by tall concrete walls.

It’s time to explore the town and the famous Venetian Harbour. Another advantage of the hotel is that most places are in easy walking distance- which is good news as I’m only just walking again after months of being barely mobile. Today, the sky is blue. There are scarlet Jacarandas tumbling over rooftops and when we get to the quayside, smart motor cruisers lined up in their moorings on the azure blue of the harbour. Little wonder the Greeks have adopted blue and white as their trademark colours.

The holiday stretches ahead of us…

Novels by Jane Deans [Grace]: The Year of Familiar Strangers and The Conways at Earthsend. Visit my website: janedeans.com