Fly to Chania on the island of Crete.

--OAT: "The largest and most populated of the Greek Islands, Crete's roots date back to Europe's earliest documented civilization, the Minoans, who existed during the Bronze Age."

It was an early morning in Athens, Greece… up at 4:30, pack bags and belongings, meet Basil in the hotel lobby at 5:30, catch the shuttle to the airport, check in, and hop a 50-minute flight to the island of Crete. From the airport, we took another shuttle to the city of Chania, an idyllic, coastal city along the northern coast, to check into the the plush Kydon, the Heart City Hotel. The weather was perfect, minimal wind, in the mid 70's.

By mid-morning, we headed out into the city… first stop: a marketplace across the street. Fresh fish, containers of assorted olives, different locally-grown greens, and lots of knick-knacky booths to attract tourists. We met up with Ritsa, our local guest guide for the morning, who took us through a myriad of narrow alley ways, pointing out the old, the new, and mixed architecture. Chania, one the oldest cities in Europe, was bombed and essentially, totally leveled by the Nazi's in World War II. From there we emerged out onto the waterfront of the Old Venetian Harbor, hemmed in by a short breakwater extending out to the Chania Lighthouse. We strolled along the edge as Basil and Ritsa kept us informed about what we were seeing and had lunch at Michails, Greek for Michael... and the name of Basil's 19-year old son.

We visited the Archeaological Museum of Chania with exhibits dating back to the Neolithic and Roman Era. I was allowed to take pictures of items dated hundreds of years B.C.

Dinner that night (included in our tour package) was at a restaurant next to the boat marina… a very tasty multi-course offering of foods popular to the area. We had been introduced to Tsikoudia during lunch … a sort of light ouzo drunk from small shot glasses. Basil kept it flowing during dinner as we all stayed lively, telling spirited stories and laughing a lot…

Quick Photo Links: Marketplace | Firkis Fortress | Chania Lighthouse | Water Closet | Chania Archeaological Museum | Dusk Along the Venetian Harbor