Exploring Chania

With three days left before the weekend and my last day spent with Nathan, I gave up on finding a tour to Knossos and decided against doing it myself on the public bus. That gave me lots of time to continue exploring the Old Quarter of Chania. For a lot of people, two weeks in this Old Quarter would drive them crazy. I have found that each day, when I set out, I find a new alley to explore, a new restaurant I’d never noticed, a new artisan set amongst all the “cheap crap” stores. And if I’m really tired of walking around the same streets over and over again, I park myself in one of the many, outdoor dining restaurants lining the harbor and set with comfy, cushiony wicker furniture – there I can order milkshakes or mountain tea (Crete’s special tea) or wine and read my Kindle to my heart’s content. A warm day, a shining sun bouncing off a sparkling ocean, charming and colorful buildings rimming the harbor, a comfortable chair, a cold beverage, and a good book – what more do I need? For me, that’s a vacation afternoon well spent. I visited Chania’s small, but nice Archeological Museum and enjoyed seeing their artifacts pulled from the local excavation. That’s the one I wrote about last week and put up a picture – the Minoan ruins that are many thousands of years old. The artifacts were incredible – I find it astonishing that this stuff has been found after all those years. I thought these 3500 year old safety pins were quite interesting:

I spend some time in the hotel room each day, labeling photos from the previous day, writing these blog posts, and, I admit it, watching some of my TV shows online. Our room faces the harbor, and at night, we sleep with the balcony door open, with the sound of the crashing waves providing a rhythm to our dreams. I think I’ll miss the sound of the ocean more than anything. That and the twilight view of the Outer Harbor, when there’s still a bit of daylight, but the restaurants and hotels lining the water have turned on their lights.

This picture does little to convey the true beauty and feel of the harbor, but maybe it can give you a tiny glimpse of how captivating this city can be. One reason I  like it so much - does this remind you of my photos of Venice? The Venetians ruled Crete for awhile and are responsible for how this harbor looks.