Greece Trip (Day 1-2) - Traveling

Heraklion, Crete

On May 14th, Mike and I set out from Minneapolis for a 10 day trip to Greece. We planned everything out ourselves, no need for a travel agent with the ease of the internet these days. We were still concern about the strikes going on and the schelduling for the ferries, but we figured if we had to get stuck an extra couple of days, there would be worse places than Greece.

Mike on the Ferry

Our flight got us into Athens, after a loooong layover in Paris (the airport for that leg of the trip did not seem as bad as everyone had told us, on our return trip we found out why everyone says CDG airport is the worst...) We had walked quickly from our plane to the Sky Club room in Paris and played cards, mostly in a delirious state from the 8 hr time change.

Once in Athens we got on the public bus and headed to the Port where we would be taking the overnight Ferry to the island of Crete. The bus system was easy, but the ports were another matter. They jut out into the sea and are numbered based on the island you are going to. One confusing thing about Greece is that they often refer to the destinations by only the port name, not the island and then sometimes it is the Greek name for the port, not the common English name.

Restaurant at the Port

After we walked around, dragging our suitecases after us, we found the right Ferry and bought our tickets. We were so hungry that we jumped into the first place that looked like it served food we could find. It was a little restaurant across from our dock with a small menu and country music playing on the radio. The hostess and the cook were constantly yelling at each other in Greek, but the food was amazing. I had the Pork special and Mike had Beef with red sauce. Both were so comforting and juicy, the Pork winning out in the end. They were both served with the most amazing Greek potatoes we have ever (and even after our full trip) had. Sorry, but we were too tired and hungry for pictures that day. You can see the restaurant with the blue shutters in the photo above.

Lato Hotel in Crete

We slept on the ferry through the night, which turned out to be a wonderful way to get into the time change quickly. Arriving in Heraklion, the capital of Crete, we discovered that everything was a lot closer than we anticipated, so we were able to walk to our hotel, the Lato Boutique. It was a really nice place, with a roof top dinning area, lifts you had to pull doors open into, and THE smallest bathroom I have ever seen. One had to sit sideways on the toilet because of the limited leg room. Very quaint.

And so began our third day, with coffee and an apple tart....