Greece: Part Two

On Friday we got a 7am wake up call so we could make it to breakfast and be on the road early. I loved my hotel breakfast of scrambled eggs and fresh pineapple juice! The view wasn't too bad either considering we had a table overlooking the pools and the sea beyond!! That morning, our tour of Cretan history began at a little town called Malia where we saw the remains of their Palace. It was hard for me to imagine as there was not very much left but the stories were interesting anyway. It was one of the only Palaces to be built on a flat plain instead of on a hill like the others we would see later. There was a beautiful beach nearby but soon after touring we got back in the car to our next destination.

We drove about 45 minutes west to the main city of Iraklio and started at the Koules Venetian Fortress. This was one of my favorite sights to see. The fortress was at the end of a long jetty and was used to fight off the Turks for 22 years. Afterward it was used as a Turkish prison for Cretan rebels. The inside was filled with old cannon balls, anchors, and cannons and was a very impressive sight. We were able to climb to the top and got an amazing view of the entire port. Unfortunately when we got back to our car we had gotten a very hefty parking ticket (oops!) but proceeded on our way and figured if we could find the police office we would pay it then.

We arrived at the Archaeological Museum of Iraklio, bought our tickets, and then realized that the entire main building was under construction! They had taken a few items from various exhibits and put them in the basement of the museum for tourists to see. It wasn't as spectacular as we had imagined but along with our ticket we got entry into the impressive Knossos Palace a few minutes away. Before driving there we walked around downtown Iraklio and saw a few of the sights. We toured the art gallery at the Agios Markos Basilica, walked past the Bembo Fountain, and ate a late lunch right next to the Morosini Fountain. We drove all over the city trying to find the Municipal Police Department to no avail and finally gave up and headed to Knossos.

The Palace was home to a mythical minotaur kept by King Minos and was discovered in 1900 by the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans. Evans spent thirty five years and half a million dollars excavating and reconstructing parts of the palace. Although historians do not think he did the most historically accurate job, it was still remarkable and was much easier to picture what the palace used to look like. By this time in the afternoon though we were hot, tired, sunburned, and thirsty so we probably did not stay as long as we could have and headed out for the hour drive back home. I took a nap in the afternoon while Linc relaxed and we got ready for dinner around 7:30pm.

We drove back into Elounda and walked along the water before deciding on a restaurant. The Ferryman was our selection and it was hands down the best meal we had in Crete! We started off with some traditional Spanikopita and enjoyed the scenery, taking our time eating. Next we ordered some delicious entrees- Chicken with mushrooms and tagliatelle for me, and Cretan Lamb for Linc (who was also working on finishing an entire bottle of red wine by himself!). I don't think we have ever paced ourselves so well and after watching the sunset and relaxing for a bit we ordered fresh fruit and ice cream for dessert. Everything we ate was absolutely amazing and again, eating right on the water was so special. There were a lot more cats this evening too and we enjoyed people watching and listening to the many different accents of the patrons around us.