Island Life: First Three Days in Chania, Crete

 

We arrived in Crete bright and early, after a harrowing car ride--I thought Romania had lawless roads, but Chania drivers were beyond. We saw several near accidents with people pulling out willy-nilly regardless of traffic lights, people cramming themselves three to a lane to try to pass others on the road, and motorbikes weaving in and out of it all. (One of our cabdrivers later laughed and said it was crazier than India, though I don't quite believe that. Our hotel was the Domes Noruz, a little outside of Chania (pronounced "hahn-YAH"), and it's a fairly small place--86 rooms, adults only, with its own little beach. We were welcomed with a rhubarb syrup and tonic water drink, and then we got a tour of the property, which includes a quiet pool, a party pool with a bar, a spa, a gym, a little shop, and of course the beach. 

We got upgraded to a "Wellness Haven" room, which came with two free massages, and our welcome gift was fresh fruit, wine, and a little Cretan donut that tasted like oranges and cinnamon. We didn't stay in this room long, both because the air conditioning was broken and because I don't accept an upgrade that includes a queen bed. When your husband sleeps like a starfish, that just doesn't work. 

The bed was upstairs in a little glass box--the snack called "Yiayia and her Friends" made me laugh. 

Even though it's nearing fall, the grounds were lush with so many beautiful flowers, including some we have at home, like lantana and also potato vines. Part of the walkway was also planted with blooming lavender, which was lovely.

The man in the picture below was walking the beach, selling a variety of soft, fresh Greek pastries. I didn't buy any, as I'm still not over my prior food poisoning experience in Spain. No random pastries from strangers, thank you.

After our tour, we grabbed lunch at the hotel and had a variety of mezzes--zucchini tempura with hummus, tapenade with bread, and graviera cheese with honey and thyme. Taylor had a sea bass baked in paper, and I had Angus beef with crispy potatoes and cauliflower. I had thought it was pasta, but apparently tagliata is not pasta, and I am just a dumb American. It was good, though.

After lunch and a quick rest, it was time to visit Chania--the traffic into the city is pretty crazy, so we took a cab. My favorite sight on the way in was this woman cruising into the city with her Yorkie stuffed into her backpack, cool as a cucumber. 

Chania has been inhabited since Neolithic times, and has been occupied by a whole host of historical forces--Byzantines, Arabs, Venetians, Ottomans. The old town is narrow, cobbled streets lined with restaurants and shops. As expected, Chania is awash with tourists, which also means endless shops full of all kinds of things you never knew you wanted, from leather sandals to olive oil soap to Cretan mountain tea.

The harbor at sunset, which is beautiful here every day. 

These Minion watermelons made me laugh. 

Below is a picture of the Old Chania Market, which was filled with olives, cheese, olive oil products, and souvenirs. 

For dinner, we eat at Oivopoieio, a restaurant recommended by a lady who worked at the hotel--she called it "like if your grandma cooked." We had zucchini flowers stuffed with rice and spices, slow cooked lamb in a red wine sauce, and then a delicious little blackberry pannacotta (every meal we've had here so far has had a free dessert at the end, which is a tradition I can get behind). I sobbed hysterically through this meal because of the bad news about my poor little Frank, so the waiters pretty much made themselves scarce. I guess crying women are terrifying? There must be some way we can harness that power. Anyway, they also kept bringing by free bottles of ouzo to "relax" me, and though I can't say it worked, I appreciated it. 

We were moved to a our new room the next morning, with this great view (and a king-sized bed, so no spouse-icide had to occur). 

Taylor swam in the ocean and the pool, and I got my free massage; I choose the English garden one, so I smelled like a flower and was soft like a kitten afterward. I also cried through that, thereby terrorizing yet another Greek. After the massages, we went back to Chania to walk around. The bougainvilla and oleanders are still in bloom here, so every so often you turn a corner into an explosion of loveliness. 

The pictures below are of the harbor--I particularly liked the lighthouse. There are a lot of restaurants around the harbor too, but we were steered away from them as too touristy. I agreed as soon as I saw signs for "gluten-free pizza"...no thank you, where's the souvlaki? 

For dinner that night, we went back to the same restaurant as the night before, since they had been so nice and we weren't really hungry before. It was rustic and warm inside, with a plump granny cooking in the back.

We had a Greek salad, and then I had my favorite two dishes yet--a grilled cheese pie piled with grilled vegetables, honey, and almonds, and then a handmade pasta with slow-cooked beef. We also had some pork cooked in mustard sauce, but it paled in comparison to the other two dishes. 

And for dessert, a cherry pannacotta. I ate mine and Taylor's too.

And then FINALLY the next day I got to leave the resort and Chania! I like Chania, but if I have to sit on a beach for one more second anytime in the next five years, I'm going to start throwing plates and screaming curse words (Taylor and I have very different ideas of what fun is sometimes, and one particular point of contention involves how much I loathe sitting on a beach or at a pool when I could be going and doing all the things.)

Well, the day trip involved another beach, BUT it was an hour-and-a-half drive through the countryside and a gorge to get to another coast. I love riding in the car and seeing all the picturesque little villages exploding with flowers and cafes, so I enjoyed myself much more than Taylor did, since he was white-knuckle driving on mountain roads that just baaaarely fit two cars and had very few railings. Next time someone mentions how scary driving in Romania is, I'm going to laugh at them and tell them about Crete.

One of my favorite things on the drive was seeing wild goats on the side of the road! Nothing more exciting than a kri-kri (the protected Cretan goat) trotting alongside your car. 

The beach we visited is called Elafonissi, and it's famous for its pink sands. It was also very shallow--you could walk so far out and it only came up to your knees--so we just tromped around for an hour until the tour buses started to arrive, and then we peaced out. (Also terrifying? Trying to get past those buses on a mountain road!)

Another goat! Look at that thing! Aren't you excited? 

Also on the way back, we stopped at one of the countless little stands selling local honey, olive oil body products, jam, and raki, a local liquor. Raki is delicious--I tried strawberry, rose, melon, cherry, and honey. It's a symbol of friendship and fellowship in Crete, which means that if someone offers you some, it's very rude to refuse. (In fact, one of our waiters who brought us a glass told us we had to drink it or he would kill us, and then he laughed. We drank it.)

Then it was back to the hotel for lunch and (sigh) more of Taylor being super-boring and wanting to sit in the ocean. I had the zucchini again, and also baked eggs in cream cheese, tzatziki, and a chicken fillet crusted in smoked Cretan pork (not sure how they do that, but it was good).

After lunch and the endless beach going, it was back into town, where we saw a crosswalk juggler perform for cars during red lights. He was really good--I feel like his talents are wasted in Crete balancing a ball on his nose while he juggled bowling pins, and perhaps he should head to Vegas. 

When it was dark, we walked around the harbor, and I especially liked the floating boats full of shell chandeliers--watching them bob up and down with a man dressed as a sea captain inside was oddly soothing. 

For dinner, we at a harbor-side restaurant called Salis, where Taylor had a "slipper lobster," which looked like an alien being, and I had a zucchini flower and burrata flatbread. I also had something called a deconstructed pastitio that was the BEST--it was truffle, cheese, noodles, bechamel, and parmesan crisps. Unpictured, as it was not appetizing in appearance, but appearances were definitely deceiving in that case. For dessert I had a salted caramel chocolate tart with lavender creme Anglais, which was also delectable. 

We had one more day in Crete after this, so I'll try to catch up on that tomorrow. For the sake of full disclosure, I haven't loved Chania because I've been so sad about Frank, but since I need to try to enjoy our vacation I'm hoping getting to the mountains where we'll be busier with sightseeing adventures and hiking will pep me up. Tomorrow's post will include paddleboating around a beautiful lake and also hopefully some pictures of Chania in the daytime, when I can get better photos!