Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 10 (Crete)

October 2, 2016

I can't believe this is my tenth day of vacation! It doesn't feel like it. I know there are some people who don't like being away from home for more than 7-10 days. Not me!!!! I could totally continue on for weeks. I feel like time has flown by and I'm sad to go home next weekend. Sigh.

Today was a beautiful day. Woke up at 6:30 am for breakfast at the hotel and then shot down to Elafonissi Beach, which is in the southwestern part of Crete. The drive down is about 1.5-2 hrs, depending on the route you take and traffic. Luckily it's the end of the season so not too much traffic. There appears to be different ways to get down there and Google maps seemed to take us the most 'safe' way. I read about hairpin turns and no guard rails on narrow roads. While we did encounter this, the route we were on seemed to only have 15% of this. Otherwise I thought the drive down was fine though very windy.

We arrived close to 11 am and there was plenty of parking. When you walk in, there's like three main areas where you can choose your lounge chairs with umbrellas. They charge 8 euros per umbrella and two chairs total. There's also some food and bathroom facilities (gotta pay 50 cents euros to get on) but probably better to bring your own food if you can. Choices are limited.

Anyway I thought Lindos Beach in a Rhodes was nice but this totally took the cake. I loved it here!!!! You're surrounded by beaches and water all around since this area is kind of shaped like an island. As you walk in, towards the left is the seaside where water is more rough (but not really). To the right is where it's reeeally calm because it's more enclosed.

The calm side, where I frolicked much of the day

It's really hard to capture the scope of this place. You can wade out very far out and still be in knee or hip deep only. Even though we came on the first Sunday of October, it was still warm enough to spend the day swimming in the water. Plenty of fish swimming around too. Best to bring swim googles to really enjoy this place.

Elafonissi is also known as pink sand beach. You can see flecks of this at the shoreline of the sand. It's subtle but there.

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives. See the slight pink in the shoreline?

Wish we could stay longer but left at 3 pm for the drive back.

I hung out at the hotel pool a bit before showering and heading out to dinner. Dinner was unremarkable so won't comment on it. But I love walking around the alleyways of Chania at night. Very lively and lots of shops and people watching!

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 9 (Crete)

October 1, 2016

Woke up at 8 am and packed our bags to head westward towards Chania. Left at 9:45 am and arrived close to 1 pm. It is a long drive but the pretty scenery helps past the time. Plenty of gas stations along the way and easy to follow the highway.

We are staying at Samaria Hotel which is sooo much nicer in terms of comfort and amenities than the past two other places we stayed at. I booked thru Expedia but I used rewards points too so I got $200 off the rate. I always try to book a flight/hotel package with Expedia to accumulate these rewards points. The beds are so comfy and there is a nice pool with a nice lounge area too and breakfast is included with the rate. The hotel is just on the outskirts of the center of town and parking can be found for free on the south side of the hotel. You can pay for private parking for 8 euros too but we were able to find spots three short blocks away.

Afterwards we wandered around the maze-like streets in the center of town and found a great place for a casual lunch. It's a very local place (no website!) called Draft Bistro Cafe. It looks like a drinks only place but they have a small food menu. We got the club sandwich and the chicken sandwich and it was soooo good! I know, it's just a sandwich but everything was fresh, tasty, and light. Way better quality than most sandwiches I've had in NYC and sooo cheap. With the sandwich you get crispy potato fries all for under 6 euros!

So good and so cheap, all things considered

Then we wandered around town a lot. I like it here much better than Rhodes Old Town and Agios Nikolaus. Rhodes seemed too touristy. Agios was too quiet. Chania has the right mix of charm, locals, and tourism comfort.

Chania Town from the lighthouse side (to get here have to walk allllllll the way around)

Dinner at night was at Theodosi, which is highly ranked on Trip Advisor. The views are nice but the food was hit or miss. Prices were ok but I guess I wouldn't really say this is a must, especially since the drive here is a little difficult thru the winding streets. We came right before sunset and had a nice view though.

During dinner a cat jumped onto the table behind us and ferociously licked whatever was left. Some may find this cute, I find it gross!!

When the waiter saw he shooed it away but yech. There are tons of stray cats and dogs all over Greece and I guess this is how they survive.

I will say one thing I appreciate about eating out in Greece are all the complimentary desserts! We have gotten different things each time, though it's mostly been ice cream with fruit. Not complaining though!

After dinner we wandered around more alleyways in the main area which was really nice. A lot of cute and more interesting shops than Rhodes but definitely catering to tourists.

I don't know why but growing up I always thought if I came to Greece, breaking plates would be a thing. This is what I get for getting all my culture from watching Full House on TGIF when I was a kid!

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 8 (Crete)

September 30, 2016

Today was spent visiting Elounda in the morning and then Agios Nikolaus in the afternoon. Elounda is just 15 min. north of Agios Nikolaus and full of luxury hotels and resorts. The water here is just as nice as Rhodes but seemed a bit rougher. There's free parking by the beaches around Elounda but just need to look for and follow the signs. Otherwise we saw some lots that charge 3 euros for the day.

Most people do the day trip to Spinalonga, which is an island that housed a former leper colony. Had no Interest to visit it but it's very close by to Plaka Beach in Elounda.

After walking around Plaka Beach, we headed to the center of Elounda for a nice lunch at Lotus Eaters. Owned by a British man and his Romanian wife, the view from the restaurant is fantastic and the food for the most part was good as well.

Not a big fan of octopus but I wanted to try it here so got it. Tasted like chicken! But I hate the look of it so couldn't finish it!! I had the pasta too because I was getting tired of a Greek food.

Afterwards we walked around all over Agios Nikolaus. It is a cute beachy town but not much else to do. The beach in Rhodes was much nicer. Overall it's nice to come here for a slow pace of life but not sure that it's a "must see." However the colors of the water against the backdrop of the barren mountains do relax me from my NYC life!

I will miss vistas like these in the winter

Lastly, had dinner at To Karnagio which was good and our cheapest meal yet!!! Had grilled shrimps (yes...again) with chicken souvlaki and an Asian noodle dish (nice change from Greek food). Also potatoes/fries in Greece are so much more fresh and tastier than in the USA so been eating a lot of that too on this trip! and Greek frappe coffee is delicious!

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 7 (Rhodes/Crete)

September 30, 2016

One of the reasons why we spent four nights in Rhodes is because the only flight from Rhodes to Crete was on Thursday. It doesn't fly out before then. So far our experience with Aegean Airlines has been quite nice. Lovely attendants and good snacks on the plane. Also, no issues with delays so far. Our flight to Heraklion in Crete wasn't until 5:45 pm so we had tons of time to kill. We woke up a bit later than usual and then walked around Elli Beach, which is right be where our hotel was located but never had the chance to walk around.

You can stand under my umbrella ella ella ella...

Afterwards we did some browsing at the shops nearby. There's Zara, Mango, H&M and the British chain Mark & Spencers. Didn't buy anything but was a good time killer. Really wanted to have lunch at Tamam (my favorite so far) before we left but they don't open for lunch until 1 pm. So we headed back to Mama Sofia's, where we went when we first arrived and wow do they know service!!

They remebered us and welcomed us back. Even though it's been three days since they saw us, I guess it's easy to remember three Asian women since there were hardly any other Asians around the time we were there. The owner of the place greeted us warmly and took care of us. The food was even better this time around. We had the grilled prawns which were so flavorful and very fresh. Also mussels again, a shrimp salad and this time beef souvlaki. For dessert, instead of little chocolate ice creams we got watermelon and honey dew fruit with delicious ice cream. I don't even know what the flavors were but they were unique and perfect finish to lunch.

We checked out of the hotel at 2 pm and still had time to kill so we drove around and just took more pictures of the beautiful Aegean Sea. I love the sapphire and turquoise colors. It's so pretty I want to drink the sea!

We had a hybrid car but had to fill up the gas for return. For the 2.5 days we used it, we only spent 15 euros on gas. Then we headed to the airport to drop off the car. Rodos Car Rental has a spot near all the car rentals at the airport, in both the parking lot and at the arrivals terminal where you pick up the car. Just park the car in the rental parking lot and drop off the key at the car rental desk at Arrivals.

The flight to Crete was short and sweet. By the time we were handed our refreshment drink, it was time to land. And one way was only $45 USD! We landed at 6:15 pm even though the time said we would land by 6:35 pm. However, by the time we were bussed over from the plane to the terminal and picked up our luggage, it was 6:35. I had read really bad reviews on the Rhodes airport but since we came at the end of high season, things were smooth. Aegean Airlines has been great so far and the check in desk is at desks 7-12 (middle of the terminal). There is no separation for domestic and international flights.

When we landed at Heraklion airport, had to wait for our car rental which I booked for 7 pm pick up. I rented from Dimitris Auto rental Crete based on Trip Advisor recommendations. We got an automatic for 5 days for $190 euro which includes insurance. A rep picked us up and drove us to the lot to get our car and go over the paperwork. The only 'negative' was that she gave us the car with a quarter tank of gas left! So we had to go find a gas station since we had an hour drive to Agios Nikolaus which is where we stayed on our first night in Crete.

GPS with Google Maps is hit or miss. Mostly hits but sometimes it doesn't identify places well (like a non existent gas station in Rhodes or taking us thru private property instead of public). So just really pay attention when driving especially in Crete where the local streets can be so narrow!!! And it's so easy to miss a turn because you won't expect a street to be there. Or you might not be able to turn because it's one way and not two. So best to study directions a bit before going somewhere.

It took us an hour to get to Agios Nikolaus from the airport and we got a bit lost trying to find our accommodations. Stayed at Mantraki Apartments which is owned by the cutest old couple. We were a bit worried because reception closes at 9 pm but we made it in time and the room we have is so adorable with two balconies. It's not fancy but a step up from the last place we stayed at.

We had dinner late nearby at Bel Katsoralakia. Decent food at decent prices. Would recommend. At this point I've memorized the Greek menu. It's all the same offerings I feel like it doesn't matter too much where you go!!!!!