The Farr Family Big Fat Greek Vacation Crete June 30th to July 8th

June 30th

Today we flew from Athens to Crete only a 35min. flight…We arrived into Chania and had a short drive to our villa….the landscape was very beautiful here lots of mountains and tons of olive trees.  Our villa was beautiful and we had one of the best views we have ever had while renting a house!! There were a group of 6 villas 3 big ones and 3 small ones, ours was closest to the ocean and while we had 2 other villas around us it was very private.  We had a big pool and everyone had a bedroom, the kitchen was small but functional which was fine because we were not planning on making any meals at the villa.  We had dinner at Kariatis in Chania old town.  It was a bit of a drive and a bit nerve wracking as the roads were pretty twisty turny and not very wide…Old town Chania was very quaint lots of restaurants.  We had a nice dinner at Kariatis which had an Italian spin to it and headed back to the villa for bed.  

Our Villa Divine Villas

Our View

 July 1st

Paul had a winery tour set up for today…However, Noah and I decided not to go…I we needed some down time and I was just happy to be able to wash some clothes that I was content not going anywhere…So Noah watched Spongebob and ate Mac and Cheese (which we brought with us) and I did laundry….Pauland the kids had a great wine tasting with a full lunch.  We had a dinner reservation but Paul cancelled it as they were full from lunch.  After some swimming and hanging by the pool Caleb, Noah, Paul and I decided to venture out and grab a bite to eat later in the evening we did a google search and found a few restaurants close to the villa right near the beach Almyriki in Stavros.  We had a great dinner, there was a grassy area.  Noah made some friends and they were playing soccer.  He was a little apprehensive to approach them because they didn’t speak any English, but the language barrier quickly became nothing!!!! The kids were all really good at soccer so they helped Noah learn a few moves….He had a blast!!! 

Dinner at Almyriki

July 2nd

This is how they cooked everything

Dounias

We only had one outing planned for the day and that was to have a late lunch at Dounias. Dounias is a restaurant run by a family where all they prepare is what is grown on or lives on their farm.  The drive up the mountain to say the least was extremely nerve wracking for me!!!! Put it this way the minute we sat down I asked for wine and downed it…. This place was awesome, VERY rustic. They had a building with a small kitchen and a bathroom the wood fireplace where they cooked all the food in clay pots was outside in the front.  They had approx. 10 tables under a covered dirt covered patio and all the dishware and table linens were old school, like something my grandma would have had in the 1950’s.  Charming!!! The wine was served out of small metal pitchers and served in little glasses, for those of you who know me, I prefer drinking wine out of very small glasses… We basically ordered everything they were offering for the day which was about 8-10 different items.  Everything was AMAZING!!! Many dishes consisted of various kinds of vegetable’s in every way shape or form.  The POTATOES were crazy good…they basically cooked the potatoes whole and just stuck them in the coals to cook…charred black on the outside and fluffy wonderful on the inside.  The lamb!!! Again amazing cooked in a parchment paper.   We were stuffed but the owner insisted we finish all the lamb and started picking the meat off the bone as we didn’t apparently do such a good job…NOTHING goes to waste here.  They then brought a type of chocolate cake for dessert with a small pitcher of the raki they make on the farm.  Raki is a popular after dinner drink that is produced with the leftover grape skins from the wine making process.  It is strong stuff but it did help me have a better ride down the mountain!!!

Wine!!!

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Lamb

July 3rd

Today we had a full day tour planned we were picked up at 8am

we headed to Phaistos, which was the ruins from the Minoan palace dating to 15th century B.C.  the walk to the site was great...on the way up we came across many different types of trees...fig, black pepper, bay leaf and of coarse olive trees.  After we toured the site we headed to the beach town of Matala.  Matala was taken over by the hippies in the 60's. they lived in the limestone caves that surround the beach.  We didn't really swim as it was a pretty wavy day but Noah did get to experience his first topless sunbather!!! We ate lunch at a taverna right on the beach I wish I remembered the name of it because I had the BEST pasta ever!!! After lunch we headed to Rethimno. Rethimno is another beach town....lovely little town with shopping and restaurants right on the water.  We did a bit of walking around and stopped for a drink at a Oceanside bar.  We were all tired and loaded back in the car and headed back to Chania.  

Matala

 Rethimno

July 4th

Today we just hung out at the villa...the boys decided to take a short walk to the beach that was by the villa...well much to their surprise it was a nudist beach...4 old dudes buck naked...needless to say they didn't stay long...tonight we went to Salis in Chania for dinner.  It was a wonderful dinner.  While we were finishing dinner Jacob took Noah for a walk along the harbor (not far from where we were) and Noah FELL into the harbor!!! Jacob had to pull him out of the water...they came walking back and Noah was soaked!! I was having a mild heart attack...couldn't wait to get him home and showered!!! Never a dull moment!!!

Picture of the harbor

July 5th
Today we got an early start and were picked up at the villa by coach.  We headed to Heraklion to the Palace of Knossos. Beautiful drive and a good day visiting the ruins.  We finished Knossos and were heading back to the villa it was quite a drive from Chania so it was almost a full day.  

                                         

 July 6th
Today the only plan of was to visit Manousakis Winery.  It was a beautiful drive again up a mountain. We had a tour and lunch scheduled.  It was a beautiful property and we had some really lovely wines as well as a nice lunch.  We bought one of the rose's and decided to stop at a beach on our way back to the villa.  We stopped at Marathi beach, which was one our tour guide told us about the day before.  It was a nice beach very popular with the locals.  We rented chairs and swam and drank our wine it turned out to be a wonderful experience.

 July 8th
Today is Caleb's 18th Birthday!!!! We spent the day at the villa since it was our last day in Crete.  That night we had a wonderful dinner celebration planned to celebrate Caleb's birthday.  Our dinner was wonderful and Caleb felt very special.  We even had the most beautiful sunset!!!

July 9th
Today we were leaving for Santorini. We had to fly back to Athens and then on to Santorini.  It was a long day of travel It stinks because you can't really get to these islands direct unless you fly thru Athens and or take a ferry.