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.

The Farr Family Big Fat Greek Vacation June 25th to July 15th, 2017

Athens

June 25^th

We flew out of Newark airport on Emirates Airlines direct to Athens, Greece.  It was our first time flying on Emirates Air Business Class.  It was very nice we had a great meal a few glasses of wine and a bit of sleep…. some breakfast and we were there….A little over 9hrs. flight….We arrived into Athens new airport…well it is new since we were last here in 1992….

June 26^th

We arrived into Athens and a driver picked us up and took us to our hotel the Electra Palace located right near the Plaka.  We had 3 rooms. One room was a suite with a sitting area, bedroom and bathroom.  The girls had a room that was adjoining to ours and the boys had a separate room a few doors down from ours.  It turned out to be a good set up for us.  The Electra Palace was a lovely hotel. During our first day, there we used the pool which was on the roof and it had a wonderful view of the Acropolis.  We walked to dinner that night it was about a 20min walk and had dinner at Papadakis.  We had a wonderful dinner everyone had some type of seafood, it was a pretty location.  We walked back to our hotel after dinner and a few of us went up to the pool on the roof to see how beautiful the lit-up Acropolis looked at night!!!!

The Acropolis at night 

View from our hotel

June 27^th

Today was going to be a full day, we all got a good night’s sleep and were ready to go we had a full day private tour of most of the main sights in Athens.  Our driver George picked us up at 8am and we set out for the Acropolis. We climbed up Filopappos Hill to The Acropolis. It is quite an amazing sight…and the views of Athens from the hill were spectacular!!! When Paul and I were here 25yrs ago the Acropolis museum was open on the hill however, now they have a new museum and we would be traveling to see that later in the day…. It was pretty hot, so we made our way down the hill and back to the van where George took us to our next destinations… We ended up seeing the changing of the guards at the tomb of the unknown soldier & Ancient Agora.  We then stopped for a much-needed rest and some lunch.  We ate at a little taverna and had a wonderful lunch of grilled chicken the most awesome potatoes and again a beautiful Greek salad.  We were all getting tired (jet lag was setting in) but we made one last stop at the new Acropolis museum which was stunning!!!

That night it was just Paul, Caleb, Jacob and I going to dinner (the girls were watching Noah and getting room service).  Caleb picked tonight restaurant the Funky Gourmet.  This was one of those crazy expensive innovative multi coarse experience restaurants!!! I was a bit skeptical but really enjoyed it…

The kids at the Parthenon

View of Athens

Noah at the New Athens Museum

 Just a few of the courses we had at the Funky Gourmet....

June 28^th

Today we had a laid-back day…we walked around the Plaka and had lunch…we also went to the pool and hung out…the pool is small and it was packed especially since it is so hot!!!!

We had to take 2 taxis to dinner tonight…The ride to dinner was nice….it took us thru Athens to what we would call the suburbs…there were actual freestanding houses with yards and parks…it was nice…We arrived at Eleas Gi Restaurant to quite a stunning view, it was located up on a hill top in a very green area overlooking the mountains…. Dinner was wonderful!!! Again, we ordered too much food….and the waiters brought out dessert on the house and pretty much made us eat it…Once again full and tired back to the hotel to sleep….

Me chilling at the pool

June 29^th

Today we had a half day tour with George about an hour drive down the coast to Sounio and the Temple of Poseidon.   It was a stunning sight!!! The Temple was in really decent shape and the marble was very white.  After our tour, we drove back to our hotel did some swimming and walking around the Plaka before dinner.  On our last night in Athens we had dinner at Dionysos Zonar’s.  The view of the Acropolis was nice the dinner was just ok, guess that’s what ends up when you eat at a touristy place. Today, was our last day in Athens, tomorrow he catch our flight to Crete. 

Here are some of my take aways from our Athens visit….

I have to say Athens was the city I was least looking forward to visiting…however, I left very happy we were able to spend time there…The city was very clean, safe, the people were friendly and there was very little pollution as that was a problem I remembered from last time… It was very special to be able to visit some of the same monuments that Paul and I took 25yrs. ago now with our kids!!!!

Waila Hawaii 201r

Hawaii Aug. 2015


Took the long trip to Maui.....this is our 2nd time to Maui last June we stayed in the Kanapali area at the Montage and this year we are staying in the Walia area.....We were actually going to go to Croatia but believe it or not couldn't get flights....Long story short glad we are in Hawaii...
Took the long 10 hr. flight from Newark to Honolulu then the short flight from Honolulu to Maui...pretty overall a uneventful trip except for the snorkel gear mishap!!! We have been flying carry on only for the past few years...and for a reason!!! Paul decided to bring the snorkel gear and I knew it was in to big of a bag for carry on....but no he said it would be ok...well guess what??? We ended up checking the snorkel bag and since we did that one we decided to check the rest....so instead of going right to our inter island flight when we landed in Honolulu we had to go to baggage claim to get our bags before hiking what seemed like 1/2 way across HI to get to our next flight....
Guess what bag never showed up??? all the bags showed up EXCEPT the snorkel gear bag!!!! so by the time we go to file a claim about our lost bag we missed our flight to Maui.....thankfully there are frequent flights so we hopped on the next one...
We arrived at our villa unfortunately it was dark outside so we didn't get to see much....but the villa was beautiful!!!VERY well done and well stocked...Jerry and Dea were already here...Everyone was exhausted so Dea made hot dogs and pizza and Paul and I went out....We went to Migrant had a very good dinner and came back for some much needed sleep.....
   I was up at 5am before the sun came up.....it is always hard coming this far west it takes me 3 days or so to get adjusted to the 6 hr. time change...but I was up having coffee when the sun came up and it was spectacular!!!! Once the sun was up I was better able to take in our surroundings...The villa grounds were beautiful...so many flowers a nice lanai and pool....and we were right on the water.
It wasn't a sandy beach very rocky and really to rough to swim in but we soon found out it was the home to a bunch of sea turtles!!!!

And for me it is all about the sunsets....this is our first night sunset!!!

Second Day
We could see a really nice big sandy beach from our villa so we loaded up the gear and the kids and took the 5 min. drive to the beach....it was a nice beach pretty big but had some rocks swam did some snorkeling...got the car full of sand!!! that is the bad part...always having to shlep the kids and gear to a beach....we are so spoiled when we stay at Seven Stars in Turks!!!! That night we ate at Monkeypod...had a really nice dinner but it was super busy and you could tell they were trying to turn tables!!!!

Third Day
Spent most of the day at the villa swimming hanging out....I took Caleb and Lily to the shopping area where we took a pretty long walk along the ocean and checked out some of the resorts down there...then we did some shopping...Dinner that night was at our villa....early to bed as the jet lag is starting to wear off....


Fourth Day
Paul and I had a spa day at the Fairmont Spa....had the AWE experience!!!! very nice 1 1/2 hrs. feeling really good after that!!!! Caleb was golfing so we sat at the bar at the golf coarse had a few drinks and appetizers waiting for him to get done....Kids hung out with Grandma and Grandpa for the day swimming and such at the villa....We all went to Migrant that night for dinner....had another great sunset!!!

Kapalua Hawaii June 2014

It was alot of work getting everyone ready for this vacation....not only did I have to get us ready...the front yard was in major demo mode as we are re doing our landscaping...and the house had to picture perfect so Chuck could photograph the house while we were gone....

We got picked up at 10:30am on Friday, June 27th...

We arrive to PHL and waiting for our flight in the US Airways lounge....

We had 7 first class seats...took up most of first!!!

After a very long 5 hour flight we arrived into LA...we had a 2hr. layover and then jumped on another 5hr. flight to Honolulu....VERY tired of flying...we arrived into Honolulu around 9:30pm...hired a shuttle to take us to our Embassy Suites hotel, Paul ran out and got a pizza and everyone crashed!!!

Saturday, June 28th

I woke up way to early!!! but that is the joy of traveling West....we got everyone going and went to breakfast...needless to say it was very busy....we fed the kids and off to the airport we went...

We had a short 30min. flight to Maui....We FINALLY arrived!!!! sick and tired of flying!!!!

  

View from the lobby at check in!!!

We rec'd lei's went to our room and got our suits on!!

We spent the rest of the day at the pool then off to take a nap....still trying to adjust to the time change..

We ate dinner at the hotel, Cane and Canoe restaurant...I had the pork shank and it was Wonderful!!!

Sunday, June 28th

Got up early....still adjusting to the time change...but had a much needed good nights sleep!!!

I went for a walk....wasn't sure where I was going but I followed the ocean path until it stopped then walked awhile along the road...all in all took a 2mile walk.

Got everyone ready and we stopped to feed the Koi fish before heading to breakfast...

After breakfast Paul and I drove to the store to stock up on a few groceries....always nice to have some snacks for the kids....

We also stopped at the Whaler Village to check out Kelly and Cory's stomping grounds..this is where they stay when they come here...we did a little more shopping, I got a really cute vintage swim suit from Maggie Coulombe...

Got back spent the rest of the day at the pool!!!

Had a great dinner at Koa's Seaside Grill terrific view of the sunset!!!

Monday, June 30th

Had a good nights sleep actually slept until 7:30am...I think we are all finally starting to adjust..

Took the kids to feed the fish (this has become a morning ritual) then off to breakfast...

We decided to take the kids to visit the Maui Ocean Center...

Had a great time checking out all the fish...most of which can only be found in the Hawiian Islands.

After the aquarium...we hit the beach..our hotel had chairs and umbrellas set up for us...Paul and the kids did some snorkeling...the reef was right off the beach and they were succesful seeing many fish some of which we just saw a the aquarium...they also saw some sea turtles!!!

We went from the beach to the pool...Noah was so tired!!! we swam for awhile then took him back to the room to lay him down before dinner...He finally fell asleep around 7pm...Jade offered to stay with him while the rest of us went to dinner at Merrimans...it was located a short distance from our hotel...but the hotel staff offered to drive us down there on a golf cart...the kids enjoyed that!!!

Again another beautiful sunset and view!!! Great food...

Headed back to the hotel...Noah was still asleep and ended up sleeping a full 12hrs...guess he needed it!!

Tuesday, July 1st

Happy Birthday Sean Michael!!!

I get the head to the spa today to have a pedicure!!! I didn't have time to get one before I left PA...

I had a great day!!! We all went to the pool and hung out...Paul took Noah up for a early nap and Caleb, Jacob and Lily took a shuttle to DT Fleming beach....For awhile it was just Jade and I at the pool...well she pretty much just slept!!!

 It was a very peaceful time for ME!!!!

After the pool I went back to the room and actually watched a movie!!! Haven't done that in a LONG time...

 Paul and I had dinner reservations for Mama's Fish House tonight...because of the distance we hired a driver to take us as well as a sitter to stay with the kids...

We had a nice time however, I am not sure Mama's has been my favorite restraunt so far...

Wednesday, July 2nd

Spent most of the day at the pool....then drove over to the Whaler do do a little shopping before dinner at leilanis....Great dinner!!! Beautiful sunset!!!

Thursday, July 3rd

It was pretty much just Lily Noah and I today....Paul, Caleb, Jade & Jacob went on a helicopter tour of the island today then after that stopped at Whole Foods to pick up dinner....quiet day & night tonight!!!

So much to catch up on!!!!

Since I last posted so much to catch up on.....all I need is TIME!!!!!

Interesting couple of days...

We finally got home....Power went out at 12:00ish pm on Saturday....we just got home and have power tonight.... Caleb told me "Mom I can't sleep with my sister one more night"...love...

October 19th 2011......Love Day!!!!

I have so been trying to get back here.......I have just been crazy busy.....needless to say!!!
Since I last posted I have yet another kid.....Noah Hutson Farr....our angel the child we never were supposed to have....Life has been awesome, crazy, busy.....but we are loving it....therefore all the more to write and talk about....so tonight on my 15th wedding anniversary to my wonderful husband I am finally finding the time to start posting again.....yes, he is out of town and missing all the fun!!!
The main reason I want to get back to this is to document all the fun!! All the kiddo's are doing great....I have nothing to complain about....Life is good...the kids are wonderful!!! it doesn't suck....
We will get back to this soon.......I promise!!!!