The road to Chania

After enjoying the sights in Heraklion, Knossos, and Kali Limenes, we headed out for my old stomping ground: Chania. Kristin and I loved the drive, and couldn't help but take a bunch of pictures along the way. We included a few here.

This was a little beach just outside of town along the highway. The island is full of little coves and sandy beaches like this, where there might be just one restaurant, a couple umbrellas and a small crowd. Isn't the water a beautiful color?

Overlooking that same little beach is the remnants of what is probably an old Venetian fortress. Good beach made better.  :)

Kristin could barely contain herself the entire vacation as we discovered beach after beach all over the place.

Towards the end of our trip, we got off the highway early, and made a pit stop in Souda, at the Allied war cemetary. Set almost at the water's edge, it may be the best cared-for plot of land on the entire island. You can't find this much green grass on Crete anywhere else. The graves are mostly New Zealanders and Australians. The Battle for Crete is an interesting chapter in the history of WWII; worth reading about.

Kristin poses with the flowers outside the cemetary.

One of the funny sites we saw along the way. This truck was loaded down with huge terra cotta pottery. I passed it almost as soon as I saw it, as I didn't want one of those pots landing on US.

Here I am back at one of my old haunts in downtown Chania, enjoying a Souvlaki at Souvlaki Mike's. The Greeks put roasted lamb pieces, Greek yoghurt, tomatoes, onions, and even french fries in them. Sprinkled with paprika, they wrap the whole thing up with a pita that's been lightly fried in light olive oil. Man do I miss those Souvlakis! My smile here is 100% genuine.

The old iconic lighthouse at the edge of Chania harbor. It's been renovated, and looks great.

Colorful houses, cafes, restaurants and buildings line the harbor all around.

The Greeks finally shrugged off Turkish occupation in the 1800's. After the heavy-handedness of the Turks, the Greeks "re-purposed" mosques. This one is a tourist information center, exhibition hall, and features local-made pottery sales outside!