Restaurants and cafes with classic Venetian architecture line the harbor in Chania.

I’m back in the States after spending a very enjoyable week in Crete :). The conference hotel was located in the small town of Platanias, about 15 km from the bigger city of Chania. There’s a nice seaside in Platanias where I spent the early part of the week relaxing at the beaches, harbors, and cafes. After giving my presentation at the conference, I had more time to check out the sites in the two bigger cities of Chania and Iraklion.

Chania was charming, particularly the harbor, with its Venetian architecture, restaurants, and nightlife. My buddy from school is actually from Chania and felt the need to warn me about the beautiful women lurking in Chania; unfortunately, I don’t think I can totally agree with him, but maybe Greek women are just not my cup of tea.

Iraklion felt more like a big port city with large cruise ships and cargo freights in dock and fancy fashion boutiques sprawled through the main streets. I did get a very yummy gyros in the city though—-not sure if gyros are actually authentic Greek/Cretan cuisine though.

Not too far from Iraklion was the famed Minoan ruins of Knossos, the site of the mythical labyrinth and the Minotaur—too bad it really sucked. So I guess I’m realizing I’m not a huge fan of archaeological sites that are mostly in ruin, as per my experience with Corinth and now Knossos. Athens, Rome, and even Pompei were interesting to see because the old sites were relatively intact, or somewhat rebuilt. At Corinth and Knossos, you’re pretty much looking at a pile of rubble where you’re supposed to imagine what once existed there. Too much work for me :).

On my last day in Crete, I decided to be a little more intrepid and rented a car for the day. Unless you’re willing to pay an arm and leg, you pretty much have to rent a car with manual transmission, which is a bit daunting for someone who’s manual driving experience has been limited to driving Bonita’s car in a Michigan parking deck or to moving Chris’s car in and out of the driveway. But alas, I wanted to see more the island so I took a little 5-speed Daewoo out for a ride. It was actually a really fun drive that took me across the island from the north coast to the south coast, crossing the mountains and gorges along with the small little villages and towns that dotted the way (well, along the detours I ended up taking as well). After about three hours, and a few stalls, I was well rewarded when I made it to Elaphonisi, a beachfront in the south known for shallow, calm, clear blue waters and a nice ending to my trip.

I’m slowing putting my pics up on Flickr.