We booked the room through Airbnb and found it to be really great. It was a slightly-below-street-level room with two comfy beds, a bathroom, and a teeny kitchenette. It was about a two-minute walk from the main harbor and about a fifteen-minute walk from the beach.
Our Room
It had exposed wood ceilings and reminded
me of a northern MI cabin!
After dropping off our things, Paige and I walked to the harbor and stopped at a pretty kitschy restaurant where we ordered some pretty kitschy food and some cocktails. We both got Greek salads and I got a gyro. The salads were to die for--a thick chunk of feta cheese atop fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and onions--we were in love and they became a staple for the rest of our meals. My gyro was incredibly delicious too and the cucumber tzatziki sauce that my family is in love with was just divine. At the end of the meal, the waiter brought us the check along with some complementary flan and a small bottle of Ouzo--a grape-based liquor that tasted similar to vodka--and two shot glasses. After taking a small sip of the liquor, we decided against it and just ate the flan.
Our drinks--San Francisco Sunrises
Saturday morning, we dressed for the beach and headed out for some breakfast. We ended up at another super kitschy restaurant where we had a quick meal before our search for the beach began. About an hour later, we found ourselves laying in the sand and listening to the waves roll in. It was pretty windy on Saturday so the water felt too chilly for swimming. Instead, we lazed about in the sand for a few hours and then walked over to a nearby bar to get some beachside cocktails. I ordered a nice blue drink while Paige ordered a Mai Tai that was WAY too strong and we sipped and enjoyed the view. A while later, we went back for another round but it became quite obvious that the bartender had no idea what she was doing, and after spilling our drinks twice, we decided it was probably better to just leave.
The harbor on the walk to the beach
The beautiful beach
Paige and I and our drinks
We realized we had gotten a bit burnt, so we headed back into town. Not giving up on our quest for a cocktail, we sat down at a restaurant by the harbor and ordered some drinks and appetizers--Paige got a Greek salad and a chocolate martini, I got some meatballs and a pina colada. It was early evening after this and we decided to go back to the room and shower before heading to dinner (we smelled of sunscreen and B.O.). We ended up at a restaurant called Tholos. It had incredible curb appeal and the food was delicious too! Somehow, we ended up staying for about three hours (in a good way) at this place and when they brought us the Ouzo liquor and flan, we were ready for it. We did a few shots of the liquor and had tiny bites of flan to clear the taste from our mouths. After we left, we walked around the harbor for a bit and then went back to the room.
My delicious meatballs and cocktail
The harbor from our pre-dinner snack
Tholos Restautant
(taken off of the site's Facebook page since I forgot
to take a pic while we were there)
On Sunday, we had a boat/snorkeling excursion planned, so we stayed around town in the morning. We went window shopping for a bit and then got some brunch--chicken gyros--before heading to the harbor to hop on board. I had booked the trip online a few weeks before and it was a totally touristy-but-still-fun glass bottom boat cruise that included a bit of snorkeling. The boat took us around a nearby island (it was a national park and solely inhabited by goats) and then to a smaller island where we snorkeled for about a half hour. Paige and I had made sure to buy an underwater camera before we left, so I may or may not have some cool pictures of us snorkeling (to be seen whenever I get them developed). There wasn't too much marine life to be seen, but it was still fun to be in the water and dive around in the gear!
Our boat waiting for us in the harbor
We're incredibly excited to snorkel
Crete from the sea--yes those are snow-topped mountains!
Our snorkeling site
After the boat got back, we headed to the beach again to catch some late afternoon rays. The beach was a bit more crowded because the previous day's wind had died down, but it was still extremely luxurious. Once again, we returned to the room to shower before heading out for our last dinner in Chania. We went to the harbor again (where the kitschy restaurants are), and snagged a nice table right by the water--a great view and a great opportunity for people-watching. Paige got "The Special"--which consisted of a small greek salad, a gyro plate, and a mini bottle of wine--while I ordered a full greek salad, dakos (similar to bruschetta with spelt bread toasts, crushed tomatoes, fresh goat cheese and kalamata olives), and the house cocktail. The food was incredibly delicious and because our seats were so good, we both ordered Mai Tais to keep the fun going. To our surprise and delight, along with the cocktails, the waiter brought us a bowl of peanuts, a bowl of potato chips, and a plate of fresh strawberries and bananas--on the house! The drinks were a significant improvement from the one Paige had on Saturday, and afterwards, we headed to a bar on the harbor where we got one more drink before calling it a night.
Paige covering up her burnt areas
The delicious greek salad and dakos--and my specialty cocktail
Sunset in the harbor--the view from our table
Monday morning, we set off early to the beach to soak in as much sun as we could before we had to leave. After spending about four hours (that included some swimming time), we went back to the room, showered, and packed up most of our belongings. We went souvenir shopping for a while and got a last meal--greek salad and stuffed grape leaves--before finally packing everything up and leaving Crete behind.
Last day on the beach
Old Town Chania
Lighthouse at the harbor
Overall, it was an incredibly fun weekend. This was one of the only trips that I've been on all semester that was so low-key, where we didn't worry about sight-seeing too much, but rather just enjoyed the beach and main town that we were in. It was a great "last hoorah" trip, and I'm so glad I was able to get to Greece.
Things to look forward to this week (not sure how much I'm actually "looking forward" to these things, but whatever): last week of the semester, final exams, packing, a beach day on Saturday, and seeing my parents next Wednesday (I am looking forward to those last two).
I'm not sure when my next post will be, but I will definitely have one or two more perhaps to tell about my post-class travels when my parents visit, and definitely one to wrap up the study abroad experience and whatnot.
Thanks for reading,
Kasey Ann
