Cretans, not cretins
Crete is great. Hania is even better.
Imagine a small town where you can walk everywhere, with smiley people, with lots of delicious and not hugely expensive food. Add whimsical medieval, Venetian and Turkish features, and lots of winding alleyways, and you have Hania.
And today, it was warm and sunny. Bliss.
So far we've managed to knock off a few sight-seeing must-dos, but mostly we've managed to sample lots of delicious Cretan cuisine. And quite a lot of raki, which our hostess calls "Cretan vodka". Apparently it's good for digestion... All I know is, after each dinner, we're brought a little bottle, a couple of shot glasses, and a small dessert, all on the house. It's rude not to try to finish it all, right? And funnily enough, I'm better off having more of it than less...
Today we had a lazy lunch with a (small) bottle of wine... and then the raki was brought out. It certainly made our afternoon's activities merry.
In knitting news (because I just know you're all dying to know!) - well, my Print O' The Wave stole... stalled. Wrong yarn weight, despite appearances. I do have around three pattern repeats completed, and they are lovely - but very dense and not at all as I'd like.
So instead, I cast on for Le Slouch, a slouchy (huh, who would've guessed?) hat designed to keep me warm and hopefully stylish and hat-hair free for Dublin. I'm not too impressed with the yarn I have been using (Noro Silk Garden), but I'm nearly done on the hat, which means I might test-drive it in Greece, weather permitting (I kind of hope not).
No knitting-related outings planned for Hania, but I'm not promising anything while we're in Athens... It's a big city and there are bound to be a few places I need to see. Besides, I'll need something new to knit by then...
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What sly fellow, when coining the Greek alphabet, took my alphabet and swapped a bunch of letters around so that P's were R's and V's B's? At least spotting "Tabervas" is easy.
Not being used to Europe, I'm still trying to understand how countries - so close together - can all have different languages. Flying from Heathrow to Athens took 3.5 hours, but god knows how many linguistic barriers we crossed.
Speaking of flying, we managed four flights (Goa to Hania) back to back with no layovers. Was I triumphant when we arrived and was Laura relieved! That last flight was only 35 minutes and we were carried by an Avro RJ aeroplane - so that was a novelty.
Hania really is exceptionally beautiful and we are enjoying whiling away the time in a fairly unplanned and food-focused way.
BTW, the tomatoes are excellent. Like oranges.
(David)
Imagine a small town where you can walk everywhere, with smiley people, with lots of delicious and not hugely expensive food. Add whimsical medieval, Venetian and Turkish features, and lots of winding alleyways, and you have Hania.
And today, it was warm and sunny. Bliss.
So far we've managed to knock off a few sight-seeing must-dos, but mostly we've managed to sample lots of delicious Cretan cuisine. And quite a lot of raki, which our hostess calls "Cretan vodka". Apparently it's good for digestion... All I know is, after each dinner, we're brought a little bottle, a couple of shot glasses, and a small dessert, all on the house. It's rude not to try to finish it all, right? And funnily enough, I'm better off having more of it than less...
Today we had a lazy lunch with a (small) bottle of wine... and then the raki was brought out. It certainly made our afternoon's activities merry.
In knitting news (because I just know you're all dying to know!) - well, my Print O' The Wave stole... stalled. Wrong yarn weight, despite appearances. I do have around three pattern repeats completed, and they are lovely - but very dense and not at all as I'd like.
So instead, I cast on for Le Slouch, a slouchy (huh, who would've guessed?) hat designed to keep me warm and hopefully stylish and hat-hair free for Dublin. I'm not too impressed with the yarn I have been using (Noro Silk Garden), but I'm nearly done on the hat, which means I might test-drive it in Greece, weather permitting (I kind of hope not).
No knitting-related outings planned for Hania, but I'm not promising anything while we're in Athens... It's a big city and there are bound to be a few places I need to see. Besides, I'll need something new to knit by then...
---------------------------
What sly fellow, when coining the Greek alphabet, took my alphabet and swapped a bunch of letters around so that P's were R's and V's B's? At least spotting "Tabervas" is easy.
Not being used to Europe, I'm still trying to understand how countries - so close together - can all have different languages. Flying from Heathrow to Athens took 3.5 hours, but god knows how many linguistic barriers we crossed.
Speaking of flying, we managed four flights (Goa to Hania) back to back with no layovers. Was I triumphant when we arrived and was Laura relieved! That last flight was only 35 minutes and we were carried by an Avro RJ aeroplane - so that was a novelty.
Hania really is exceptionally beautiful and we are enjoying whiling away the time in a fairly unplanned and food-focused way.
BTW, the tomatoes are excellent. Like oranges.
(David)
Labels: david, Food + drink, Honeymoon, Laura, Travelling
A summary of the Wikipedia article on the Avro RJ,
1, They mention a convertible version = ) (Good if you like the wind in your hair).
2, Its other name is the BAe 146, and the BAe is frequently said to stand for "Bring another engine".
Brent
So very, very jealous.. Also very, very pleased to hear you're having a good time. :o) Miss you guys!