At last.......Crete....Part 1

 

It's the color of the sea.......so uniquely beautiful.

 

Brief history of Chania ~ 

Minoan civilization: 2700-1450 BCE

Fell under Roman control: 69 BCE

Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Chania became part of the Byzantine Empire.

 The Venetian period, beginning in 1204, marked a significant era in Chania’s history. The Venetians fortified the city, constructing the impressive city walls and the iconic harbour that remains an essential feature of Chania, even today. They also constructed numerous buildings and churches, many of which still stand and contribute to the city’s unique architectural landscape.

1645, Chania fell to the Ottoman Empire after a prolonged siege. The Ottomans left a profound impact on the city, introducing new architectural styles and cultural practices. The Ottoman Era saw the construction of mosques, baths, and public buildings, as well as the conversion of existing Venetian structures for Islamic practice.

Chania remained under Ottoman rule until the late 19th century, when Crete gradually proceeded towards unification with Greece. Following the Balkan Wars, the city officially became part of Greece in 1913. In the 20th century, Chania experienced significant growth and development, despite the challenges of World War II, during which it suffered severe destruction. 

 

Cathedral of Eisodion tis Theotokou in Chania, Crete

The mix of architecture is evident and obvious when strolling through Chania today.

 It was cute to see these kids going through town, singing....

When the Ottoman's invaded, their social norms impacted the architecture as well.  The building at the top of the stairs had an open balcony at one time, but many were enclosed so that the wives of the Moslem men could "hang out" on the balcony without being seen.  

 

I love the different colored buildings along the harbor......

 

Crete was no different than anywhere in Greece : graffiti!

Gorgeous bougainvillea.....

 

I imagine many tourists took home a variety of photos of this cool lighthouse....

One of the shop owners brought his cute dog to work everyday ~ she was very friendly unless you had something with wheels on it, and then she went nuts barking.

 

One of my travel buddies and I stopped and let the little fishies nibble on our feet.  As you can see from the expression, it was a rather weird experience!  Our feet were smoooooooth after that visit.

 

It was a pretty hot day (I can't imagine what it's like in July, this was the first week of May).  

Ok, there are so many photos I want to share, I need to stop here......next time: The Minoans!

 *************************

I also want to share the final product after hours of embroidery:

Enjoy your weekend!

Love, 365
 

This and that .....and that.....etc.

 

Yesterday Zoē was sick...shaking, panting, not wanting to eat anything.  I contacted our vet, and he could not see her, so he suggested 4 different emergency vets.  Which Romeo didn't really want to do because of how expensive it can be.  I decided we would wait an hour or so and see how she does.  She did slowly improve over the course of the day, but I was really worried.  She's always so energetic and happy.  This morning she acted more like she normally does.  We did have to give her a "butt wash" because her stool was very soft and stuck to her hair.  Even though she was not enthusiastic about the butt wash, I explained that doggies that stay inside most of the time and sleep on the bed need to be clean.  :-) 

We have also been struggling with our wifi.  Many years ago I purchased a wifi extender from Apple that finally died.  Now we have to change the wifi to Romeo's system, as he bought one a few years ago and it's set up with a different password.  I haven't counted the number of characters in his password, but it takes me forever to enter it.  Most of our stuff will simply connect to it, but some items need the password put in.  Ugh.  In case you wondered, all of his passwords are ridiculously long.  

I did not go to festival baking Tuesday as we were waiting for a new battery for Romeo's car.  The price at Costco was too good to pass up, but they don't carry those in the warehouse.  It did come right on time, but with the battery and Zoē feeling sick, I didn't make it.  From what I heard, there wasn't much to do, and some of the helpers were complaining they were bored.  I am going today, but if there's not much  to do I will clean out the refrigerator, which seems to always be a disaster.  People just throw things in there and they sit until they get moldy.  Gross.  

This week (and next week too I think) we are baking cheesecake that has a baklava topping.  It's really popular, so we make a lot of them.  The only thing for the baking assistants to do is to put the graham cracker crust in the bottom of the pan, and that's it.  So they take turns and have coffee and snacks in between.  Romeo is disappointed because there won't be any leftovers, or broken cookies to bring home.  :-)

Next time I will continue with my photos of Greece...I think the next batch will be Crete.  

I just wanted to complain, haha.

Have a great week!  Love, 365 

  

Santorini and other tales from the oven that is outside.......

 

 

Everyone at festival baking is wearing these neck fans.  So yesterday I decided to give them a try.  There are 2 in the box for $30 at Costco.  We have a lot of gnats right now, so no matter how early you get up to walk the dogs, once you start to sweat the gnats drive you crazy buzzing in your ear.  I hate wearing bug repellant, so I thought these might help ~ and they do!  There are 5 speeds on the fans, and are rechargeable.  It also made the doggy walks more comfortable.

On to Santorini......

This is a cedar tree, or at least this is what our tour guide said.  Now, it doesn't look anything like a cedar tree here.  I was fascinated.  I know, it's boring to others when you get excited about plants :-). I checked with copilot, and the AI says its more related to a Norfolk pine.  Remember when those were popular as house plants?  The seed/cone (whatever you call it) was pretty big, like almost softball size.

 

I love this photo.  The black beaches were so pretty.  I picked up some small rocks to paint when I returned home.  One of our travelers had a gallon size bag of rocks and sand to take home!  Crazy.

We were at Kamari.   I could seriously live there.  I couldn't afford it, but I would love it.

Yep, that's my spot.....

One free afternoon, some friends invited me to go with them to a wine tasting.  I am not much of a wine person, but it was amazing.  I haven't ever had white wine that I thought would be worth drinking, except at this place.  This young lady was our guide.  She was a little goofy, but fun.

 

 

The ubiquitous view at Oia.  It is a beautiful place, but even when we were there it was crowded and busy.

This kitty posed for us while we were all snapping photos.  Did I mention how many cats there are running around in Greece?  They are everywhere!

 

This is the sunset we went to Oia to see.  Beautiful.  Of course there are many (many!) shops in Oia.  

It was a beautiful evening.  This was one of the few nights we didn't eat Greek food ~ everyone was in the mood for pizza and beer.
 

This church and plaza around it was our meet up place before leaving.  

 

It was a beautiful place ~ a shoppers paradise!  

Have a great week!

Love, 365 

 

 

I'm already tired of summer......

 

Lots of Datura plants in the Sandia foothills.  Pretty but very poisonous.  As you can see there are a lot of blooms, so there's always a show when we walk by in the morning.

Because our dogs need a walk most everyday, there is no sleeping in much around here during these super hot days.  Yesterday was 101F (38.3C).  This is the first week of festival baking, which works out OK since the hall is air conditioned and it's way too hot after 10am to be outside.....even at 7:00am you can feel the heat and you know it's gonna be a hot one.  bleh. We have already baked over 3,000 koulourakia.  This year is the 50th anniversary of the St George Greek Festival, and I'm sure we'll have a lot of folks coming this year! 

We don't put sesame seeds on ours though.  They are so good, I don't miss them at all

I am currently embroidering this design on the back of my denim jacket.....

 

The goal is to finish it up by the end of the summer.  I have some down time during the hot part of the day, so I thought, why not?  This design really appealed to me....I love to read.  

                                                            The Island of Delos 

I am so glad I was in Greece while all the poppies were blooming.  

 

The Sacred Way ~ the lions were dedicated to the sanctuary of Apollo and the sacred lake of Delos.  Ancient history here ~ all this would have been new in the 6th Century BC.  And although these lions are replicas of the originals that are in the museum, it's amazing that all the artifacts, buildings, statues, etc. have been around since then.  

This isn't my photo, but you can see many of the ruins and the ancient port of Delos.  I am not sure because I am not well traveled, but the Aegean Sea is really one of the most beautiful.

 

Extremely weathered, but still amazing.  Not me, the statue, haha

One of the beautiful mosaics in Delos.  

My homage to Hermes for putting up with someone creating this hairdo.  Yikes......

 

A lone statue standing as a sentry, forgotten in time and nearly unrecognizable due to erosion.

Next time: Santorini!

Have a great weekend!

Love, 365 

 

Mykonos....

If I had a dollar (or a euro) for each church we saw on our travels through Greece, I may have been able to cover half of the cost of the entire trip!  There were plenty in Athens, but when we visited the islands they were much more visible.  Some were small; they were built to honor someone in the family, such as a loved one who died during war and conflict ~ but I imagine there were many different reasons for building these tiny memorial chapels.  Our tour guide mentioned that many are built as a private family chapel, or are churches that honor the Saint of a local village.  I also visited a few cathedrals, which were stunning.  

I am not sure if our guide was correct in saying that this small church was one of the most photographed in Greece, but it is near plenty of restaurants.   

This church (which is considerably bigger) is about 20 yards from the one pictured above.  The cafe owners were cleaning up and preparing for the influx of tourists that would happen a couple of weeks from when we were there ~ so there were some that weren't open yet, including around half of the hotels. 

Mykonos....

It's easy to get turned around, wondering where you are ~ but eventually you catch a glimpse of the sea and you're back on track.

Note the date on the door of this church (1816).  The inscription, color and door columns caught my eye.

 

Mykonos is so picturesque!  

 The Mykonos windmills were primarily used from the 16th century until the mid-20th century. They were built by the Venetians and were strategically positioned to harness the strong northern winds to grind grains like wheat and barley. The windmills played a vital role in the island's economy, particularly in the 17th-19th centuries, by producing flour for both local consumption and trade. While still standing and serving as iconic landmarks, the windmills ceased their operational use with the advent of modern technology and the decline of traditional grain milling.   **I wish there had been one that had it's sails intact so we could view them turning!

Colorful little Venice.  Later, there were 4 girls practicing their cheerleading skills right on this beach ~ in their bikinis of course!  It was really chilly too.

 

I have been playing around with Copilot ~ a new app on my iphone.  Hmmm, it made me look younger and skinnier!  I like it!

As Dave and Ruth are heading up the path, I had to stop and take a photo of this little shop called Happiness.  My own was thwarted, as it was closed.  😊. Ruth and Dave were very kind to the solo travelers like me, and often invited us to dinner, drinks, and a wine tasting.
 

The hotel in Mykonos was one of my favorites, and this was the view from the balconey.

 

 Our tour guide, Michael took us to the Lighthouse point to take these gorgeous photos of the sunset.  It was extremely windy and cold, so as we were waiting for that magic moment, we huddled on the side of the old lighthouse out of the wind.

And this seems a good place to stop for now!  

No, I did not post every photo.  There are too many!

Love, 365