Crete - Chania

Last week I had my summer holiday-yay.

We had flights to Crete because of winning a raffle. Prize - free accommodation at a 5star holiday resort.

The resort (Village Heights Golf Resort) was in Hersonissos, close to the island's capital, Heraklion.

Our flights, though, were to Chania and we decided to stay there for the first two nights of our trip.

...and the story goes:

1. The port, the sea.

 

2. The food.

The core of my Cretan diet was salad. As a cheese lover I was up in cloud nine, floating and dreaming away - loving it.

The last two pictures are from an organic restaurant we bumped into by accident. Oh how glad I was that we did bump into it...Mr. Stelios' organic veggie food was pure yummyness. And for what price? Almost nothing. I felt bad - so good ingredients and so little cost. Therefore our tip was nearly as big as our bill.

If you travel to Chania, no doubt is this the place to eat at. No matter whether you are vegetarian or not - this is by far the tastiest food you can find on the island.

Remember the name: To Stachi Bio Slow Food.

Raki. Alcohol that is usually served in restaurants as dessert free of charge together with grapes. The Cretans love their raki... Not exactly my favorite digestive.

3. The Market.

You can find some crazy stuff from the meat section, and a fairly strong odour may take over your concentration at the cheese stands. They say the market is worth going to for a cheap, big lunch.

 

4. Boat trip.

We went on a 2,5h boat trip that was supposed to include snorkeling at 3 different stops. We only made it to one, a small island, due to stormy weather. The waves were huuuge.

The trip was nothing special. One amongst other tourist activities. We just had to spend our time somehow as the Chania beach didn't offer that much entertainment for two days, and neither did the city itself. After traveling in Cuba, Chania just felt like any other Sunny Beach or Lanzarote. Not exactly my cuppa...if ya kno waht I mean, yeah.

5. Other randomness.

Crete though has many photogenic sides. The buildings, the colors, the life.

I got a new friend, little Mr. Nicholas. His favorite entertainment was to shoot his sister, Ingar and me with a rubber piece. He was cute. He smiled, he hugged.

The Greek language is loco. Impossible to understand. Even the little knowledge of a few different languages didn't help - and usually it does. And how about that one street name: Talo. In Finnish it means 'house'.

What else...yes. Those wooden souvenirs. Maybe I should have bought a few? At least some creativeness and exotic vibes to the basic t-shirts and hats saying 'Crete' on the front, I guess.

Last but not least...

We forgot to take beach towels with us. Ingar ended up buying one. Ehh-xcuse me!

Laying on Hannah Montana...Should I be jealous?

Chania. Crete. What are your vibes?

xo

Linda

Home sweet cottage, Finland

Need I say that 4 days is far too little time to spend in an environment like this?

Anyway, last weekend was spent visiting family and a few friends in Finland.

Time passed fast. Schedule were fully booked, like it tends to be on Finland visits.

Tummy was full of great food constantly. And new experiences were gained.

Also spent my last day, which was supposed to be dedicated for my little cousin + longboarding, in bed drinking hot juice and MSM. Yes, I got ill. Swollen throat, fever feel, head full of pressure and muscles all weak. Great way to end a short holiday, right?

The weather in Oslo (Rånåsfoss actually, as I came to spend my weekend at Ingar's parents house.) is great for once, so I'm off out for some longboarding..therefore - let the pictures speak:

day 1 was:

parents (+food), grandparents (+food), cousins (+food), birthday of cousin (+food), outdoor hottub, swimming and did i mention...food?

day 2 was:

wild strawberry picking, ants in my pants, swimming, Chris and Veera (!yay!), beachvolley, Sanni+Tuomas+Jussi, Varkaus pub evening incl. Reea+Santtu+Tommi+Henri, nighttime outdoor hot tub+sauna+swimming+bbq.

day 3 was:

Visiting family: we finally have a newcomer! a little baby girl! a little monkey! (unfortunately this means that in two years time I will be playing horse...I dunno if I'm quite looking forward to that part ;)

and Kuopio Rock -festival with our summer ex-change student, Marily. Nightwise was playing!

Unfortunately I couldn't take my camera to the area with me. Maybe I'll post some photos later if I get ahold of the pictures from our mini-camera that was with us.

I wasn't really 100% at the festival...guess the illness was kicking in!

Saw some old friends though, which was nice.

day 4, the last one:

Laying in bed till 3pm. Feeling like the end of the world was coming. ;-) Thought of heading to the bus station at midnight and taking a 5hours bus ride to the airport to make the 8am flight was not tempting.

Little by little I got some energy to get through the day, and later the bus ride. With an extremely low energy level I did cut Ingar's hair, watch everyone swim, enjoy the sunshine and try do some evening fishing (without the same success as up North of Norway).

Now back in Norway. Still coughing and sneezing, but feelin' betterrr.

Next week it is the Øya festival. I'm looking forward to it. Big time.

xo

Linda