I set my alarm for 5am (10pm back in Atlanta) in order to get up with time to take care of a few things, get dressed, get packed and get the others up before the ferry arrived in Crete. Once the ferry docked, we checked out of our cabin and disembarked. After a walk along the port, we easily found Hotel Kronos, our hotel for one night (and two full days). As it was before 8am, we couldn’t check in yet, but we were able to stow our bags and get a map and some suggestions.
We walked halfway back to the port and grabbed Bus 2, headed to Knossos. Getting a ride through Heraklion on the bus was actually a great introduction to this walled city – in many ways it reminded me of cities in the south of France. In Knossos, we decided to grab breakfast – the restaurant we chose, Minotavros, was perfect. We had the upstairs dining room to ourselves. The view was of the lovely Cretan countryside. We could hear birds. There was free wi-fi. Our server was friendly and happy to help us. We had delicious coffee, fresh squeezed juice, eggs and toast. We weren’t rushed. We took our time, took it all in and enjoyed just being there.
After breakfast, we walked across the street and into Knossos! The site was not crowded at all, just a couple tour groups and a few other smaller groups. We wandered around, backtracking as we wished and taking it all in. Truly a dream come true! As we headed out, there was a peacock strutting his stuff – he was getting more attention from the tourists than the palace was, it seemed.
We jumped off the bus back into town at Liberty Square where there was a little festival in progress. From there, we wandered down the pedestrian streets through Lion Square and down to the hotel to check in. Despite Chloe’s not wanting to go back out, we walked back up to the Archaeological Museum. Seeing the museum after the palace site was a good order to do things. After the museum, Chloe was hungry (is she ever not hungry?), so we grabbed her a cream-filled phyllo pastry at one of the local shops. After she had eaten half, we arrived a Lion Square again, where she decided she really wanted an ice cream. So I ate the rest of the pastry while the others had ice cream.
On the way back to the hotel, we passed by a game shop. Rob and the girls headed in to check out the games and comics for a bit. Once at the hotel, I started working through my photos while everyone else napped. A bit later, we looked at buses to the beach for tomorrow, then finally headed out to dinner. The restaurant we picked in the end was more of a dessert place, but Chloe’s crepe was tasty. We stayed on and had coffee and dessert there before strolling back to the hotel.
