Crete

After a day at sea (I will do a combo post of our time at sea) we docked in the port of Chania, Crete. Overall opinion of Crete....way too crowded and touristy for me. Maybe other parts of the island would have been nice but where we were was crazy busy and so touristy which I didn't realize how much I hate until we were there! There wasn't many sites to see besides some museums but we had decided before the trip that we would be very selective in what museums we attempted. So, we had planned to just walk around, explore the historic Venetian Harbor and see what we could find. Our cruise arranged for transportation from the port to the city center on a public transportation bus that was I think 6 Euros total. Very helpful and convenient.

We walked around a market area which was mostly selling leather sandals. There were some pretty nice ones but I was in no mood to try on shoes with my traveling companions.

We saw an historic church outside the market area...

Loaded up with Peyton in the stroller and Graham in the carrier. We looked like crazy people! Another travel tip...make sure you have a good carrier when traveling with an infant, especially with a baby as big as Graham. I had gotten the Boba Baby Carrier while I was in Dubai the last time as it better distributes the weight, can allow you to carry them on your back and is designed to support a higher weight limit. It was a lifesaver! I carried Graham around Pompeii, on the train and back to the boat on my back walking 6 plus miles and I was not feeling the weight until just before we got to the boat. And we even used it around Istanbul to carry Peyton when she fell asleep in John's arms to help distribute her weight. 

We found a Starbucks which was such a highlight for me because it was a real, full menu Starbucks with all the new flavors of things and made correctly! I ordered a Mocha Coconut Frappuccino and it was delicious!

Here is the Harbor....

Peyton got a Nemo ballon and she was guarding our Starbucks drinks!

We found a place to eat off of the Harbor (I had read that they were not that great and more for tourists) and we LOVED where we ate. I don't remember the name :( but it was small family run place and the son was our waiter and his mom cooked. It was delicious! As you can see...Graham loved eating all the new foods. Here he tried Greek Moussaka which is a casserole made by layering eggplant with a spiced meat filling and it is topped with a bechamel sauce (creamy) and then baked. Delicious!

I know it isn't too original but I had a Greek Salad and some local Crete wine. The salads were so fresh and the feta was delicious! Such a wonderful lunch!

We walked around some more and I found a store selling local artists sculpture and ceramic pieces. I had stopped earlier in the day and we went back because I loved a couple of things in there. After some discussions and negotiations we came home with this lady sculpture....

Overall a good day exploring Crete and we headed back to the boat to rest and then have dinner and prepare for the next day and our next port....