Greece Lightning!

Can't believe two months ago we were in Greece bathing in the sun and wandering amongst ancient ruins.

Krista's first adventure to Greece, and Jason's second, was nothing short of spectacular. It began on October 7th, in Athens, after magically loosing a whole day to the travel Gods. Krista displayed some serious trust in Jason's judgement; giving him free reign for making all the necessary travel arrangements.

The first stop was the Athens' flea market. A maze of small, twisty "streets" chalked full of people shoulder to shoulder. Krista had a grand time perusing all the wares of the merchants both new and old. Jason was more stressed, keeping one eye on his wife and the other on their valuables. The flea market is a notorious haven for pick pockets and petty theft, but a must see if you are in Athens on a Sunday.

The next several days consisted of visiting the Acropolis, wandering Plaka and the Agora's, sampling Athens' cuisine, and a whole, whole lot of walking! Wow those feet were sore. Jason took time out of everyday to stretch!

From Athens, we hopped over to our first island: Naxos!

Naxos is a moderate sized island with about 20K residents. Its population is centered at the main city, Hora, where we stayed. Naxos was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Jason wanted a little more spontaneity to the vacation so no hotel reservations were made on any of the islands. We simply hopped on a boat and hoped we'd find something splendid when we landed! And something splendid we found. Our room was run by a local family and was situated on the roof of their building. What views and what privacy! See below.

Hora has an amazing, old Castro and some very interesting crafts. In fact, Naxos is home to a world renowned pottery artist! So, we rented a motor scooter!

And took a ride in the Naxian hills to the little town of Halki, where we saw the artist's work first hand and also toured the only Kitron distillery in Greece. What's Kitron you ask? Its a liquor made from the skin of the Kitron fruit!

From Naxos, Jason demanded their next visit be to Santorini. Santorini used to be named Thira, which means "The Round Island", but three thousand years ago the largest volcanic eruption in history blew the island's middle out! What's left is one of the most amazing sights we have ever seen. Picture a volcano in the middle of the ocean with only the lip of the volcano visible above water. Creating a circular island with sheer cliffs, and an ocean filled caldera in the middle. In the center of the caldera is an island of volcanic rock that looks brown and black from the cliffs of the island.

The main towns are perched upon these cliffs. From a distance, they look almost like snow dusting the peaks of mountain tops. The walk between the Santorini towns is one to remember.

Our last island stop was to the largest and southern most island, Crete. We first hit up the ruins of Knossos.

Home to the ancient civilization of the Minoans. The Minoans were very advanced, having a city "plumbing" and irrigation system. Instead of the traditional stone columns in most ancient Greek architecture, the Minoans used wooden columns. Much to their demise. When a powerful earthquake caused olive oil used to light lamps to catch fire, Knossos burned and with it ended the second oldest recorded civilization.

Our next stop was Rethymno and we stayed at a gem of a place. Olga's Pension. Complete with cute little room, beautiful roof garden, and resident stray cat. Rethymno is known for its Venetian castle, and windy, maze of walk ways lined with craft shops everywhere.

The final stop on Crete was Chania. Like Rethymno, Chania is known for its picturesque old quarter and harbor.

Simply beautiful to take it all in. Clear, blue waters and cobble stoned walk ways.

The trip was fabulous in so many different ways. We can't wait to embark on our next adventure. So, as they say in Greece, "Andio!"