Day 8 in Greece - 2024

Beginning of the Day


We wake up in Palmera Hotel and go down for breakfast. We are so impressed with this hotel and restaurant, that we definitely recommend it to anyone looking to travel to the island of Crete. When we are done with breakfast, we go to the rental car and take off for the day's adventure.


I drive us over to Heraklion where Jeremy quickly ducks into two different Starbucks looking for a "You Were Here" ornament for the island of Crete. We're not even sure one exists, but it's worth it to us to try to find one. Neither of the two cafés have one. Jeremy takes over driving, and we make our way out to Chania. He stops a few times on the way for me to take pictures. The island is truly beautiful.

A white golf ball sits nestled in lush green grass and foliage on a golf course.
Aerial view of terraced vineyards along steep hillsides in the Douro Valley wine region of Portugal.
Panoramic view of rugged coastal cliffs and blue ocean waters stretching along a rocky shoreline under bright sky.

Chania


It's a bit tough finding parking in Chania, especially because there's construction going on. There's also a ton of one way streets. We go around a block and then good luck comes to us - a car departs from a nice shady spot under a tree on the side of the street near the Old Town Chania area.


We take over the spot, much to the disappointment of the car behind us, and walk down to the Starbucks that is here. They do not have a Crete ornament, but they do have a Cyprus ornament. I find this kind of funny because Cyprus is its own country. We buy it, of course. Why not? We get our coffees, and then walk down the historic area towards the water. There's this church, The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, with a large plaza in front of it. Kids are playing soccer, or football, here, and it's fun to watch for a bit.


We make our way to the waterfront and there's a restaurant here called Café Remezzo. Jeremy orders Moussaka and I order a burger. It's a relatively nice place to eat, but one of the employees is smoking at a table next to us the whole time. Smoking is allowed in restaurants and such as long as you're sitting outside in Greece, and that was a shock to us when we first visited Greece last year.


Finished with lunch, we settle the bill, and walk along the waterfront over to Talos Square. The waves come crashing up to the walls, spilling and splitting over rocks on the way. We bet these rocks turn into tide pools when the timing is correct. We walk around Firka Bastion, and then back around the waterfront and back toward the restaurant, passing it to continue along that way. We walk by this partitioned off area where walls have been destroyed and discover that this is a memorial for a bombing that took place during the Second World War. It seems to now be a home for a very fluffy and friendly cat.


We continue our walk, passing a lighthouse, and end up in the Arsenali Veneziani (Venetian Shipyards) where we then turn inland and slowly make our way back to the car. Several cool buildings make us take pause, along with a few cute shops, before we make it back to the vehicle.

A panoramic view of a historic Italian town square with traditional architecture and a church under bright blue skies.
A series of sailing boats anchored in a calm blue harbor with coastal buildings visible in the background.
Historic stone buildings line a narrow cobblestone street in Malta with traditional architecture and balconies.
Historic cobblestone shopping street with traditional architecture and closed storefronts under a blue sky.
Stone wall texture with green moss growing between rustic brown and gray stones.
Ancient stone archways with weathered doors set into a textured rock wall at an archaeological site.
A tabby cat sits perched on a weathered stone wall with a rustic textured background.
Turquoise painted doors and windows on a rustic stone building facade with a potted plant decoration.
Textured beige stone wall with circular window openings showing architectural detail and weathered surface.
Ornate wrought iron railings and wooden doors line a rustic stone staircase in a Mediterranean style building.
A series of round windows in a weathered stone wall show architectural details of an old building facade.
People walk along a pedestrian street lined with shops and buildings in an urban setting during daytime.
Old stone building facade with green vines growing on weathered walls and rustic wooden balcony details.
Panoramic view of colorful buildings along the turquoise waters of Venice's canals under a bright blue summer sky.
A panoramic collage of lighthouse scenes showing various coastal views and lighthouse structures against blue skies.

Good Evening


Jeremy drives us back to our hotel. We don't make any stops on the way back. We get to our hotel, have dinner in the restaurant, and go up to our room. We have to be on a ferry at 01:00, so we try to go to sleep early. We fail. We just end up playing card games until it's time to leave to go to the port.