From Chania to Heraklion

We settled our hotel bill (they only charged us for one breakfast — just €8 each for a really fantastic meal). We left our bags at reception and went off for a final wander. Chania surprised us once again by directing us along streets we hadn't seen before, lovely narrow ones that snaked and zig-zagged gradually up a hill and tempted us (successfully) with some lovely shops. The blip shows part of a display of handmade pottery plaques which really caught our eyes. Both Carl and I will return home with one of these. With time still available before catching the bus to Heraklion, we made one final pit stop at a lovely spot and sat back to enjoy our beers. That's when we heard a jolly voice saying Hi and there beside us were the honeymoon couple from yesterday's boat trip. A final lovely encounter which this fantastic town threw our way.

We got a taxi to the bus station and took the 3:30 bus to Heraklion, which got us there around 6:15. We decided to walk to our hotel, which proved to be a bit of a mistake because it was all uphill and we weren't fit for much by the time we checked in (actually, we had to stop for a beer at a little bar on the corner just across from the hotel to recover before checking in.

Yet another encounter occurred shortly after we'd settled in to our room. A knock on the door turned out to be one of our next-door neighbours, who invited us to a gin and tonic across our side-by-side balconies. They were a middle-aged couple from Seattle, who regaled us with chat as well as gin before we parted company and we headed out for some food.

We'd found enthusiastic reviews online for a restaurant which turned out to be very close to our hotel, so we set out to find it. It wasn't where we expected it to be, so we stopped a passing local and asked for directions. He was wonderfully helpful, suggested where it might be, and recommended a nearby alternative if we didn't manage to find what we were looking for. Herb's Garden restaurant turns out to be in the rather swish Lati hotel, is on the fourth floor and has spectacular all-round views of the Venetian Harbour in Heraklion. The place is impressive, and the views are stunning, but the food was disappointing.

We went exploring after our meal (really surprised that it had somehow become 10:30pm) and stumbled on what looked like a main shopping street, off which was a nice little bar where we finished off the night.

The short time we spent out and about enforced my memory that Heraklion is not an attractive place. It's all a bit rundown-looking, and most of the buildings are unattractive. Certainly, it's a big change from the wonderful Chania we'd left behind.