A corner in Crete

It's less than an hour till our Welcome meeting in the hotel garden, and then there will be food - Greek food, with that Cretan twist; home cooking using local ingredients. I've been up since 4am and grazed my way through the long day. I'm tired and very, very hungry.

But I'm so happy to be back here, on my 8th visit to Crete and my 2nd to this hotel, where they've given us the lovely room we had last year. The swallows still dart between and through the old buildings, and the trees in the garden are heavy with oranges and lemons. The photo is of a quiet corner of the complex of what used to be the village of Spilia.

And did I mention the sunshine?