Rethymno

Described as one of the loveliest places to visit in Crete we decided we’d have to go.

It didn’t seem like it when we arrived, as the parking was horrendous. Nowhere on the noisy packed streets and queues around the block for the paid car parks, with unclear instructions on what to do, apparent queue jumpers and tempers fraying all around us.

Eventually and despite a badly chosen venue for lunch we began to see the good parts. Narrow pedestrianised streets within the old town with a mix of Venetian and Turkish architecture and interesting wooden doors, balconies and ancient stonework.

We went to the massive Fortezza - designed to house the entire city it was hugely expensive and took 10 years to build. However when it mattered the Turks in 1645 simply bypassed the fort and conquered the city. Ooops - a matter of style over substance?

I took many pictures and this one got a little of the fort, the view, and the cannonballs. Amazing how they all landed in the same place.