Scenes from a visit to Chania, Greece (May 2023) - part 1 of 2

Continuing the Greece tour, our next and final stop was Chania, Crete. I have to confess that before scheduling this tour I had never heard of Chania. After experiencing the tour I moved Chania onto the list of great little places I'm really glad that I visited. And it would be on the relatively short list of places I'd gladly go back to for an extended stay. Nice-sized city (pop ~ 55,000) that balances being a real, lived-in city and being a tourist / vacation destination. I'd put Monopoli in a similar category for similar reasons. But I'll get to that eventually when I have time to post about my Puglia trip.

Getting to Chania from Santorini takes a bit of work. You can fly, connecting through Athens. Or you can ferry to Heraklion and then drive / be driven to Chania. Total travel time is probably the same either way. Flight schedules offer more flexibility with the departure and arrival times. The ferry goes 1x per day. So we were on the 345p ferry that gets into Heraklion at 530p. Then it's a ~2-hour drive to Chania, so you're getting in around 730-8p. Which leaves enough time to check into your hotel and then head out for a nice dinner.

I took a quick video of the ferry experience, but there are many better ones out there on YouTube. The boats are big and comfortable. Nice seats, decent food / concession options. Room to walk around and stretch your legs (which is a big difference versus heading over on a smaller plane). If you have questions about the ferries, check out this video from Greece Explained (and fwiw, his channel is full of useful, well-done videos).

My base for the next few nights was Fileas Art Hotel. It's on the edge of old town and tucked around the corner from the main drags heading toward the harbor. Solid 3* option.

We were pretty tired and ventured exactly 1 minute away to Namaste for dinner. I have no photo evidence of our dinner, but recall it being good. Seems like the reviews generally agree. Nice place to eat, especially if you get yourself a table on the upper level with some views. Was just what we needed at the time.

Next day started in the morning with a walking & food tour with one of our partners. Gave us a good overview of the city's history and layout and kept us fueled with a few strategic pit stops. One of the first places we visited was Patsouros Cheese & More, which is just outside the touristic center. The kind of nice shop you want in your town if you're looking to treat yourself with some nice snacks or show up at a friendly gathering with something tasty that will be well received.

Walking through the streets into the old town you have picturesque scenes in all directions.

Of course we made our way to the harbour. Super charming little focal point for the city. Lined with restaurants for scenic al fresco dining. And filled with boats ready to take you out for an afternoon on the water.

We also got up to a lookout point for a great view of the harbor.

Before we wrapped up at the panoramic vista I documented the documenting of the selfie.

Snagged a few slice of life shots as we worked our way back into the side streets of the old town.

Solid food stop at To Steno, which was the kind of friendly place you could easily pass an afternoon into the evening snacking and drinking ... if you didn't have to keep on with the tour followed by an evening of catching up on work. My pic below does the spot zero justice. Check out more on their google maps listing, like this one.

Finished the tour with something sweet from Sketi Glyka.

Great finish to a nice day learning about a place that went from not at all being on my radar to being one of the favorite places I've been.

Quick Review: LunCHBeria (Colonia Del Valle, CDMX)

We often walk the stretch of Pedro Romero de Terreros between Providencia and Mier y Pesado. The Mercado is over there. My gym is around the corner on Avenida Coyoacán. Judy is at the Sumesa on Mier y Pesado legit 5x/week. But we rarely think to stop and eat at one of the spots lining the south side of the street. We did try Ihui once (it was just okay). Looks now like Ihui might be getting squeezed out by the new place Corteza (which we passed on yesterday as it seemed more like a cafe and was kinda dead vibes). Strolling without any specific destination in mind, we stopped in front of LunCHBeria and the menu got our attention. (See it on Rappi.) An Italian Beef sandwich inspired by the Bear. A breakfast bacon maple sandwich that sounded pretty good. We were intrigued, so we sat down.

Interior seemed friendly / inviting. Though I'd have to try out those bar stools. Think I'd prefer a stool I can move around.

I noticed on their menu they had a big selection of craft beer, a few of which were highlighted on their chalkboard hyping up tomorrow's NFL action.

Chill, local vibes eating on the banqueta.

Judy got the Italian Beef sandwich. I went with la hamburguesa goat. Her papas al romero were great. She liked the sandwich and would get it again, but wished it had a broth to dip it into, like a French dip I guess. My burger was decent. I'd try the clásica if we go back. And I'd skip the pure de camote. Usually that's a lock, but there was almost a licorice-esque note to it that I was not digging.

Net: love the concept and the ambition. Service was super friendly. Next time we'll stop by on a Sunday to watch a little football with one of their craft beers.

YouTuber appreciation: Jet Lag Warriors

Over the past couple of years I have been going deep and wide on the YouTube in search for travel related content. Of course there is a lot out there, for a range of tastes. Hasn't always been easy to find creators that cover destinations and topics that interest me and produce their material in a style I find compelling. The JetLag Warriors channel has been growing on me. I think I first stumbled upon their Romania videos when planning my trip last fall. Recently I've been zipping through their stuff on Finland and Estonia. Useful. And I will definitely be getting a Salmiakki ice cream or two during my trip.

An Assortment of Experiences in Santorini, Greece (May 2023)

After Naxos, Paros, Mykonos, and Milos, our next stop was Santorini. We had some relatively bad luck with the weather. The guides told us Santorini gets a handful of rainy days per year and we seemed to be there for all of them. Apparently mid April was beautiful - sunny, 70s - but early May decided to bring the clouds. Fortunately it didn't rain all day. Mostly at night at I recall. The last night in particular was a rainout. But we made the most of the hours when we could roam around the island.

Our base was Caldera Premium Villas in Oia. This was a nice spot in a good location offering pretty good value for Oia. Cliffside, rooms with views, the typical steps cascading down to your room. Which is nicer on the way down than the way up. 85 steps to the street. First time I forgot my phone in the room was the last time I forgot my phone in the room.

Room itself was solid and basic. I wasn't on my honeymoon. Didn't need a private infinity pool. Cave-style room with some nice views out the window.

And some nice views as you make your way up some of the stairs to breakfast and the pools.

We did a highlights tour around some of the villages, starting conveniently in Oia. As you expect, something picture-worthy every which way you turn.

I did give in to the urge to buy one of the Yellow Donkey beer shirts. Nice soft blue one in my closet right now.

Of course the pottery caught my eye. Attractive, but nothing I was going to carry around with me for the next week through Crete and Barcelona.

At first glance this might look like a picture of people enjoying a nice coffe with a view. But it's really about that dog lounging on top of the ledge oblivous to the view. What's his deal?

And while there were a fair amount of fellow tourists around, it wasn't bad. There are advantages to visiting in early May. Just might want to give yourself an extra night or two in to minimize the likelihood of rain spoiling too much of your time.

Our excursion also included some time walking through Pyrgos, which I enjoyed. If I were to go back to Santorini I'd look to spend a bit more time around Pyrgos and Megalochori. Just a free day walking / wandering / eating. Seemed pretty relaxed.

If you do pass through Pyrgos, stop by E-sterna Handmade Creations. Very nice little shop with a variety of things that looked / felt both unique and of higher quality than a lot of other shops I saw walking around the island. Pics below from its google maps listing, as I didn't take any.

The next day was spent visiting a range of hotel partners getting a sense of the locations, property characteristics, etc. Snapped a few shots of the views as we went around.

Also snagged a couple at Mythical Blue. Nice place for a shorter visit. Could work for longers stays as well if you're very specific about what room you get.

Across from Mythical Blue is Volkan on the Rocks, which is a great spot for a casual meal / drink with some views.

At this stage of our market tour my younger colleagues were still perplexed by my insistence to receive payment for using my likeness in their photos. This was a creative response posted to the group chat, indicating how a 'normal' person would have participated in the selfie.