Day 4: The Heraklion Journey

Feeling tired from all that we have been through with our travels and journey so far, we decided to really deviate from our "Day 4 Agenda" and skip the hike through Acropolis Kastros in Gortys. After spending the evening in Heraklion we decided to go back to the downtown area and walk around our old stomping grounds. This is where we went to do a lot of our more serious shopping when we were stationed on the island years ago.We've not been able to shop since we'd gotten to Crete, due to the mid afternoon break. It just seemed best to hit them early in the day.

The open air market looked exactly the same as it did in the early 80's. Loofah sponges, post cards, ornate cotton dresses, Greek god figurines and fresh meats. 

 Michael walking downtown Heraklion, looking a bit confused at the signs.

 

Even still today, Crete has beautiful fruits, vegetables and even the flowers on the island seem more vibrant. It's easy to eat healthy while on vacation. The fresh produce must be organically/naturally grown. A cucumber tastes like a cucumber not pesticides. The tomatoes have that wonderful taste that we just can't seem to find in America anymore. Since we were surrounded by shops, I decided to dive right into souvenir shopping. Here's the treasures I found. 

                                            
                              

    Got this adorable murano glass cat pendant for my friend. She is the ultimate cat lover. 

Got this for Brandon. He will love it! The minute Michael and I saw it, we said, "That's for Brandon!".

Got this for me. I love the amethyst look of this bracelet.

These pendants are made of leather. I got one for me and one for my nieces Trisha and Chelsea.

Got Brandon some worry beads. He gets to pick the strand that he wants. One is made of wood the other is made of kri-kri horns.

 I have a really sweet friend that collects elephants. I saw this little one made of alabaster and had to get it for her. 

 After shopping for a while, we went back to the taverna that we ate at the night before and ordered some tzatiki and bread and lemonade. The light lunch was perfect. We were both feeling a little tired. Being the courteous tourist that Michael is, he wanted to respect the Greek two hour rest. So, we headed back to the apartment and rested for a while. 

 It's getting close to 3:00 p.m. in this photo. Everyone is leaving the market so the owners can close up shop for a few hours.

We saw this digging site on the way back to the car after lunch. Looks fascinating. I haven't researched it yet. But I'm anxious to find out what they have discovered about it so far. We got our rest then got up and headed to  Lygaria Beach for a swim and to snorkel. The water was still a little rough for me. I've yet to get into the deep blue sea at this point. The big waves and the vastness of the water was too intimidating to me. Michael snorkeled for a while and then suggested that we go to the apartments and get in the pool so that I could swim. We swam for a while and then went to get cleaned up for our dinner at Domenico Bistro. On our way out we stopped to ask Liza for directions and any recommendations. Her daughter was helping her. She introduced us to Julie and let me just say, it was a pleasure meeting her. We conversed with her really well. She gave us some advice and then we were on our way.





             
This is the first thing you see when you enter the village of Fodele. We pulled over to go into some of these traditional Crete-style shops.

I bought the two bigger pieces and then the shop owner wrapped the grey and white handkerchief and gave it to me as a gift.

  


                                                 This is George's Bistro Domenico. The food is wonderful, the sevice is excellent and the owners are top notch. We had a great time that evening. 

 

Eva made us this Greek Salad to get our meal started. She served it with the traditional hard bread.

Michael and I really enjoyed meeting with George and his wife. They are wonderful people. This is me and George.

I couldn't put my souvlaki gyro down long enough to get a picture. Love the food!

This is Eva's mother. She is a sweetheart.

Eva and I are conversing. She was so hospitable and friendly. She treated us to some gourmet ice cream after our meal.

Our friends that own Bistro Domenico gave us this beautiful piece of pottery. I'll treasure it always. His wife was so sweet to carefully wrap it for us. This is the essence of our Day 4.  Just to top it off, as if the day was perfect enough, George gave us a bottle of Greek wine before we left for the evening.