Day 1:

After two days of travel through Iceland and Germany I landed in Chania on the island of Crete, which is where I am living this summer with Dimitri and his family.  Dimitri and I were housemates when I lived in San Francisco; we haven't seen or spoken with each other in two years but have kept in touch solely on Facebook (woohoo, FB).   D picked me up from airport and took me directly to Loutraki - which, so far, is one of my favorite beaches in Crete.  Between two days of travel, flying to the other side of the world, seeing a very good friend for the first time in years and literally being driven from a plane to paradise, well, you can imagine why I've been spending a week or so processing.  We spent the day at Loutraki swimming and sunbathing and I spent the day being surrounded by butterflies, drinking frappe and being told that I am going to have nothing short of the best summer ever, thanks to Dimitri :]. All of this threw any jet-lag I had right out the window.  After Loutraki we drove home to what is now the most charming and enchanting place I have ever been - no exaggeration necessary.  The background of this blog and all of the photos at the bottom are from around the house on different levels, porches, nooks and crannies.  I explored a bit, met the family and headed into Chania for dinner with Dimitri and a bunch of his friends.   

Loutraki

Lots of new faces... first night at dinner. 

                                                                         

Day 2:

We got home from the night before around 3 or 4am and slept well into the morning, only to wake up to more frappe and change into our bathing suits.  Quite opposite from the day before, we went to a pool bar in Chania with more good company.  First of all, the number of beautiful people in Greece is a tad overwhelming.  Secondly, the amount of time these women must spend in the gym is also very overwhelming; most of the time it's like watching models walk straight out of a magazine.  Twilight zone, really.  After swimming and drinking coffee literally all day, we came home to shower/rest/nap and head out to Chania again for dinner.  Dimitri has a twin brother that works at a restaurant near the harbor, which has become a favorite nightly spot with delicious food and cheap drinks.  I tried snails for the first time and learned some key Greek phrases like: "thank you", "excuse me", "more wine please", and "I like threesomes" (thank you, boys). 

Pool bar... lots of fun but I prefer the sea.

Snails, wine, Greek. 

 

                                                                            

Day 3:

  

This is when the routine starts to become clear.  We spent the morning sleeping in and woke up to put on our bathing suits and head to the beach for a day of coffee drinking, swimming and sunbathing.  We usually stay out at the beach until 6 or 7pm and, like always, head home to rest/shower/nap and sometimes eat.  Then once again we were off to the harbor in Chania to catch the last of the sunset and meet up with friends for another night of people watching, chatting, drinking and me trying to understand Greek.  

Savvy Beach

Sunset on the harbor.

Vagellis and Babis

                                                                          

Day 4:

This was another beach day but my pictures (and brain) are pretty scrambled.  We ended the night with a night swim to see the moon and check out the constellations... and to celebrate D's birthday once midnight rolled around!  Beaches (much like driving) do not have any regulations;  there is no fear of getting caught or fined for being anywhere "after dusk".

Just a tad chilly.

                                                                          

Day 5:

Loutraki!  This was also Dimitri + Haris' birthday but that is celebrated on Day 8 :].  Dimitri, McKay (who is living here for the summer, as well, to study archaeology) and I spent the day laying in the sun, drinking more coffee, swimming in the sea and exploring/climbing/jumping from rocks around the coast.  We napped after the beach, had dinner at Haris' restaurant and then I went to work with Dimitri from 12am-8am at The Web - a 24 internet cafe in Chania.  I was a legit zombie by the time 6am rolled around so I grabbed the camera and decided to catch the sunrise on the harbor and explore some of the extremely quaint streets of Chania.  Then, at 8am, it was time to head home and off to bed for a few hours.  

Perfect description of summer in Crete.

Loutraki.

Sunrise in the harbor.

Walking down the street in Chania's old harbor.

                                                                            

Day 6:

You'll never guess... we slept for a few hours in the morning and were at another beach drinking coffee within 45 minutes of waking up.  We spent another day at the beach and returned home to shower/rest for a few hours.  Dimitri worked again at midnight so McKay and I got dropped off in town and learned our way around the city a bit, grabbed a beer from the street vendor (definitely American of us) and found an empty bench on a cobblestone sidewalk to sit and chat for awhile.  Eventually we walked over to Haris' work to say hello and then to visit Dimitri at his.  Haris picked us up from The Web around 4am and gave us a ride home on his bike.  I was SO excited to ride on a motorcycle for the first time.  This was one of those goose-bump moments... riding home on the back of a motorcycle, under the moon, on a warm summer night in Greece.  I'm dreaming, right?  

                                                                          

Day 7:

This day was spent sleeping in (sensing a theme?) and relaxing around the house.  These have come to be some of my favorite days.  Being home here is like being on a retreat.  Everything is so naturally beautiful and charming.  I wrote in my journal, took some pictures, watched the sunset from the veranda and then went into Chania with D and McKay to meet some friends for coffee and drinks on the water.  

Soaked. I won't be walking down any more stairs when the tide is in...