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this place is famous for Saint Francis so if you’re interested in him or something related to him and the Catholic Church or the foundation of the Franciscan order, this would be a great place to visit. He is also entombed in the main basilica.
I came to Crete because it’s one of the major islands and I thought it was a good place to start some island hopping in Greece. The highlights of course of these islands are the beaches and some amazing scenery. Since this is a volcanic area you recognize right away how rugged the terrain. I rented a car and as soon as I started driving it became very clear I was going to find some pretty steep and windy roads which is what the island is pretty much made of. But people drive slowly so it’s pretty easy to make your way down a road which is the width of one car while having another car come at you. People cooperate and they make it work.
A lot of the advertising photos of Greece are the clear blue Aegean waters. You will see some of that along your journey on Crete but many of the beaches are like others around the world with a lower visibility of a few meters to maybe 5 m. But I have been in several beaches where the visibility is maybe 30 to 40 m which is very good. For you people from the US 1 m is approximately 1 yard. My first stop was two nights in Chania at Kosmoss A. G. K. The people there are exceedingly helpful, nice and the accommodation was just fine. Within a few minutes walking distance you have a choice of a few beaches which can get crowded in the afternoon but it seems the tourists here prefer starting their beach and sunbathing exercises at about 11 AM and finish about 5 pm or so. So if you go earlier or a little bit later you can beat the crowd and sometimes have a beach all to yourself. The two beaches I went to within walking distance are Yannis beach and Iguana Beach. There is a larger beach at Golden Bay.
Then I traveled along the road looking for a good fish restaurant and this name came up on the map in Kissamos, Akrogiali seaview rooms and restaurant. When I arrived there were no restaurants open even after 1 PM but their were a few people in the water. Even though the beaches was small stones you take a few steps and you are in deep enough water to have a good swim and you won’t have many people around. The second day I went there and I was the only person.
The next day I wanted to try the famous Falasaena beach. When I got to the southernmost point there was a huge parking lot for five euro and I couldn’t believe that I would have to pay to park a car to walk to a beach so I went farther north, found a free parking place and walked down to the beach and took a short swim. It was very nice but it was around some old broken down coral heads so I had to be a little careful where I was swimming so I wouldn’t bump into these old coral formations. I would not recommend this place if you have kids. There’s two much stuff to bump into and cut them or scratch them. So i was not really impressed with this arrangement at the beach.
The next day I went south along the west side of Crete and I was told that Elafonissi Beach was really superb and I had to go there. When I arrived I was waved into a five euro Parking place. But the strange thing was they wouldn’t let me continue down the road. They stood in front of my car and insisted that I go into the five euro parking area. I thought this is such a famous beach I have to try it so I parked there and I walked down 100 meters and there was a not full three euro parking lot, actually two of them. As I walk further down the road there was a souvenir shop where you could park for free if you were going to buy something. Walking down a little bit further there was a minimart where you could park for free if you were a customer. None of these parking lots were full. So you can figure out the appropriate word for this kind of behavior. Anyway, to walk to the beach it was about 1 1/2 km or about 1 mile which I found to be too much for me in the hot sun but since I paid five euro for parking I decided to continue. I got down to the beach and there were thousands of people. I got down to the water and there was nobody anywhere at that beach in water above their pelvis. It was a child beach area. If you’ve ever been to a decent beach before that had any depth you would recognize this as the child’s pool at the hotel. I found this very strange because I have never seen this before. I have seen very shallow beaches but I could never imagine adults going in. And I have never seen a shallow beach that was the shallow for such a distance. But I guess Europeans are OK with hanging out for hours at a very shallow beach which I should add has pretty nice sand for a European beach. It was definitely not my cup of tea so after about a half hour in the water and cooling off in the hot sun I walked all the way back to the parking, getting way too much sun on the way and not really happy with that venture.
That evening I drove for a one night stay in Palaiochora which is a nice little town and if you have extra time you might want to stay there a couple nights. It’s very relaxing with many restaurants and bars, it’s very low-key but it’s a cute little town and it has nice beaches. The most popular and biggest beache is on the west side which tends to get pretty crowded. It’s a nice Sandy Beach. I was staying on the east side and while it was more of a large pebble beach, once you get in the water you get some depth and it’s quiet water so it’s very good swimming. I went in the early morning for a swim and there was only one other person there at 8 AM. I stayed in the water about an hour and during that time a few other people showed up, setting up their beach equipment and umbrellas. The waters were extremely clear and calm.
My last beach stop was yesterday at Plakias. There evidently are some very nice beaches around here but I don’t really need to be around hundreds or thousands of people and difficulty trying to find some space to sit down my sandals and small bag. Within about a five minute walk there is a nice entrance to the town beach which I went to at 6:30 in the morning and there was nobody there. The sun was still behind the mountains. The waters were extremely clear and calm. I stayed for about a half hour in the water, nobody else showed up, and I went back to get a shower and some breakfast. So that’s the extent of my beach experiences in Crete. My next stop is Santorini
It seems that many of the tourist are interested in setting up equipment or lying in a lounge chair with an umbrella for the day. Many of them also are sunbathing. Living on the beach for almost 15 years I don’t find either of those activities interesting or healthy for me. After eight years in a diving business and getting too much sun it’s now important to protect myself so I tried to be pretty careful. My best time at the beach is always in the water with the sun behind me.
Plakias Beach where I was swimming this morning
these are just a few photos I took first stopping in Terni for a couple days and then going to the airport in Rome to take a flight to Athens.
This is a very beautiful museum to visit and highly recommended. One thing I keep getting reminded of when I enter a cathedral or visit a museum of ancient art, at certain periods of history the money was in religion and religious art. I don’t know how many museums I’ve been in since I started visiting areas in Europe including Ireland and the British Isles but I think my senses have become jaded by the overflow of religious art. I recommend when you want to visit this museum or any other it might be a good idea to read a little about the different artist displayed and what to look for that makes them stand out over the others. I think that will help give you a little more sense of excitement and anticipation at the detail, technique and display.
I would prefer to see people refer to the city by its real name and not by a name created in English. Actually I did some research into the name and it turns out that the name Florence comes from the old Latin name for the town which was Florentina. But in any case the correct Italian name should be used to avoid any confusion and to be respectful of the Italian people. My last time here was 2010 when I went to a restaurant for my first Meal in Italy, three courses. After the dinner a few older gentlemen were amazed when I complimented the bottles of wine with labels of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Francis Ford Coppola. That we all sang together and old Dean Martin favorite, Volare. That got me a few free shots of Grapa. This city will always be Amazing Firenze.
Behind Uffizi Galleries
Mediaeval Assisi definitely a place you need to visit in Italy especially if you’re interested in Saint Francis at his live nature and animals. His tomb is here in the large basilica so you can come and visit or pay your respects or whatever.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
on this site was a Roman temple to Minerva and on top of that a church was built.
Arezzo is one of those small towns in The Central part of Italy which can give you a good rest from the famous big tourist cities. I highly recommend just taking a break and try Relaxing Arezzo.
When We think of Parma we need to focus on the fact that it is one of the most important cities and areas in the world. This area around the city brings us Parmesan cheese, prosciutto, Lambrusco wine (like champagne), tortellini soup, Balsamic vinegar, Baloney, Bolognese sauce (ミットソース) (Ragu sauce), Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati. What other area of the world has brought us so much?
a friend who lived and worked in this area for several years told me there are three things to see in Marseille and then you can leave. one is the basilica on the hill, the other one is the old port and having bouillabaisse soup and the other one is maybe less interesting but probably the beach area. For me the soup was something I had been looking forward to for more than 16 years. The first time I tried to get to Marseille from Barcelona the whole country, France, shut down due to a strike against the Social Security system, if I remember correctly. So there were no toll roads or trains or buses or control towers working. So I missed my chance. But I finally made it and I will say the soup was very delicious and very interesting.
The reason I recommend you “Park in Empoli” is the location of this town. You can spend a day going around and seeing almost everything there is to see inside Empoli. but what I found to be something really attractive about this city is its location to some of the interesting places in this area. You could take a bus for about 45 minutes to the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci, a town called Vinci. Within 40 minutes train ride you can be in Firenze (Florence). within an hour and a half train ride you can be in Siena, an amazingly interesting UNESCO heritage site. The other attraction of this city is the cost of living which is as much as 1/2 the cost of staying in Firenze. so you can spend three days staying in Empoli, spend the morning you arrive going around the city, the next day you go to Vinci. and two days after that you spend some time in Firenze. one night. if you do that it would be good to stay four nights in Empoli. if you don’t want to stay in Siena add another night or two. after all, what is a visit to Italy if you don’t get to see the birthplace of Leonardo, the beauty of Firenze and the medieval atmosphere of Siena?
