Today's blog post will cover 2 very busy days in Greece - Gythion and Heraklion (Crete). Hopefully I can keep it brief so I don't run out of steam.
Yesterday, we were in Gythion, a port we hadn't been to before. We had an afternoon excursion, so we took a mid-morning tender into the port and began a walk around the harbor.
Apparently there are some locals who don't appreciate the cruise ships!
Our excursion took us to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Mystras. I will leave it to you, Dear Reader, to research it further. I'll just say that it was a large Byzantine city dating back to the 14th century. Our excellent guide was a fount of information, little of which I remember! I do recall that he said that Constantine was crowned emperor there. There are many ruins on the site and a relatively well preserved church with amazing paintings and frescoes. There is even a monastery that is still in use by 6 nuns. So here is the bombardment of photos.
After visiting the church, we climbed higher up on the site.
Mystras was truly an incredible place to visit. On the way back to the port, we stopped at the statue of Leonidas, the King of Sparta and a war hero.
Today, Wednesday we were in Heraklion on the island of Crete. The weather was finally nice enough that I could do a morning jog/walk on the fitness track as the sun rose.
The big attraction here is the palace of Knossos but, since we have done that before, we decided to do our typical walk around the city. From the port, we followed the yellow brick road to the city centre!
We worked our way over to the Venetian Harbor passing the Venetian walls before arriving at the Koules Fortress which was built in the 16th century.
The visit was well the worth the 2 Euro price of admission, if, for nothing else, this great quote from Victor Hugo.
After the fortress, we walked up the busy main street of Heraklion. We passed the Venetian Loggia (now town hall) and visited the Agios Titos church.
In the church, we discovered the skull of Saint Titus the Apostle. Linda thought this was the highlight of the cruise so far (not!).
After passing the Morosini Fountain in Lions Square it was time for lunch. We found a nice, quiet lunch restaurant, Kanatelias, where we had a vegetarian lunch with a local wine and without Greek salad.
Linda had been saying that she would like to get a haircut. As we were enjoying lunch, I noticed a beauty salon just across the street.
There was one final stop before we returned to the ship - Amarino Gelato. It seems that we have enjoyed their gelato all over the world. And check out the haircut!
Well, that's it for today. We have 2 more ports before our multiple, restful sea days.
Peace and blessings,
Linda and Larry
Stunning!
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