However, we plan to continue to visit Crete twice a year for as long as possible. Our favourite part of Crete is the Chania area, in NW Crete – and Chania itself is a really lovely city, with a wonderful covered market and plenty of fabulous tavernas just off the beaten track. Two, in particular, are in Kondilaki street (parallel to Halidon street). Ela is in a very old converted factory (sounds odd but it’s very beautiful) – and Xani – our absolute favourite, is just off Kondilaki street, opposite the old Jewish synagogue (which has a sad history). If you visit Xani, please say hello from Franky and Bernard to Dimitris and Margi. We especially recommend their avocado and orange salad, followed by chicken with prunes – both delicious! Their slow-cooked lamb and goat dishes and local wine are excellent too.

@Stella: Enjoy the food on Crete. It is definitely something special.

Cretans are very serious about their cuisine and their olive oil. We had many conversations about how the health benefits of olive oil really has a lot to do with the quality. Low acidity (e.g. 0.3-0.8) olive oil supposedly helps break down cholesterol and food, but lower quality olive oil does less so. But of course, everything in moderation…even with olive oil 🙂

@Jeremy: Before this trip, we didn’t know much about Crete either except for the beach vacations we used to see advertised at travel agents. After this trip, we realize there is so much more to the island. Like you, we appreciate the history and culture much more now, especially as it’s changing in so many places.

@Jackie: We weren’t able to go into Samaria Gorge, but we did stand on its edge and peak in. Beautiful!

We won’t be able to get to Cyrprus this year, but we are headed to the Middle East for the next 2-3 weeks (Iran). We like avoiding winter 🙂

@Christine: Greek (and Cretan) hospitality is pretty incredible. We left with a backpack full of gifts people kept giving us along the way! Really wonderful.

@Pooja: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed this!

@Will: These old ladies look tough, but they have a light side to them. But, they still might give you an old ear-bashing just to have some fun 🙂

@Joan: Just wait until we start writing about Cretan food and everything else we saw during the week. Than you’ll really want to book a flight!!

@Erik: Ugh, sorry about that weather! We did have rain on our first 2 days in Crete (supposedly there are only 60 rain days/year), but then it was beautiful after that. I’d highly recommend going in mid-October – not many tourists and the weather is still warm.

@Pete: Thanks for passing on the link! How did your friend enjoy the stop in Crete? Many Mediterranean cruises do stop off for a day on Crete to see Knossos or one of the towns like Rethymno or Chania.

@Azeem: It is a pretty nice breakfast view!

@Henry: The top photo was taken at Royal Mare resort just outside of Heraklion.

@Aubrey: Food is a great way to learn about the culture of a place. You can tell how important olive oil is to Cretan food by all the olive trees all over the island.

@Clive: Thanks for the information on Heraklion! We had a morning in the city of Heraklion – got to visit a local market, see the demonstrations and try a few local food specialties.

@Andrea: We were surprised by how physically beautiful Crete was. I don’t feel our photos do it justice – hills upon hills that then fall into the sea. Chania is lovely – we spent a couple of nights there.