Stef arrives

TUESDAY 30^th DECEMBER

We awoke to no electricity and our friend Stef is flying into Chania later today! The forecast had given cloud but we were encountering light rain and very strong winds. 

However not to be put off we headed for Chania where we spent the afternoon looking round part of the old town. (That was after we had found somewhere to have a coffee and metaxa to warm us up.) Walking the narrow streets similar to those in Rethymno we came across a 15^th Century Synagogue which we could have looked round but only ventured into the garden area. We arrived at the Venetian harbour area and although a couple of places were open for coffee the water was breaking over the quayside so decided to move on.  We tried to find somewhere to eat but it seemed the Tavernas and restaurants did not open until around 7pm and we wanted to be out of Chania before it got dark. It didn’t help that we had left the map of the city in the car!  

This narrow street reminded me of 'The Shambles' in York but a shame about all the grafitti.

Walking back to the car in what we hoped was the right direction, as by now it had begun to rain, we came across the indoor market where a couple of butcher’s stalls were still open and the same for greengrocers but many souvenir stalls were desperately seeking customers.  

Stef’s flight was not due to land until 7.20 and she had said she would eat in Athens airport so we still needed to find somewhere.  We stopped at one large building with its lights ablaze but again it would not be open until 7pm, which was too late.  Eventually we found a small place close to the airport, that was also a take away, and as long as we wanted something basic we could eat here.  It’s a long time since we have had beefburger and chips as we were informed the chickens on the spit would not be ready for another 3 hours!  

Stef’s flight was on time and we were soon on our way back down to Plakias where it was now raining heavily.  We tried to make her feel better by saying that the temperature in her home town was -2C!