Day 13 - Relaxing and Getting Nibbled in Chania

On Day 13 we began our first full day in Chania by having breakfast in our hotel. The breakfast spread in the SanSal Hotel is pretty good. They had a wide assortment of sweet and savory pastries, meats and cheeses, eggs, yogurt, veggies, coffee bar, and so on. 

After breakfast we went back to our room and got ready to go swimming. We went down to the lobby and picked up our beach towels and headed out. We walked across the street from our hotel and down the road towards the entrance to the waterfront. There is a stone wall and waterfront area where people can go swimming. It even has a breakwater wall in front of the bay to keep the water calm. There were several groups of people swimming nearby as we arrived. We set our towels on the wall near the rocks and went in for a dip. The water was very clear and we could see little tiny fish swimming around and also the rocks along the bottom of the sea. 

Swimming Area Across From Hotel

We waded out into the water slowly along the slippery stone walkway and out into the water. The water was cool and refreshing. We both swam for a few minutes and relaxed enjoying the view. Just when I thought things couldn't get any better I was shocked by a very odd pinching feeling on my lower back. I jumped up and may have even squealed a little in surprise. "Did I just get bit by something??" I asked Deanna who was swimming near me. I was starting to freak out, not understanding what had just happened when Deanna also reacted shockingly to something that just took a swipe at her skin as well. Fish were biting us! lol. We both decided we had enough and got the heck out of the water for now. 

We went up to our towels and dried off. Nobody on shore even noticed what we were talking about or cared. We decided to go back to the hotel and get some lunch and relax for a bit. The first thing I did was google "biting fish in Crete" and "biting fish in the Mediterranean". Well it turns out that the fish biting swimmers isn't uncommon in the region. The tiny fish, usually sea bream, like to nibble on skin tags, wounds, sores, etc., almost like they are cleaning you. I guess in some situations they can be larger and bite harder, but what we experienced was mostly just shocking, not painful. 

We ordered a couple pizzas, salad, and beers from the hotel. The pizza wasn't bad, but they did mess up our order once and had to fix it. 

After our meal and rest, we decided to go try swimming at the Nea Chora beach which was back over by the Manos restaurant we were at the night before. We went to a public space on the beach and made a pile with our towels and bags. We both waded into the water and immediately noticed all the fish again. I asked someone swimming if the fish bite over here and they confirmed that they do. 

We swam out about 20 feet from shore and not long after that I felt a little hit on my arm. It was much softer than the bites from the other swimming area, but still not enjoyable. We swam a little longer and made a point to thrash about constantly to avoid any fish nibbling opportunities. We gave up after 10 minutes and went back to our room to freshen up for dinner. 

For dinner we went to another recommended place, called Neoria Fish Tavern. We walked out of our hotel and headed East toward the Chania marina area and restaurants. We took a moment to enjoy the amazing vibes and views that this part of Chania holds. It's so lovely at sunset. 

The restaurant is located beyond all the main tourist stops and at the end of the line where the boats are docked. We passed full restaurants along the way and really big crowds. The closer we got to the restaurant the less busy things became. That felt promising as we approached our restaurant. 

We sat down and ordered our food. We got a bottle of Chardonnay, stuffed squash blossoms, steamed mussels, fresh fried calamari, shrimp spaghetti, and the mixed seafood grill for one. While we waited for our food to come out we enjoyed watching the cats wandering in and out of tables trying to look cute without begging too hard. 

The squash blossoms were not like I was imagining they would be. They were stuffed but then covered with like a tomato based sauce. They weren't bad, but just not what I was hoping for. The mussels were very good. The fresh fried calamari was pretty good, but they could have been fried a little longer. Deanna liked her spaghetti, but all of the shrimp had full tails on and they were not cleaned. Unfortunately this is very common in Greece. This was a bit of a turn off for her appetite, so she didn't eat all of it. I also don't love having to clean my own shrimp, or even peel them. The mixed seafood grill came out and I immediately regretted it. It was much more than one portion and didn't look great. The french fries were not that crispy. The fried fish were a bit too large for my liking. When I tried eating them they were very bony and tough to get down. I ate a few. There was also a whole grilled calamari. The calamari was not seasoned at all and was very dry and just char grilled. It smelled burned. I also had a side of fried shrimp on the plate as well. These were smaller shrimp that were unpeeled just like Deanna's. I tried eating a couple of them, but they were falling apart in my hand. I think we were expected to eat them whole, but that's also not my jam. At the end of the meal the waiter brought us a bottle of Raki, a nice cake, and ice cream for dessert. 

We took a leisurely stroll along the marina as we went to back to our hotel. Chania is a lovely little place and has such amazing views in the day and night. We passed by the Maritime Museum and snapped a few pics also. 

Our first day on Crete was complete. 

Remember all photos will be linked here: Full Photo Dump

Day 11 - Athens Stream Day, The Panathenaic Stadium, The Acropolis

On Day 11 we woke up and had some breakfast at the rooftop buffet from our hotel. 

The day's plan was for me (Mack) to go stream on Twitch for a bit and then come back to pick up Deanna for some additional sightseeing. 

I started out having some configuration issues which was frustrating by managed to get the stream working and headed out. 

I took chat on a walk through the same neighborhoods that we explored the evening before. We walked over to Hadrian's Library and along the way I snapped some photos of street art when I saw it. 

At one point we passed another old Byzantine style church in the middle of a square.

I continued on and stopped at the tomb of the unknown soldier. The guards were doing a little movement of some sort, so I snapped a quick picture and carried on. We looped back by the Roman Baths and the Gate of Hadrian. 

Around 2pm it was time for me to grab Deanna. I went upstairs into our hotel room and grabbed Deanna to come along. 

We both set out walking towards the Panathenaic Stadium. It was probably around 90 degrees out while we were walking up some long sloped roads in the blazing hot sun. We were sweating pretty bad, but kept on our way to the stadium. It was about a 20 minute walk on the surface streets and wasn't very flat at all as the google maps directions indicated When we reached the stadium there was a line at the ticket booth about 10 deep and not moving very fast. We decided it wasn't worth waiting in the blazing heat for tickets, so we went over to the front of the stadium and took pictures there instead. After our brief photoshoot we made our way across the street into the National Garden. The path through the park was flat and cool from the sun. I think this was the way we should have initially walked to the stadium and not up the surface streets and hills. 

After we emerged from the park we were back on the hot streets of Athens. We continued up to The Acropolis hill. Getting into the ruins with my streaming gear was something I was worried about. I know that several other IRL streamers have made it in with their cameras, but I always hate dealing with the "is it professional?" questions as you try to get in. As we approached I pushed my shoulder mount camera down and into my armpit as to show that it was not on. They scanned our tickets and we were about to pass through when the lady at the door said something in Greek to the other door person. Then she says in English, "is this a drone?" and I laughed out loud and said, "no no, definitely not a drone," and then walked off. lol, we were in. 

We walked up the slopes of the Acropolis and looked at the historic areas on display. There was the amphitheater and a few other cool things to see. 

Then we went up the steep path to the top of the hill and spent some time looking at the Parthenon. The history of the place is incredible. We also had a really cool view from the top of the hill of all of Athens. There were a good number of cats roaming about and sunbathing too.

We quickly had our fill of the crowds of tour groups on the Acropolis and began making our way down the other slope to the exit. After exiting we walked back down to the small town alleys of restaurants and shops. We found a place in a very busy alley and setup my stream gear on the table and ordered food. We ordered a Greek salad, an arugula salad, large beans, cheese croquettes, and a pork gyro. All of the food at this place was delicious. The gyro was a highlight for sure. 

On our walk back to the hotel I had a gelato with pistachio and Stracciatella flavors. We sat and enjoyed some street kitty action while closing out the stream for the day. When we went back to our hotel I picked up my laundry from the reception desk. I had sent out a few shirts and some other small items to be cleaned. They came back nicely folded and ready to wear. I was glad I decided to use this service. 

That was the end of our 11th day on this trip. 

 Remember all photos will be linked here: Full Photo Dump