Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! Well the school provided a Thanksgiving dinner – it was good by not the same! Had the turkey and mashed potatoes and rolls – no sweet potatoes, pumpkin pies, or cranberry sauce! Kate and I flew to Crete this morning and arrived on a huge island with 75 degree blue sky and sun! We hopped into a taxi to take us to our hotel Porto del Colombo in the Old City – which we later heard was an excellent choice! The ‘hotel’ is an 8 room bed and breakfast in a building that is 600 years old – 600! We are in the Venetian part of the city so tight narrow alley ways were a little bit of a maze of cobblestone roads. With our suitcases on wheels we bumped along the cobblestone roads and with some assistance found our accommodations. We unloaded our stuff and then hit the harbor which is 30 meters in the other direction. Really gorgeous – tons of restaurants/bars encircling the harbor – most were closed because it is winter. But with a recommendation from our receptionist we went to Remezzoz for coffee and breakfast. Then we continued walking around the old and new city. What a gorgeous day! We also walked out along the Venetian harbor wall to the lighthouse – a famous landmark here in Chania (pronounced Hania).
Here’s a little history about Chania (taken directly from the DK Eyewitness Travel book) Chania’s earliest settlers were Minoans. Later in 520 BC, colonists from Samos arrived. From 1252 to 1645 it was mainly ruled by the Venetians who fortified the town and harbor. However, Chania fell in 1645 after a 55-day siege and remained in Turkish hands until 1898. In World War II, Cretan civilians fought along Greek and British Commonwealth troops. The German garrison in Chania held out until May 1945.
We got ready for dinner around 8 and went to a restaurant called Taman, again recommended by the receptionist. Taman was a cozy restaurant and it had this lower and upper level. We sat on the upper level (it was about 3 steps down to the lower level). We learned that where this restaurant was it was the cold pool people plunged into after having a Turkish bath across the street – thus the lower level! It was pretty packed so we knew we had chosen a good restaurant. So for our Thanksgiving dinner we had zucchini croquettes, a baked potato with mushrooms and cheese and then I had baby lamb, pita and taziki.
After dinner Kate and I need a walk so we were about to go along the harbor when some guy passed us by and said “Do you work at ACS?” This guy Stelio who is Greek-American whose home is here in Chania was home for the Thanksgiving break. Stelio is a shadow teacher and works in the counseling department – it is his first year at ACS too. He was with his sister Mina and we join them to their friend’s restaurant to watch “football”/soccer. So we did watch football – an American Thanksgiving tradition! A lot of the guys we met were Greek American or Greek Canadian! We then continued to another bar and then Kate and I headed home. As the night progressed I was losing my voice. I feel like I have laryngitis again!