Let’s get back to the Mediterranean …
Greeks love their garlic which they add to most savoury dishes. I have eaten some of the best tzatziki I have ever had the pleasure of tasting, used crusty bread to mop up Greek olive oil which had been poured lovingly onto a side plate, shared oven baked lemon and lamb with spuds, sliced through chunks of octopus and munched on a garden fresh Greek salad. Most meals are ended with water melon and raki the latter being a strong spirit made from grapes. An obvious disadvantage of travel is weight gain!
Greece is renown for its cats and as I’m a feline fan, I have no qualms about sharing my meal with these four-legged furries who always appear unannounced in cafés and tavernas.
Crete also has several archaeological sites. One of these is the ancient city of Aptera which was founded in the 8th Century BC and is perched on a hillside with commanding views of Souda Bay.
Restored Monastery of St John the Theologian
Church of St John
You will see the restored Monastery of St John the Theologian erected by the 12th Century AD and used up until 1964. Not far from here are Roman cisterns which supplied water to the public and private baths of that time.
Roman cisterns
Roman bathhouse
There are also ruins of a Roman amphitheatre and a Roman villa which would have been the ‘best house in town’ in its day, but now the columns from this building are sprawled on the ground. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in the 7th Century AD.
Roman amphitheatre
Columns from the Roman villa
Grasshopper visitor also enjoying the ruins …
Church of the Five Holy Virgins – Ancient city of Lappa
Roy and Ruth, we can’t thank you enough for making our stay in Crete such a special one!
It’s time to depart … France is next on the travel itinerary
What an amazing trip! Love to you both xxx
Hey Virg … it was a great trip! So good to see you at Frog Pond. Much love right back at you … xx
Thank you for sharing! Love the kitty pictures🐱
You are very welcome. That kitty was just beautiful .. what a face 😀
Looks like it was so much fun. Wonderful photos. I love that silly kitty.
Hi Tim .. I love that kitty too! I would have loved to have taken her home with me 😃 Glad you enjoyed the pics
Looks like it’s been a lovely trip! I’m glad you shared these lovely pics, Crete definitely looks like a place worth visiting! Have fun in Paris! 🙂
It was a great trip 😃And Crete is worth visiting .. so nice to escape winter. We didn’t get to Paris this trip, not enough time .. loved our visit though
Paris is always there…I missed out on my last trip too. 🙂
Beautiful photographs and amazing travel. I loved the cat photographs too 🙂 I love cats as you. Thank you dear Julie, have a nice day, Love, nia
Hey Nia .. so good to see you at Frog Pond 😃 thank your for your lovely comment. Yes we both are cat people 😍
Hi Julie loverly shots of Greek ruins. Takes me back to when Joyce and I used to visit Greece probably twice a year. Yes the food is basic but very tasty especially in the sun. All for now love to you both. Bill xxxx
Hey Bill thank you, glad you liked the pics! The food is perfect for hot sunny days. 😃Love back at you xx
Some people have all the luck. A beautiful land full of history with much to explore. And mouth-watering food. Your first paragraph has me searching for a Greek restaurant for dinner. What a wonderful holiday destination.
Lovely photography, Julie, but some guy in a straw hat keeps photobombing you. LOL 🙂 🙂 🙂
Loads of luck! Loved my holiday. Just wished that guy in that horrid hat would have stopped photobombing! Hilarious .. I had such a great laugh 😂 .. I hope you did find a Greek restaurant Mr Draco
I settled for takeaway.
I want to go there and sit in the sun eating Greek salad! You make it look idyllic.
Hey Anne .. such a great place to go especially for us in winter! Sun and a Greek salad .. wonderful! 😃
Goodness, you needed good meals to keep your strength up for all that walking and exploring.
The food was so good! I indulged .. but we did need it for the walking and exploring 😉 Lovely to see you at Frog Pond ..
Hi Julie, you know I’m getting hungry reading this! And it’s not only travelling that makes you gain weight but life in France, so it may be better to choose a home in a place with horrible food and no tempting markets, haha. Beautiful images, always a pleasure. Isn’t it crazy what the Romans have been up to in those days and now Italy is on its knees. Love to you both, look forward to the next rantings, xx
Hello Annette … ah nothing like travel and food! Yes the Romans were amazing weren’t they? So pleased that you enjoyed the images – there is often a dearth of pics of people, which I always regret. Next up France! Lots of love to you both too … more rantings coming soon 😀
Thank you, Julie, for making me feel so totally envious. It’s a feeling I have missed these last few years thinking I was content with my life- even though I live in Las Vegas! Truth is, I’ve always wanted to travel, maybe even live in, Greece. So I see France is next on your travel itinerary. At the moment I’ll still take Greece. But feel free to try to change my mind.
Hey Emilio .. you are very welcome. Nice to take you on a mini journey to Crete 🙂 Did I tell you that I spent 6 weeks in Las Vegas? Wish I had loved my camera then … Yes France is next up – another wonderful place, and the food!
Don’t, please don’t, take photos of food. I need to lose weight, not gain!
I Love your Rants! Rant on and on please! Your photos are stunning….as usual!
Hey Linda .. I’m glad someone loves my rants! 😀 More travel news coming soon, I’m on a roll. WordPress was only telling me yesterday that I have done 200 posts! My … given how poor I have been lately at posting I was so surprised. Love your visits Miss
I love your blog! And I have really enjoyed getting to know you!
What a lovely stroll through your eyes. Really wonderful moments captured. cheers x
Hey Miss, thank you so much. It’s wonderful being able to share great experiences. More travel news to come very soon. Cheers to you too 🙂
Great trip! So much history there!
It was such a great trip, and steeped in history 🙂 Thanks for the visit
Julie & Andy thank you for visiting us and the pleasure of your good company, so glade you enjoyed Crete which has so much more to enjoy if you have the time, which is why we live here !
Hey Roy … we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday. Thanks again for everything that you did for us 😀 Crete is such a great place, I sure do know why you live there!
Wonderful Julie, I haven’t been to Crete but your photos remind me of the antiquities in Turkey and Sicily, and the lovely dry heat!
Hi Gilly … Crete is a super holiday destination! One day I’ll get to Turkey and Sicily. The weather was so hot while we were there and rather ‘damp’ when we got home. LOL
Fabulous views Julie, I enjoyed my journey to Crete with you 🙂
Ah Andrea so nice to be able to take you on the journey to Crete … thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Looking forward to the post about France – not been to Crete but I do love Greece, especially after living there for two years 😀.
Hi Helen .. you lived in Greece for two years .. what a great experience. You would be a fan then of Greek food! One of my favs .. always reminds me of holidays in the sun. France is next up .. at last I am posting a bit more regularly 🙂
Yes, I live Greek food 😊
An excellent post, Julie. And as always, I love your photos.
Thank you Cynthia. Always great to see you at Frog Pond. And I’m so pleased you enjoyed the pics 😀
Beautiful and that grasshopper looks so alien 😉
Thanks Joshi … he definitely wanted his photo taken 🙂
A lovely write and great photos, Julie. The country is steeped in such interesting history… and delicious food! 😉 Beautiful sharing, thanks for this trip to Crete! 😃
Hey Iris .. you are so welcome. Glad you enjoyed the post! A great country to visit .. 🙂
Love the photos. I’m intrigued by the twin piles of large, rounded rocks in the monastery. What purpose do they serve and who placed them there?
Hi Julie .. so nice to see you at Frog Pond. So pleased you enjoyed the pics. Gosh I’m not sure what those rounded rocks were for. I’ll see what I can find out 🙂
The experiences you have on your holidays are perfect ~ from the grand (what a cool monastery and history) to the small (I love the shot of the insects). The photos and writing feels like I am there, walking during the time when it was at its height of glory 🙂
Thank you so much for your wonderful comment. I’m so pleased that you enjoyed the post .. and the walk into yesteryear 🙂
Yes, for me there is nothing quite like a little visit to the past to get the mind thinking of possibilities 🙂
The kitty looked like it could use a friend and a good meal… so kind of you!
Hey Roberta I would have loved to have taken her home. She was just so sweet .. So nice to see you here 🙂
Hi Julie and Andrew, looks like you had a great visit to Europe, we love your photos , so much history in Greece, I take all my photos on my I phone, ideal , the grasshopper is so clear . We’re looking forward to some nice weather as well once we arrive in Brisbane at Christmas , Callum is there now and says his winter is nicer than our British summer 😎 Best wishes to you both Martin and Esther , Croxley green
It sure was a great trip Martin, so pleased you like the pics. Greece sure is steeped in history … and Crete was a wonderful place to escape the winter doldrums. I’m a great fan of the iPhone especially when we were walking through gorges 🙂 Nice to hear that you will be going to Brisbane for Xmas – the weather will be wonderful. Best wishes to you and Esther.
Lovely photo gallery, especially the sweet little kitties. That’s a stunning shot of the grasshopper. 🙂
Thank you 😀 … I’m a kitty fan. As for that grasshopper, I haven’t seen one quite like that before
The contrasts in the picture of the fallen columns with the flowers in the foreground fascinate me – history vs present; prickly vs smooth; solid vs ethereal – and the colours are lovely.
I couldn’t resist that shot 😀 … it is as you say, prickly vs smooth. Thanks for stopping by ..
Even before I got to the last sentence in your first paragraph I thought about the calorie count.
I like the way you played off the thorny plant in the foreground against the broken, fallen columns in the background.
I did a search for pictures of insects on Crete but didn’t turn up your strange “grasshopper”.
Hmm, the calorie count was fairly high! My Uncle did the research for me .. it is a Acrida ungarica. To be honest, I had no idea what it was, but he kindly told me. Glad you liked that pic Steve … one of my favs.
I see from Wikipedia that it’s called the cone-headed grasshopper, nosed grasshopper, or Mediterranean slant-faced grasshopper. ll those descriptions fit.
Hi Julie, what amazing photos of Greece! How nice to see you really enjoyed your time in Europe. You kept very beautiful moments. Best regards from Munich! 😉
Hey Josephine … thank you! I had the best time in Europe. I would have loved to catch up with you too, maybe next time! 😀
Beautiful photos. I think you were having a better time there than I was in Croatia 😂. I see what I missed out on not going there. What a lovely place to visit. ❤️
Thanks Pos … next time you are in Europe you will have to go. I’ll see you there! LOL
I enjoyed the tour, Julie! These are beautiful photos of Greece! Love the visiting kitty looking for a meal. He or she looks like they have seen a lot of fighting with that tattered ear.
Hi Lavinia .. so pleased you enjoyed the tour. Crete is a lovely place .. The kitty was just so very sweet, I could have taken her home. I believe the torn ear represents that they have been desexed .. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
What an unusual grasshopper! Love the old stonework, sad to see so much of it destroyed. Poor kitties! How nice of you to share your calories! 😉 I need to mindful of that (calories)–we have vacation coming up soon.
Poor and nice cat *x*, certainly I would give it food as well . In Peru tourists refer to the weight gaining after try the food as the Peruvian tummy xD I loved so much the intensity of the light, one would say winter has been banned of Crete. : )
It was such a sweet cat as many of them are. They love food and TLC 🙂 Oh yes, it was so hot in Crete when we were there! Hot and very very dry …