I should explain the title of this post is a phrase used regularly by our guide.
Today we visited Crete. Gotta say, we didn’t get what I was expecting.
We had selected a visit to the Palace of Knossos but were advised by the organisers that this may be a bit taxing for us with very uneven ground and lots of steps. We accepted their advice and picked another day trip but, in retrospect, I feel we should have gone to Knossos, even if we didn’t get to scramble around the site.
This is what we were expecting when we arrived in Heraklion. Looks good, right? The following is a reasonable representation of the journey to the museum, our alternative visit.
“Ok, ladies an’ gennlemens, if you look to your right youse will see the ammmmazing venetian fortifications that welcome you to our town of Heraklion.”
“Hold on, this road part a little twisty. We go fast, yes? Hahahaha (maniacal laughter)”
We visited the Archaeological Museum which was lovely but it would have been better if we’d been given an hour to look around ourselves.
I was fascinated by this hat, and the woman underneath it, quite frankly. She was all terribly Audrey Hepburn with an air of casual disdain, floating around the displays and giving a cursory glance before floating onto the next display.
Our guide spent a bit of time explaining the importance of the Dablax. It took me a while to realise she was saying Double Axe.
We were guided around a few rooms showing items from Minoan history but whisked away before we were able to view other rooms and other eras.
Off to the town centre where we assumed we would have some time to potter around the shops and see some hand made items. How wrong we were! Our guide walked us, at pace, to the town centre (I lost Glenys in a jewellery shop – she didn’t realise we weren’t stopping). At the town centre (not terribly interesting) our guide exclaimed “the TOWN CENTRE!”and threw her arms out wide and head back as if it were the absolutely best place you’ll see.
“I’m going now. You have 20 minutes free time to, you know, look around”
She was absorbed by the crowd but managed to call out “watch out for pickpockets here, there are lots of them”
Our earpieces went quiet and she disappeared. Her legs were a blur.
Our visit to Crete has ended and we are off to a 2 day stay in Athens.
More later…
C
Rhudimentary 