Start of summer recap.. arrival in Greece

Part of the reason for the cessation of posting on the blog was a wonderful trip to Crete that the family made in June and July. Normally I like to maintain the blog while traveling, so that everything is fresh, but our house was so remotely located on the wild and beautiful west coast of the island that internet was very difficult. A strange experience! Just us, the goats, our pool, the tavernas, beaches, hikes, caves. Nancy, Barak, Tova and Miriam joined us for half of the stay; and big Miriam came for a few days for a little Spanish immersion experience.

I will post a few photos and see how the writing goes.

We started the trip in Santorini, where I was at a meeting. Blaise and the kids flew in in time for a beautiful sunset then a fun day swimming, in pool and sea, eating and wine-tasting with Michael. We stayed in a fabulous hotel on the caldera. The kids were delighted to arrive and by their first tastes of Greek food.

I love this picture: how much Anselm looks like Blaise, and their joint pleasure in the contemplation of an exciting breakfast. And here is Michael!
While Eliot passed out over lunch, Anselm took until the wine-tasting to finally succumb to jetlag and sunshine.
In the late afternoon of this, our first full day, we took the ferry from Santorini to Heraklion and found our hotel. Once we settled, we walked out for a wonderful, surprisingly wonderful, late night dinner in an open square and had our first experience of the Cretan custom of complimentary after-dinner treats of freshly cut fruit-- watermelon this time-- and chilled raki.

Early the next morning, we headed out to find coffee and the archeological museum, strolling through the dewy city. While Eliot was somewhat impatient, Anselm was entranced by the Cretan treasures. He was especially absorbed by the disc of Phaistos, an apparent early example of printing of as-yet undeciphered hieroglyphics. He still wears a little replica daily. A stop at a toy store equipped us with some pool toys, hats and a chariot and horses for Eliot-- an addition for which we were to be extremely grateful. Then back to the car and off to Knossos to visit the home of King Minos and the Minotaur, familiar to both kids from the excellent stories from Island of the Minotaur.

Anselm found some inscriptions.

In the afternoon, we drove on to Chania, a gorgeous Venetian port city, with a beautiful harbor, lighthouse, and an impressive seawall. We walked the seawall and ate a fine late lunch in an alleyway by a huge stone wall which turned out to be a Venetian armory. It was here we spied the drying octopi. A fragile Eliot was buoyed by frequent sightings of carriage-horses.

The late afternoon drive to our house, in the tiny village of Livadia, was astonishingly beautiful, along a narrow, winding cliff-hugging road, passing oleanders and wandering goat herds.

The house overlooked the sea, ten minutes walk away, part of a wild coastline with little settlement (the little houses in the image above are for bees). Behind the house, our second balcony overlooked hillsides of olive groves stretching up to the mountain ridge that lined the coast, broken only by occasional gorges leading into the ridged interior. Here are some photos as we settled in over the next days.