you could start a new one 
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Too lazy 
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No worries. I find it interesting to see how engrained smoking is in other cultures.
And how long the smell stays in my jacket…
And most adults used to do this several times a day.
I used to do it several times a day.
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So… this depends on the Bundesland. AFAIK, my home-Bundesland does not allow smoking anywhere indoors.
But Berlin is extra, you know? Like, real extra. Meaning that if you run a hospitality biz that makes most of its €€€ from dranks vs food, i.e. pubs & bars, peeps can smoke inside.
So we sit outside. Thank goodness our travels to the smoky countries take place in the summer (save for HK this winter… oy!).
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In English, this week is called Meatfare week, and next week is called Cheesefare week.
In Greece and other nations that are predominantly Orthodox Christian, Lent begins on Clean Monday rather than Ash Wed.
This year, Roman Catholic / Protestant/ Western Easter and Orthodox Easter align, so the Lents also align. This happens every 4 years.
I hope you’re able to try some Carnival foods in Greece this week, Ziv
https://greekreporter.com/2024/03/16/carnival-delights-culinary-traditions-greek-apokries/
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Phoenikia, i stumbled into the “Fat Thursday party” unawares yesterday. I should have remembered this from Patras from last year.
I was in a pub minding my own business when 3 young ladies, rather attractive young ladies at that, decided to use the small space between my table and the table they shared w their boyfriends as a dance floor.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Look, that is.
The dance was kind of a quadruple combo of Turkish belly dancing, Shakira hip shake, Simple Minds post-punk circle dance and boyfriends glaring bloody murder at me.
Which encouraged the girls all the more.
So i made the logical choice.
I ordered more Ouzo to go with my pork and greens.
It was one of the more pleasant meals of this trip, even though i left alone.
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Yep, Greeks like to do their own hip shake and belly dance moves.
My friend could do that really well. There’s a certain type of song that comes on, and suddenly half the dance floor is doing the hip shake.
Despite being half Greek, doing that hip shake, even 20 years ago in my youth, is not a dance move that comes naturally to me. I look like an imposter if I attempt it, and my right hip hurts the next day. LOL.
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Here’s one a song from 2000 that still gets played a lot.
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Chania is one of my favorite cities, love the marina and the shops/cafes that surround it. I checked into an old favorite place, Porto Veneziano Hotel, that sits right on the east end of the marina. I was lucky enough to get a room with a balcony that looks out over the marina towards the lighthouse. Just a beautiful place to visit!
First thing I did was toss the pack onto the rack and walk to Kouzina EPE, a cafe that specializes in prepared foods. I think that is a taverna? Not sure. Anyway, two of the waiters from last year were there and I started out with Zuccini Pie and a big plate of Gigante beans. Loved both dishes! Not fine dining but it was food like Mom would cook if she was Greek. And the outdoor dining area is in a small square with trees and stone. Love the feel and the food. And the cars. Old Citroen (?) welcomed me to the place this time.
More Kouzina dishes, second trip there I went for the bean soup and the pierogie things that I forgot the name of, both were very good and made a great lunch!
Finally, just before I left, I went back and got a big plate of roast pork, potatoes and a side of chickpeas with minced beef. The pork was good, not great, but the chickpeas with beef was outstanding! Loved that dish!
Plus the comp dessert and raki!
In between all this eating I was doing a lot of walking, and the marina was my muse quite frequently. The walkway atop the breakwater takes you all the way out to the lighthouse and there are shots of the marina, the hotels, the cafes and the White Mountains way in the background.
I also spent a couple nights in an Air BNB that I go to there that has a view of the main marina and the old mosque. I like the view but I have to admit that the east part of the marina feels more like home.
Wrong picture but an interesting one. This was not taken from my AirBNB but from what appears to be a squatters community near it. Incredible location atop the old Kastelo walls!
Another aspect of Chania that is pretty special is that the people are really welcoming of strangers. At least off season, anyway. I was laughing when I saw this interaction, it is like even the cats and pigeons are looking out for each other! I think the cat was thinking about inviting the pigeons to dinner.
My second favorite place is To Avgo Tou Kokora, a very nice Mom and Daughter place near Port Veneziano Hotel. I had heard the falafel was good so I ordered it and it was outstanding! A very, very tasty dish! The 500ml pitcher of house wine was good and had me in a rather chipper mood as I walked home to the hotel.
I went back a few days later and had the Pasta Putanesca and it was savory and rich, more than a hint of anchovy. I really liked that dish!
And a super rich dessert!
After the Pasta Putanesca I wanted a beer so I walked a couple hundred meters down the street to Rat Race where they have a nice selection of locally brewed (mostly) ales and sours. I ordered an Enigma NEIPA and it was as good or better than most I get in the states. The owner of the place was a good sort, we talked beer for a while.
The one downside of my trip was one of the most highly touted places/dishes I had heard of, oddly enough. Salis sits on the marina near the Porto Veneziano Hotel and has an excellent staff and a reputation for very good Italian food. Their Cacio e Pepe gets mentioned a lot as being a very good choice so I ordered it and a cucumber salad. The cucumber salad was an odd dish, looking a lot like celery and dressed at the table with a dressing that I really could not get a handle on. Then the Cacio e Pepe arrived and it was browner than I am used to (maybe my experience is wrong?) and the peppercorns were not really cracked, just roughed up a bit. The flavor was rich and full of umami but it was just an odd dish rather than a good one. Odd meal all the way around.
The next day I had dinner at To Maridaki and struck out again. It was sea bass but it was prepared in advance, which I did not know. I like pre-prepared dishes when they are beef or pork but not fish. It came out with some way over cooked vegetables and mushrooms and the meal was not a pleasing one.
Then I wandered about some of the stone paved back streets, this town has a lot of places to explore.
Spent most of an afternoon at the maritime museum. Mostly models of ships but it also had some dioramas and an excellent room covering the Battle of Crete.
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Really enjoying this report. Thanks for taking us along!
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Why you eating Italian food in Greece???
J/k. I loved Crete. Keep those fun reports coming 
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I stayed at the same hotel the last time I visited Chania in 2007.
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Loved this! Thank you!
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My time in Chania was up, the clouds and rain were moving in so I hopped a bus and was off to Heraklion, which is another city I like a great deal. Bus dropped me on the east end of town and my hotel was on the west end so I took a path around the north side by the marina and ran into a painting/mural I had never seen before.
I checked into the Metropole Urban Hotel which had a great view of Cathedral Agios Minos, spectacular view of the cathedral and the square.
Kind of had a Steam Punk flavor so I got a couple photos and scrolled them on my laptop.
Rain was pretty steady so I visited a place closeby I had never been to, Petousis. Stone and warm inside, lamb on the fire so I ordered Antikristos. Sounds kind of un-Christian but it was delicious! Not sure if the lamb prep was quite “proper” but it was good.
The i had a halva, i think, slightly sweet and tasty.
I visited the square on my way home but the weather had most people indoors.
The next day I went to Siga Siga for lunch and had a delicious, rich dish of blackeyed peas that was perfect with the crusty bread. Loved that dish! Finished up with a slightly boney fried salted cod. Rather good as well.
Then it was off to the Historical Museum of Crete. Between the icons and the WWII exhibit it was well worth a couple hours!!!
I loved this one. I swear i have seen a very similar version elsewhere, not sure where.
Then I went back to Siga Siga because I had seen a couple dishes on the menu I remembered from last year that I wanted to try again. Nothing special, just dolmades (dolmadakia?) and stewed pork with greens, but I liked them both and they were worth returning for. I had forgotten that this was Lenten Thursday and could not figure out why some people were in costumes but it is a party time of year. Siga Siga is a small place but three young ladies got up to dance in the tiny space between the table they were sharing with their boyfriends and my table. And they danced some sort of Turkish belly dance inspired dance that was rather exuberant. And I was getting glares of death from their boyfriends… So I ordered more Ouzo.
The next day I hit a Costas for breakfast. Ordered what I thought was a desert of pancakes and hazelnut/Nutella. It was huge! And very chocolatey.
I visited the Chapel and the Cathedral during the rainy day, the icons were better than most I have seen. And the cathedral was beautiful!! I sat and meditated for a time, listening to the people lighting their votives and praying. Calm.
For dinner I visited a place I had really enjoyed last year but it was not nearly as good. I got a “small” plate of sausages that was huge and mediocre. My main was a dish I cannot even remember name of, nor the predominant flavor. A miss. My last time here I got an excellent amuse bouche and a very, very good supersized dolmadakia.
This was last years dish, it was outstanding.
Wandered by the main square again, almost always busy. My beard and hair were getting shaggy so I stopped at a barbershop and met Gionnis, good man and a great conversationalist!
My last day I wandered again, saw a shirt I almost bought. Should have. Positive Oinking/Thinking? Those are words to live by!
Then I went in search of a lenten dish, but could not find it, so I compromised with a delicious, cinnamony Bougatsa Krema with lemonade on the side at Kirkor on the square. Host was a very good sort. Great way to close out my stay!
Got the taxi to the airport and I was off for Athens.
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Where are you heading next? Any other destinations in Greece, or are you moving onto another country?
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Nice photos, Ziv. Crete is one of my favourite parts of Greece.
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I was on my way to Athens, where I spent just a couple days. Spent 3 days in Winchester. Loved Winchester Cathedral but the walking paths were a mucky mess, I did not get much in the way of hiking in! 
I am in London now, just going to do something touristy and common tomorrow then off to the States and home.
I actually kind of enjoy Hop On, Hop Off bus tours and even though I lived in London for several months back in 1994, I have never done one here. So I am going to be a bus tourist tomorrow! Looking forward to it! And the British Museum and Plaza Khao Gaeng for Thai food tomorrow.
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I think those are great for cities one isn’t familiar with at all. I think I may have even done one of those the first time my ex and I visited NYC in '97.
You can see what’s there, and revisit & take a closer look. Of course, so much information is now at our fingertips that wasn’t back in the 20th century
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Isn’t Crete beautiful!? And the people are very welcoming. Not sure if that is because it is off season but it is nice.
I really need to visit in the spring or early fall when things are green. I travel in the winter a bit too much.
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Exactly! I like to use the bus to get the “once over” and take notes on my phone of places I want to go back to if I have time. Plus the tour guides give a fun spiel that at times is kind of useful.
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