Key in the lock and I’m ready to run downstairs to get out of the building when the rumbling and shaking comes. They always come at the same time, the rumbling is so loud and and the walls are moving, it’s absolutely terrifying. It happened again last night, twice. 
It’s “siesta” time at the moment and the sun is at its hottest so you can’t really be outside, but being inside is also not safe. Some indoor tourist attractions have been closed since yesterday for this reason. I have asked shopkeepers and employees if they were scared yesterday and they all said they were.
OK, now lunch.
A family-run restaurant across the street from my previous lodging in the capital. No tourist ventures far from the centre so they don’t come to this restaurant. I have eaten there twice in 2 weeks.
The most common snack in Crete, barley rusk topped with grated tomatoes and a type of Cretan cheese. Rusks have been eaten here since antiquity, and dakos is so popular that nowadays you can find it on mainland Greece. Basically, the barley bread is baked twice so that it can be kept for a lot longer. Used to be food of the poor/peasants.
Salad with seasonal greens. I had bought the curious greens at the farmers market earlier in the day and was delighted to taste them here. They are crunchy and a bit sour. The leaves and twigs contain water, the taste is refreshing.
Tender lamp chops. You want nicely trimmed French-style chops? Go some place else and eat with other tourists!
Day’s special is braised pork with leeks. Pork here is darker in colour.
When you are done eating, you get something sweet. A few things, plus raki. We had to declined the raki as we had a beer tasting appointment at a local brewery directly after lunch. We barely made it to the appointment because lunch took longer than expected. You can’t rush here. Don’t be asking to pay and leave as soon as you are done. They will come to you for the next thing, like clearing the table, bringing you sweets or the bill. The perfect amount of time for a meal is 2 hours. Besides, you are on holiday so what’s the hurry?! Chill TF out. At other places where we watched impatient tourists trying to pay and leave immediately after the last bite. The art of “sombremesa” is lost on some of us.
We were the first to arrive. Greeks come at around 1:30pm or 2pm. Mum is the main cook, dad grills everything, grown children and grandchildren do the rest.
Sunset at the harbour with Venetian fortress on left. Crete has a tremendous history, the Venetians and anyone with an army or navy had been here and left their marks and influences (also in the gastronomy), just like Sicily, .
The shakes and rumbling come at random and my stomach is in knots every time 
