It's NOT Late by Crete Standards
Entry for: Monday, August 24, 2009
It's nearly midnight (actually after midnight by the time I got internet to work and this post up on the site) and the lights in the city are bright and there are folks queuing up for dinner at the local Greek Tavern - locals (not tourists). Beer drinkers are celebrating down the hill from Daughter's apartment. Scooters make their bumblebee sound down the narrow streets and dogs are always alert to the sounds of these comings and goings.
Daughter and I picked up a rental car (Fiat Punto) from the resort's cousin. Good car - GREAT mileage. I've never seen the like in the states - but that doesn't surprise me because half of the cars on the roads are not seen on US roads. The car is a bit underpowered by US standards but for narrow streets that go on FOREVER, it's fine.
Speaking of narrow streets: Daughter rode with me for an hour (she's been here for three months) to make sure I didn't do something stupid - like actually STOP at a STOP sign. She tells me that in Crete, road signage is "Advisory." AND most signs for towns are in the Greek alphabet with a "Best Approximation" for phonics just below. The problem is that one person's best approximation is not the same as another's. For instance, Crete's capital is Heraklion - or Iraklio(s) - or three other spellings that we've found in the tour books at hand.
Road navigation is best done by SAYING the town's name and then seeing if it's something like any of the towns that are supposed to be on the route - Say there names too.
It is all very confusing and VERY delightful. I'm a happier lad who must go to bed in order to do it all over again tomorrow while daughter is working.
More later,
Doc
Grade: 7.8
It's nearly midnight (actually after midnight by the time I got internet to work and this post up on the site) and the lights in the city are bright and there are folks queuing up for dinner at the local Greek Tavern - locals (not tourists). Beer drinkers are celebrating down the hill from Daughter's apartment. Scooters make their bumblebee sound down the narrow streets and dogs are always alert to the sounds of these comings and goings.
Daughter and I picked up a rental car (Fiat Punto) from the resort's cousin. Good car - GREAT mileage. I've never seen the like in the states - but that doesn't surprise me because half of the cars on the roads are not seen on US roads. The car is a bit underpowered by US standards but for narrow streets that go on FOREVER, it's fine.
Speaking of narrow streets: Daughter rode with me for an hour (she's been here for three months) to make sure I didn't do something stupid - like actually STOP at a STOP sign. She tells me that in Crete, road signage is "Advisory." AND most signs for towns are in the Greek alphabet with a "Best Approximation" for phonics just below. The problem is that one person's best approximation is not the same as another's. For instance, Crete's capital is Heraklion - or Iraklio(s) - or three other spellings that we've found in the tour books at hand.
Road navigation is best done by SAYING the town's name and then seeing if it's something like any of the towns that are supposed to be on the route - Say there names too.
It is all very confusing and VERY delightful. I'm a happier lad who must go to bed in order to do it all over again tomorrow while daughter is working.
More later,
Doc
Grade: 7.8