This may well be a long one
OK, haven't been able to find live-journal for a few days, so here is a run-down of activities since arriving.
For the first 3 days we were on Crete - visiting the museum at Herakleion, which was very nice, and the sites at Knossos, Mallia, Gortys, Phaistos, and Hagia Triada. Knossos was OK, but not as brilliant as some of the others. Mallia knocked me out, it was far more interesting, having not only the palace, but also houses, workshops, and a crypt. It also had fewer annoying Americans - who appear to outnumber the Greeks here 2-1. Phaistos was hot, but had a great view of Mt. Ida (where Zeus was born for those not in the know), and Hagia Triada was not too bad, and gave me some more appreciation of the differences between the Minoans and the Myceneans. Gortys was different, being a Roman town, with a cool Odeum with a three-doored stage for Plautus plays, and some 5th or 6th-Century law-codes written all over it. It also had the tree under which Zeus supposedly raped Europa - then again, almost every tree in Greece could claim that Zeus made a conquest under it.
While in Crete we also managed a visit to the beach at Mattala - it was rocky and not very interesting, but there were some lovely views, nice Calamari for lunch, and graffiti on the breakwater which read (in English) 'Today is Life: Tomorrow Never Comes'. To cap off a weird day, we went to a little restaurant in Herakleion, and got talked at in three languages by a friendly, if somewhat baffling, waiter. So much for Crete.
On day 4 (Tuesday) we caught the Ferry to Santorini. The ferry itself was quite boring, but Santorini is fantastic. We spent the day roaming the main town of Thira, admiring the views, which are pretty much what the postcards and paintings show them to be. Dinner was in a little cafe overlooking the cliffs, which was magnificent, and after dinner, Mad(eline Spokes - some of you would know her) and I attempted to buy a bottle of Vodka to drink on our little balcony in our hotel. Unfortunately, it refused to open, so we were forced to go at it with a pocket-knife until we stabbed a little hole in the plastic covering! Interesting packaging these things have.
The next morning we got a car, and drove to Akrotiri (Minoan Pompeii), which was unfortunately closed, and Ancient Thira, the Hellenistic and Roman settlement. Why anyone would want to live there is beyond me, as it is way up above the beach, and the hottest and windiest place I have ever experienced. True to form, our car broke down there, and we had to wait in it (while it was rocking in the wind), for them to bring another one up. Apparently the first car 'had a problem with its brain, and needed resetting'. What that means is anyone's guess. Anyway, we got a new car, and moved off to see Oia, on one edge of the island, which was nice and quiet, fewer annoying Americans (Shayne would have snapped and killed one of them by now), and we had a nice lunch, where Mounty informed us that it was his birthday. A small surprise, but we went out for dinner, and had a nice bottle of wine, and he seemed to enjoy the day.
There is more to be told, but unfortunately I have no more time on the computer, so it will have to wait for another day.