Okay, not much of a bash, but I couldn’t pass up the alliteration. As is happening more and more frequently, we got a nice late start to the day. In fact, we barely made it to breakfast before it closed down at 10:30am because Kieran started napping at 9:15. But we did manage to avoid disaster and got there in time.
We then set out on a 45 minute drive to Analipsi, just east of Heraklion, where Emily’s cousin Lucy and her family are staying for two weeks at an all inclusive. But the guest passes are insanely expensive, so they went a block down the beach and secured us a great set of chairs on the beach. We arrived and miraculously found parking right where they had selected and enjoyed a reunion. As expected, Lucy managed all of 10 seconds before grabbing Kieran for a big snuggle.
Jordan got on very well with both Ethan (8 years old) and Arya (12 years old) as we caught up with Chris and Lucy about all of the goings on. Most notably, Arya was Maltilda in her school play where they did 7 performances! They all managed to escape the end stages of a renovation project on their house, so a Greek vacation is exactly what they all needed!
The beach itself was lovely, and the water was both very wavy and a fantastic temperature. Our chairs were technically associated with the beach bar restaurant, so we got some great drinks for Emily’s birthday (highlight was the drink Emily got which was a Mango Volcano, which had chili syrup to make the whole drunk spicy instead of just a spicy rim). Luckily for us, the chairs had umbrellas that provided some necessary shade (though also several bumps on the head for me).
We also did a late lunch at the same restaurant. It was alright, but probably the worst value meal we have had so far, with my €17.50 calamari and a €15 pizza for Jordan raising the bill higher than any other meal we have had. But you can’t argue with the view! Not that Kieran would know, as he fell asleep for hai third nap of the day, so no Kieran food report there.
After lunch, it was back to the beach chairs (a gruelling 15 whole steps from the table) for another round of “get boiling and cool off in the sea.” Unfortunately, Kieran was a little over the beach, so we had to say our goodbyes and head out. The beach sadly did not have showers, so we had to drive the whole 45 minutes back to Arhanes salty (both figuratively and literally). Then it was some time out of the sun to cool off, so Kieran had his fourth nap of the day to prepare for a late dinner.
And that dinner was back down at the puppy plaza, and the trip down the hill was quite eventful with passing a horse, tractor and a stray dog who took his sweet time moving out of the way. We continued our tradition of finding a new restaurant every night and chose one next to an unusual garden filled with rabbit statues. Though we should have heeded our own advice and stuck to the sharing plates, as our main courses were absolutely massive. Emily ordered the goat and pilaf rice, but didn’t like the look of it and requested to swap for my lamb in wine sauce. As it was her birthday, I agreed (though I would have agreed anyways). Kieran liked both however (shocker), but went especially Gaga for the pilaf rice.
This restaurant did do the free Raki at the end of the meal as well as a fruit plate, which was quite lovely. Emily and Liam didn’t have the Raki, and it would have been more for me because I think it is great, but I had to do the drive up the now-dark roads. Alas. And further, the peaceful vibes fot ruined by Kieran absolutely blowing out of his diaper and requiring dinner massive cleaning (huzzah for his shower earlier…). The plan was to walk around after dinner, but now the shops had closed and Kieran was on the verge of sleep, so we headed back home. No horse or tractor this time, but that dog was there again!
Kieran made it home and then fell asleep immediately. We passed the time to the meteor shower by watching the new Ted Lasso. Once it starts in earnest, we have agreed to wake Jordan up so she can see. We should get good views from the villa, so wish us luck!
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