My Guide to Greece, Part II: Chania, Crete

Continuing with my Travel Guide to Greece, today I'm sharing photos from our time in Chania, on the beautiful island of Crete. Chania is an old Venetian port with a charming old city surrounding it. My last post had some photos of the harbor at sunset, but it was just as pretty during the day.

Where we stayed:

We spent our time in Chania at the gorgeous Casa Delfino, a 17th-century villa that has been renovated and restored to a modern boutique hotel and spa. We couldn't have had a lovelier or easier stay here. The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful, and we loved having breakfast and relaxing in the quiet pebbled courtyard (see the photo below). We stayed in the Ottoman Suite, which has its own private hammam, or Turkish steam room, and we took advantage of the spa services available and booked a couple's massage. It was so nice to have an oasis to return to after a day in the bustling Old Town.

What we ate:

With the big, yummy breakfast included in our stay at Casa Delfino, we found we usually only wanted a light snack for lunch, and then a bigger dinner. We had dinner at Pallas, a contemporary restaurant with a fantastic rooftop dining area and view of the harbor. The food there was very good, and the service was relatively quick and attentive. Our second night, we ate at Oenopoeio, a charming little place off a pedestrian street in the Old Town. While the food was generally good, the service was poor, and we were somewhat disappointed since it had come highly recommended by a couple locals we asked.

Staying in touch:

Whenever I travel, I feel so much more comfortable knowing I can stay connected and in touch while out and about. I don't have an international phone plan at home, but Sean and I have found that we can easily and inexpensively purchase SIM cards while abroad. With a foreign passport, phone companies in many countries will allow travelers to buy inexpensive plans for 14-30 days with a few gigabytes of data and some calling minutes. When we were in Australia, our Vodaphone plans allowed us free international calls and up to 3GB of data for just $40 USD; here in Greece, we have 500 MB of data and 200 minutes of local calls for about $35 USD.

Dress: H&M | Shoes: J.Crew | Hat: Anthropologie | Bag: Longchamp | Belt: Madewell | Sunglasses: Karen Walker | Watch: kate spade

The weather was warm and sunny, so I pulled out some of my summer favorites to stay cool and comfortable while walking around during the day. I found the striped dress I'm wearing at an H&M in Istanbul a couple years ago after the airline misplaced my luggage, and it's been a summer standby ever since. I love my Longchamp totes or traveling since they fold up nicely for packing and can carry a lot of necessities for days of sightseeing or beachgoing without weighing me down.



I'll leave you with this lovely shot of the sunset that Sean got as we were leaving the beach in Chania. Hope you enjoyed Part II of my Travel Guide to Greece (here's Part I in case you missed it). I'm in Santorini at the moment and can't wait to share some of the photos we've captured of the picturesque scenery here.

x, Tam