Crete Day 2: May 5 - Rethimno

After spending the night in our hotel in Heraklion (I always sleep a bit poorly in unfamiliar beds), the adventure started the next day. After a delicious breakfast, we headed to Rethimno, which was about 1.5 hours away. The drive there alone was worth it. Since I had been here with my mother a year ago, in Skaleta, near Rethimno, the area felt familiar to me. The landscape during the drive is incredibly beautiful! On one side, the sea, on the other, the mountains. Everywhere, pretty flowers were blooming, and when you opened the window, you could smell the spices. Simply wonderful!

Arrival in Rethimno

The drive was smooth, and we arrived in Rethimno around 11 a.m. Unlike the previous drive, there was quite a bit of traffic here. We had chosen a guesthouse that was not easily accessible by car. In fact, it was not directly reachable by car at all. So we parked somewhere on the side of the road nearby. Luke went to inquire if there was a room available, and I stayed near the car just in case, as we were technically parked in a no-parking zone. But it didn't really bother anyone... We had parked right on the promenade, so I could already feel a bit of the holiday atmosphere.

Pension Castello

After a while, Luke came back. There was room for us, and we found our accommodation for the next two nights. Unfortunately, there was a small parking problem here as well. The owner of the guesthouse kindly gave us the tip to park down by the harbor. It was a paid parking lot, but cheap. And it was indeed. However, since the parking lot was a good distance from the accommodation, we decided to first take our luggage there and then park the car. We had hit the jackpot with Pension Castello! A small, cute, Greek guesthouse, exactly what we had in mind. Apart from us and another couple, there was no one else there! Wonderful!

The Old Town of Rethimno

Afterwards, we headed directly to the old town. We strolled through the alleys and simply let ourselves drift. The old town of Rethimno is truly beautiful, and the little streets with flowers look simply adorable. It was exactly how I imagined it!

Fortezza

After walking through the beautiful old town for a while, we reached the promenade. There, the path led us to Fortezza, which could also be visited from the inside. But we only took a walk around it, always along the wonderfully blue sea.

After the stroll, we went back to the old town.

The Beach

After seeing quite a bit of the city, we naturally also wanted to go to the beach! There, we dipped our feet in the sand for the first time - and also in the still very cold water! Being at the beach again was really nice! However, it felt a bit too touristy for us there, so we took a walk along the beach promenade. Slowly but surely, the holiday feeling started to set in, and I think I finally realized where we were :D We used the time to buy a few small things.

Raki, Raki, Raki

In the early evening, we settled down in a restaurant overlooking the sea and enjoyed our delicious meal. After that, we had a bottle of raki together (not a big one, but big enough for two :D), which we finished. Thankfully, on Crete, there's always free dessert, usually in the form of fruit, but sometimes also a sweet treat. Right up my alley! :D I'd say that was a good way to end the day.

Tomorrow, we were going to Preveli and the Palm Beach.