June 16 - Home of the Minortaur!

Knossos: home of the Minotaur and all sorts of other legends. A short 20 minute bus ride took all three of us to the home of the oldest civilazation in Europe. Before that though, things were a little hasty. Lian and I got up early to go check out the other hotel options for that evening, the Lena and a generic Youth Hostel, and make a choice. Without any indecision or second thoughts (after seeing the rooms in the youth hostel and dealing with the rude woman at the desk) we decided to spend our last night in Heraklion at the Hotel Lena. All in all, Costas (the man who ran the Mirabello) was really helpful. He was totally willing to help us find new places to stay, and after we told him our issues with Villa Manos in Santorini called them up, and talked to the owner about where we could stay. So not only had he helped us in Heraklion, he helped us book a room at our number one choice in Santorini.

Anyway, what all this waking up early, napping again and then moving to the Hotel Lena meant that we were really tired when we started out our day at about 12pm. We stopped at the grocery store and bought the makings of a sandwich to eat in the park before we left, since our guidebook warned us that the cafes at the ruins were over priced. So with our ham and cheese sandwiches and chips we sat in the park, in the shade even, and watched a nice little Korean family eat.

Finally though we said goodbye to Heraklion and boarded the bus to Knossos. Once we got there though, it was kind of a surprise. I had never been to see ruins before and with all I knew about the Minotaur, the labyrinth, and the Minotian people I just wasn't prepared to see a somewhat reconstructed pile of rubble. Luckily (or unfortunately) we paid a little more and got a guided tour of the site, which at least meant that I knew a lot more about that pile of rubble than I would have on my own. But it was really warm and as much as the guide tried to keep her talks to shady areas, it very quickly became uncomfortably, ungodly hot. Still it was really cute when in front of us at the ruins was the little Korean family we saw in the park! The three of us noticed them when the two girls starting 'La la la' singing in front of us and dancing. It was so cute!

Then Lian started to not feel so good, and with Laura and I wilting from exhaustion, we headed back to the hotel for what we thought was a nap and what turned out to be an hours long siesta. I don't take naps though so I spent the time checking my email and chatting with friends over skype. Eventually we all regrouped and headed out to dinner to spend our last night in Heraklion before heading out to Santorini.