Another Day Another Story

Well our early morning started at 6 am. I realize that for many this is a normal morning, and I applaud you, but we have not been up this early for quite sometime. It was fairly easy to wake up, maybe the excitement started to kick in, but very quickly the sadness and the realization that we were headed away from Italy set in. We had a moment of silence saying goodbye to Italy sitting on the bed before we left the room.

We went to check out and by the time we were done checking out our cab had arrived. It was a short drive to the airport, but not short enough to walk. Was weird being in a car again. First time since the Netherlands with mom & dad H, so that was a little odd. We also haven't used transportation in quite sometime besides trains.

When we arrived at the airport it was a gong show. We were there the appropriate amount of time prior to the flight and things were crazy. Apparently there was a system failure airport wide, this created many line ups, a lot of confusion, and many people having no idea where to go us included. When we asked someone she said that they were waiting for more information. I think they also had a lack of staff, because even when they had figured a few things out it was moving very slowly.  

This mean that instead of us getting to our gate at a good time we were there once again just as they were boarding the plane. Apparently, we don't have good luck with planes this trip. Between this and the Stanstead airport experience, my view of flying has changed and I no longer enjoy airports or flying. We waited till about 745 in line just to get our bags dropped off then we needed to get to the gate and through security. There was still quite a large line up behind us, all headed to the same place.

Luckily security didn't have a long line up and was a breeze. They have a machine you can check your shoes to see if you need to take them off at security or not. We didn't have time to try this out because our plane was boarding and suppose to be leaving at 825. Of course on the way to security you had to walk through a shopping mall, as well as after security. I know this is really smart planning on their part because people have time to buy things, but it is really very annoying. Especially when you need to catch a plane that is leaving shortly. 

When we got to the gate we saw they were boarding and their was a line, so we quickly ducked into a cafe and got a bag of chips and a soda. Breakfast of champions. Also I get hangry, which for those who don't know is angry cause I am hungry, this is a thing, and on a stressful morning being up so early and the way everything was going anything helped. If nothing else just to chill out. 

We got into line and handed the lady our boarding passes, they were on Luke's iPad, she scanned them both and we went to show her our passports, she said your Canadian? We said yes and just waved us through. Apparently we didn't need to show anyone our passports. So that was a little odd but funny at the same time. 

Our plane was just a little gaffer. 2 seats and 3 seats across. Luckily we got he 2er. Which was nice cause we didn't have to worry about disrupting a random. The window for the first part was fun to look out as we flew over some of Italy, and mountains. Then we got to the deep blue ocean and stayed over it for a long while. But we managed somehow to still land on time, maybe even slightly early we don't know how they managed that.

I know the mass amount of pictures can sometimes take away from the idea and beauty of what is seen but I can't help it. This was flying over Italy.

 

We also add another hour as we went through a time change. So we are now 9 hours ahead of cowtown. But we made it and so did our bags, so that's important. This was flying over Crete. And specifically Chania, Bali, and into Heraklion(Hercules).

 

So here's the thing, a few days ago we got an email from the hotel we were suppose to stay at in Bali saying they were overbooked and that they had no room for us. As frustrating as this was, we decided to change our plan a little bit and book 2 nights in one place. Trust me this is going somewhere.

So today we got off our plane and hopped on a city bus. We needed to get to the bus station, we missed our stop so we continued around until it came up again. This gave us a little tour of Heraklion, which we dubbed months ago to be Hercules. When we made it to the bus station, it was great timing to get onto the next bus to get us to Bali. Unfortunately for me there are windy roads. I am sure that it was a nice drive, ocean on one side, mountain thing on the other. When we got to the Bali bus stop, it was literally a shack on the side of the road. The guy said Bali, we hopped out grabbed our bags and they drove off. So we were on the side of the highway with our packs and started our walk into Bali. Now for the fun part.

So we walked around the Main Street, not finding our hotel. We walked to where it should be, and it wasn't there. We walked to talk to a security guard for a different hotel and he radioed someone telling us that we needed to go to reception and talk to the lady. A little confused we walked up the hill and talked to the a man and a women. The guy seemed to Canada, Toronto, Montreal, when we said Calgary, he said oh the flames, Calgary Flames. Apparently he knows our hockey teams as he listed off a few others. This was funny. But anyways. The lady came out and began by asking how many nights we were staying, and followed up by saying we were in luck cause she has a room available for only 2 nights not 3. UH OH! Apparently the hotel that we booked at doesn't exist. And hasn't for over a year. We tried calling the number we were given and it is disconnected. SOO now we gets to play a less then fun game. Luke has been trying to call hotels(who we booked with), and get it sorted out, as we paid online. They gave us the address to the hotel we are currently sitting in and said that is it, but they were wrong, as previously stated, new ownership took over the hotel over a year ago and the name and everything is different. They were nice enough to give us a very cold bottle of water, and let us sit our front while we tried to get everything sorted out. Things were just going to well for us, we were doing to well without any trouble.

Upon further investigation, it is true that hotel doesn't exist, and that we were sitting in the lobby of the hotel that took over. It has truly been a shit show, I shall spare you the other details. After a very lengthy conversation on Luke's behalf with hotels trying to get them to understand what is happening, we have a room. The manager lady was nice right from the beginning. Plus she gave us a really nice room, with a beautiful view.

But enough Debbie downer, our evening made up for the crazy day and afternoon. We got to the room and unpacked a little, turned on the AC and looked at our view. Then we ventured out to explore the grounds. The place we are staying st must be some kind of time share, can make to be all inclusive type of place. For starters we got a wrist band, and we have seen many different colours. Neither of us enjoy being tagged, but we are making the best of that part. There is a pool, and also a private beach for our use. Which we will certainly be using tomorrow. 

This is the general area that we are staying in. Bali, area.

 

We walked down to the beach and sat for a bit with our iced tea. Then proceeded to go to a near by restaurant for dinner. Cheap food, a little more pricey drinks but great food. A delicious Greek salad, I know everyone says it but the feta is incredible! And it was quite large. Also the seasoning on the fries was delicious! We enjoyed a relaxing time on the comfy couch table we were at and even got a complimentary dessert.was great! From here we continued back, and picked up a bottle of wine that enjoyed over the next few hours on our patio. Watching the sky turn to darkness and the stars start to appear. Chatting and continuing to enjoy ourselves. First night on the Greek islands was a success. A crazy day that was soon forgotten by such a great evening together.

This photo collage includes, our diner, our icing dessert(I ate the icing, Luke got to enjoy it on a graham cracker), our delicious and refreshing drinks, a view from our room balcony, our front door, Luke and Palm tree, the restaurant we ate at, and a pirate ship on the ocean with a pirate flag and all.

 

By the way we are on the island of Crete. The biggest of the islands spanning 300km long. This is the island Luke did his few classes on a couple years back. Bali, where we are currently staying is a place that they did a day trip to. We will spend a night in Chania, seeing as much as he can show me of his time spent there. 

So far loving the pure relaxation and all the rest. Jumping forward an hour means we get to go to bed an hour earlier and not feel guilty about it. Come on it's all about the finer things in life. Naps and early to bed being a few. Tomorrow hopefully naps in the sun. 

And so the adventure continues...