Chania, Crete Repeat Day 1

Last night was a mixed bag. Dinner was delicious with those small sweet shrimp in pasta. The fly in the ointment was a big bang at the breaker panel when the lights when out. We were cooking at the time and also doing a load of laundry. When I reset the breakers, the washing machine would no longer work. During the night I woke up and the air was off. It was hot. The panel did not have any tripped breakers. To top it off we could hear the sometimes loud merriment happening on the street outside without the white noise of the air conditioner to drown it out. Also a car alarm when off at three different times and at one point it sounded like someone had taken off their shoe and was banging on a door for several minutes. We were both hot and tired when we received an email from our host who is in New York apologizing for the kitchen inadequacies and the dead washing machine. He said our first night stay would be free and he was having delivered the necessary things for the kitchen. He did not know about the power outage in the entire building. We texted his father before we headed out for a swim and breakfast. 

While having a simple breakfast in a lovely seaside cafe, he notified us that he and an electrician would go to see what the power issues were. When we met him back at the apartment he had a bottle of fine wine and a plastic bag for our dirty clothes which were still in the washer. He told us to leave them outside our door on Monday morning and they would be laundered and returned to us by the afternoon. The power was back on but there was a serious issue with the washer that could not be remedied quickly. What a fine example of customer service when things happen which are out of one's control.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the old town and spending our money. We saw the place where you can have you feet cleaned by fish. Yuck. At two, we stopped for a 25 Euro lunch special for two at an enchanting restaurant called Ela. We had heard Ela many times when families were walking and wondered how it could be such a popular name. Ela means come in Greek. Mystery solved. The special was two grilled sea bream, a sweet moist delicious fish, a large Greek salad, and a 1/2 litre of wine. We were now ready for a short siesta. 

We moved up to our terrace where I wrote my blog and Jill prepared the cheese and olives we had bought at the market when we arrived. We are directly across from the Agora which is the market in old town modelled after the covered market in Marseille. It is Sunday night and most everything is closed. The cheese and olives were exceptional, especially when accompanied by Italian prosecco, all enjoyed al fresco.