January 22

This morning I decided to get up early so I could one, finish my assigned reading, and two, see the city in the morning. Apparently, all the bakeries and shops open early in the morning and the streets are filled with the smells of fresh breads and pastries. So after having breakfast in the hotel and finishing my readings on the site we were to visit today, I set out in search of some fresh fruit and a double espresso. I bought a nice looking apple and orange from a fruit stand and a double espresso from a nearby café. It was the start of a very nice day. The market area did smell wonderful and there were many people out doing their morning shopping. I don’t know when everyone sleeps. We just came back from dinner (we ate from about 8 to 10) and the restaurant only started filling up as we were leaving.
But back to dinner later. So we hopped on the bus and drove to the palace at Knossos. This huge site holds the ruins of an ancient Minoan home, later termed a “palace” by Sir Arthur Evans, the early 20th century excavator. This building was enormous and very sophisticated for 2000 BCE. It was reconstructed twice, in 1700 BCE and in 1450 BCE. The controversial aspect of this place is the restoration/reconstruction undertaken by Evans. We spent about 2 hours just learning about different rooms and discussing different theories as to their functions. Because of the number of storage jars and the nearby tablets, this building most likely served administrative purposes for the town – distributing grain, olive oil, or wine. It also probably had rooms for stone masonry, religious rooms, an upstairs court yard (50m by 25m), in addition to the living quarters. We expected the site to be very crowded (last trip there were several lines leading into the various rooms) but, fortunately, we were the only people there for the majority of the time. Krentz and about half the group tried to go on a walk described in the Blue Guide to Crete, but we couldn’t quite figure out where the described path was. Krentz tried to get directions from some locals, but they didn’t seem to agree with the book’s route. So it just ended up bring a nice walk on a beautiful day with no particular destination.
We went to lunch in town and I ordered a delicious tuna salad. I just can’t help getting salad for a least part of my meal wherever we go: the tomatoes and olive oil are just too goo here to pass up. I also had a glass of the house white wine. I really have no idea what I’m ordering, but I just figured I should try the wine wherever I go here. It was pretty good, actually; it was on the verge of sweet.
Since the Heraklion Museum is closed because of reconstruction, we had to go take our chances with an exhibit that displayed only some of the museums artifacts. Krentz didn’t have high hopes, but the exhibit did a pretty good job, actually. They displayed the best known and most important items, and provided a nice range. We saw some incredible pottery and vases. My favorite piece was the Ayia Triada sarcophagus (1300 BCE), and we are going to Ayia Triada tomorrow. The entire sarcophagus is painted and depicts the burial ceremony and I love the brightness of the colors. It seems so fitting to me to bury the loved one in a brightly colored box.
After the museum, I headed back to the hotel for a nap and some reading. When Krentz saw the equivalent of a study hall in the lobby of the hotel later on, I think he felt a little guilty, so he lightened the assignment for Saturday. For dinner I went with the girls to a great little restaurant they found last night. I got the Greek salad, of course, some tomato soup and split a half kilo of the house red with Krentz. None of the girls really seems to be interested in trying the wine, opting to put more money towards the meal I guess. Interestingly, none of the guys seems to be interested in putting much money towards the meals, opting to invest their money in the liquids. Dinner was very nice and none of the restaurant will hurry the customers at all. You have to signal for the check when you are ready to leave. Even with a fairly light meal we ended up spending about two hours at the restaurant.
We have a ways to drive tomorrow to get to the sites so we are leaving the hotel by 8. I’ll let you know how it goes.