Agia Galini Snaps

The first part of our trip to Crete was beautiful, rugged, and a bit off the beaten path!  Agia Galini is a tiny town with a handful of great restaurants, access to some of the most beautiful small beaches on the coast, and calm, clear waters.  Hopefully I'm able to share a glimmer of its beauty below:

The waves roll in...and yes...the water was really this blue!

Coming to you live...from Agia Galini

MMM...fruits of the sea

View from our hotel room:

Our excursion to Preveli Beach via boat introduced us to an ancient palm forest...which you can see at a distance here:

We took a small hike to explore it...this is one of my favorite photos of us of all time:

A beautiful river ran through the forest and into the ocean:

Someone enjoyed a well-deserved baklava:

Crazy beautiful sunsets capped each day on the beach

If You Go: Crete - Agia Galini

The first part of our trip, we headed to South Crete.   This is a bit off the beaten path --- we landed in the quiet town of Agia Galini.  The town caters to German tourists, but everyone spoke English and we all enjoyed beautiful beaches with warm, clear water of the Libyan sea.  A few recommendation

Heraklion
Aquila Atlantis: Our flight arrived late on a Friday night so we stayed in Heraklion the first night.  This hotel was great - parking was available for our rental car, we had a lovely harbor view, and the room was air conditioned and had a dual shower.  Highly recommend ($120/night)

Archeology Museum: The artifacts contained in the museum are probably some of the oldest in all of Europe.  Crete is the birthplace of modern civilization, dating back to the Minoans.  The museum contained their ceramics, metalwork, and other artifacts.  Fascinating.

Agia Galini
Irini Mare: This resort was lovely. The sprawling property has several pools, hammocks everywhere, and stunning landscaping.  The room was modern - we had a junior suite with a lovely ocean view and the breakfast was also lovely.  If we didn't travel so much, we probably would have splurged on a room with a private plunge pool.  Those looked pretty special!

Onar Restaurant: After I saw the owner cutting away at a huge, fresh swordfish...I knew we HAD to come here for dinner.  The swordfish was indeed special - as was the whole meal.  Seriously, look at the photos.  How on earth could you resist.  Also - the views from the restaurant are amazing.

Taverna Kipos: We ordered a special "Babi's Way" dinner - this meant they brought you like 20+ small plates of Cretian mezzes ranging from calamari to chicken skewers to yogurt dips.  Very, very low key restaurant in a camping ground, but the food was beautiful

Taverna Kosmos: This was highly reviewed and the only restaurant who would actually confirm a reservation (seriously...this town as so chill, you could show up anywhere and they would feed you!).  The food was great...but the best part...P had a giant Baklava for dessert.  It was incredible.

The Family Conquers Yorkshire

I am behind in blogging!  In early August, we felt so lucky to have my in-laws come visit us in Yorkshire.  My mother-in-law, father-in-law, and sister-in-law visited us for a week and we tried to show them the best of Yorkshire - castles, gardens, and afternoon tea.  We all loved having them for the visit...especially Alfie who enjoyed lots of love and attention throughout their visit.   I had to work for some of their visit, but here are my favorite snaps from their visit.

A proper visit to England always starts with tea:

We then visited RHS Harlow Carr Gardens... one of our very favorite spots in town

The flowers were blooming beautifully around the garden:

The next day, we picnicked at Alnwick Castle - a beautiful day

Broomstick training for me:

We then toured the lovely Alnwick Gardens

The fun continued at Harewood House

...and no surprise, we had to visit the gardens here too!

Maybe the happiest of all...Alfie loved having his whole family here!