Eastern Med Cruise 2010: Iraklion, Greece

If you are new to the blog, the husband and I went on an Eastern Med Cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines, and this is the 6th installment of our trip recaps. If you missed the previous stops on the cruise, check them out!!

• Venice, Italy
• Split, Croatia for some ocean kayaking
• Corfu, Greece for some beach fun and exhibitionism 
• Santorini, Greece for volcano hiking, breathtaking sunsets and the best Greek salad that I have ever had in my life
• Mykonos, Greece for beautiful white buildings similar to a movie set

Our next and last stop on the cruise was Iraklion, Crete (also part of Greece).

According to Norwegian Cruise’s Freestyle Daily:

“Iraklion (or Heraklion) is the largest city in Crete and the capital of the island. It is also the fourth largest city in Greece.

The city of Iraklion still enjoys its reputation as one of the most attractive Mediterranean capitals. It has enough to offer that the cultural tastes and shopping needs of both the visitors and the residents are fully catered for. It is no accident that it has always been the business and social center of Crete throughout the ages and that the status is maintained today. It plays host to many interests and activities as well as providing a very pleasant way of life. “

We decided to walk around instead of taking a tour since A) we already spent all of our money on the other tours and B) we were only in the port for a very short time.

We ran across a beautiful church…

Then, we walked out to the marina.

There was a guy banging an octopus on the ground over and over again. It looked dead to us, and we had no idea what he was doing. Our only guess was that he was tenderizing it ???

Back in the downtown area I found a Starbucks. I always get excited about these since I don’t live anywhere near one!

A fountain in the middle of the town square…

Then we entered the market.

Picking out the fish of the day…

Yes, we saw rabbits.

And lots of meat.

Obviously, you can tell a lot about a culture that sells food this way. They want fresh ingredients for sure. These little markets were everywhere. So much different than the states!

We were starving for a snack before we got back on the ship and stopped at a sidewalk stand.

Fire roasted corn on the cob

It smelled as good as it tasted.

And spice rubbed almonds. Amazing. This snack was so much healthier and much more satisfying than what you would normally find in the states of course.

Been anywhere where the snacks were different than what you would normally find at home?

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