Of Bikes, Flags and the Elusive Duck

Proof at last on the Sandy Beach!

Some of Paleo's most loyal visitors come in May, but καλοκαίρι (summer) seems locally to be designed as July 15th; and so it was then that arrived the bulk of the sunbeds, the opening of the cinema and the two real blue flags. They have been waving a lot as we have also been having weather regarded as "August" in nature:- with more unbeachable days than on Greyrocks' records! 

More days than Greyrocks likes have been put over to "bad weather mode" with lunch replacing dinner. A few of these have been at Oriental Bay, where the daily special is always delicious and good value and one portion shared and accompanied by retsina helps to dull the disappointment! As it is on the Stony Beach side it also provides some shelter from the wind, and a lovely vista. Each year there is yet more eclectic and tasteful decoration there, and the new theme has delighted Greyrocks! This is in part because of the association with Le Grand Depart in Yorkshire. The highlights were watched (thanks to the VPN) and mighty fine it was! 



Meanwhile more modestly we have been pootling around the village and out to the campsite taverna. Ruth's new bike with its mere seven gears (and impressive basket) had seen so little action on the way down that it had been hard to judge its worth; but it has now been cursed four times when the chain came off coming down the hill from the beach parking spot to the Elman.  The jury is still out on this, Halfords!

Greyrocks' mounts at rest in spiti

Off for some paracetemol, perhaps!

And then there was the World Cup! Greyrocks has a lot of reservations about a lot of things with regard to this, but entered mildly into the spirit, and suffered serial humiliation by supporting first Spain, then Greece, then France! (Note the absence of Greyrocks' motherland!) Only the second of these was in accord with the prevailing mood in the village, and only two or three tavernas dared to eschew huge outdoor screens. By the quarter-finals Greyrocks had visited seven of the eight nations involved (not Costa Rica). For the Final we asked The Brothers at the grill if we could watch with some wine but no food and were given it free:- probably to reflect their  (covert) desire for a German defeat! With the large German presence in Paleochora the rejoicing was serious. Then things returned to normal.

The ongoing saga of the statue in the main street had a further devolopment with the patriotic painting of the plinth!

And the Chania collection!

We needed a holiday! When Greyrocks was last in Chania we checked with our favoured little hotel on the Nea Hora for two consecutive nights in a sea view room and homed in on 23rd and 24th July, so Yvette was brought out of purdah and taken for a wash and brush-up in preparation for the 1.5 hour drive over the mountains. En route we dropped off at the Fiat garage armed with vocabulary for "cam belt and water pump", and asked about some preventive surgery for next month. on the sea front the Force 6 wind was making even opening the hotel door almost impossible. Ironically one of the things Greyrocks sought by coming to the North coast was escape from the wind. There was also some cloud!. Nonetheless the sea was beautiful and people welcoming.

Another objective was a Chinese meal with duck, which regular readers will recognise as an obsession when in Paleo. Over the years two restaurants have closed leaving only - we thought - Suki Yaki. We trudged through the heaving harbour area and hearts sank when we saw no paper lanterns at the entrance to their alley. Sure enough, "for technical reasons" they were closed for the season! Grrr! So we eventually settled on a quality Italian where the food was good, service excellent and cost of wine a disgrace. Greyrocks will post on Trip Advisor in due course! Next day Mr Google came up with The Golden Wok in the commercial part of the city. It looked OK! We noted down the address which had come up prominently alongside the listing. In sweltering heat and humidity we walked there and saw the sign, but inside it was a kids' playcentre. Around the corner on another door was the notice saying they had moved elsewhere. We were told it was so far away it was not on the map, and then an old acquaintance from Paleo  hailed us in the street, chatted and confirmed the new location is over by the airport! So a taxi back to Nea Hora and a local pleasant Greek meal. To add insult to injury two days later Olga told us there is a new Chinese beside the cathedral. Double Grrr!