June 21st, 2009
Been a while… and we’ve been away. Not just from this blog (so neglected!) but also from Crete. Spent the last three weeks visiting back home - too much to summarize here, just say we had a great time! No promises, but we’ll try to get some photos posted soon.
We arrived safe and sound back in Chania…. a mere 16 hours in the travel log this time (an improvement over the 20 hour trip out to NY). Got home just in time for a sunset swim. Ah, it’s good to be back. 
Much love to all the family and friends back home, miss you already. See you soon we hope, here on sunny Crete.
- Kristy, Dave and Pita
Tags: Travel, vacation
Posted in This Fabulous Life, Travel, USA | No Comments »
December 15th, 2008
I guess my earlier post about the riots in Greece over the last week was reaching for a heavy “editorial” slant (I had a brief career as a would-be journalist nearly 10 years ago…), and a few people have since been asking us what our specific, personal experience was like and how things are now.
So here goes, a more personal recollection and post-chaos update, with apologies to the folks who already got a variation on this via email replies - but hey, think of it as you having got the exclusive story first! (there’s the old newsman in me again…)
Chania wasn’t as deep in it as Athens or Thessaloniki (1st and 2nd biggest Greek cities respectively). There were street protests in and around the city center, but nothing really violent. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 2008, Chania, civil unrest, Crete, Greece, riots
Posted in Greece | No Comments »
December 11th, 2008
Widespread corruption. Political scandals. Unpopular reforms. High unemployment. Low wages. For many Greeks already harboring serious grievances and anger against their government, the police shooting of a 15-year old boy may have simply been the last straw.
The situation here was, in many ways, a tinderbox. News reports about the riots of the last week have focused on the spark that ignited the flame. But a country doesn’t just rip itself apart overnight. The underlying causes run deep, and perhaps it was only a matter of time before deteriorating public sentiment exploded into protests and violence.
In the ensuing melee, dozens of people have been injured, businesses have been looted, banks smashed, and hundreds of properties torched in cities throughout the country. Even here in Chania on the “holiday island” of Crete, there were street protests including some that turned destructive. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 2008, civil unrest, Greece, riots
Posted in Greece | 3 Comments »
December 3rd, 2008
Since all this anticipation has been created about my earth shattering story of our trip to Istanbul, I am not writing it. Sorry. I can only say that it is the capital of the East and the only city I have been (outside of NYC) that has any clue about (modern) culture. Anyway, Dave has been keeping you all entertained with deciding our future and whatnot, so I assume no one will miss the Istanbul story.
Dave and Pita
I have another story. I have been spending my days finishing my thesis…and it is finally done. Printed, bound, and sent for review. If any of you have a free couple of hours that you want to waste, you can read it here.
But that’s not the story. I was talking about rainbows…so about 5 weeks ago, this small dog showed up in our neighborhood and decided not to leave. In fact, he moved right into our house. After being exposed to the dangers he was facing on the street (think grandmothers with brooms, big hungry wild dogs, and overaggressive cats) and his sugary disposition we decided to let him adopt us. So we have a dog. His name is Pita. (Formally, Mogwai Skilopita, which translated from the two languages we have stolen from to make his name, means ‘devil dog pie’. Amazingly, this truly is the most accurate description of his character).
Anyway, he wakes me up at 7am every morning to go for a walk. And a few mornings ago, I was greeted by this.
Rainbows over Chania Harbor
Didn’t get as good a set of photos as I wanted, since by the time I finished the dog walk and got the camera from back home, this was all that was left of it. (Yes, left of it.) I have never seen quite a rainbow as what it was…one double rainbow - two spectrums - and another on top. So even though this little dog has put a dent in our freedom, and quite possibly our plans to visit our newfound friends in their home countries, things with Pita always seem to end in rainbows…even begrudged 7am outings.
Posted in Announcements, Greece, Photos, This Fabulous Life | 7 Comments »
November 27th, 2008
Just a quickie to say that TKD misses and is envious of all the tryptophan-gobbling home folk, but we’ll do fine with souvlaki when we have our pseudo-international-Thanksgiving feast / Kristy-finished-her-thesis celebration on Saturday with good friends out here. So Happy Turkey Day to our family and friends back home, save us some of the good eats (freeze it!!).
Tags: Thanksgiving
Posted in Food, Greece, Party Time, This Fabulous Life, USA | 2 Comments »
November 17th, 2008
If we go there will be trouble. But if we stay, it will be double?
Our life has suddenly turned into a Clash song. And really, this indecision is bugging me. Maybe you can help?
Kristy unexpectedly got a job offer here. The job itself is not as much a factor as is the viable opportunity it opens for us to stay in this incredible place for the long-term. Why wouldn’t we take it?
Well, there are lots of reasons actually, both for and against staying.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Greece, This Fabulous Life, USA | 20 Comments »
November 16th, 2008
From "More Istanbul" set
First, a disclaimer: Sadly, between the rain which lasted nearly our entire trip and the diminishing quality of our abused digital camera, we managed to return from Istanbul with a lot of really bad photos. The trip was great… wet, but great. The photos we took don’t really do that magnificent city justice.
Luckily, our travel companions also took lots of photos and links to them are included below as well.
The Photos
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Istanbul, Photos, Travel, Turkey
Posted in Photos, This Fabulous Life, Travel | 1 Comment »
October 30th, 2008
Round-trip Crete to Istanbul, it’s a mere 3400 kilometers (about 2100 miles) - we cover nearly 3 times that during a one-way flight from Greece to New York. Yet how you traverse the distance is just as important a factor as where you are traveling… and thus:
It’s The Journey, Not The Destination
We took nearly every type of transportation on our trip to Istanbul, and it was likely the longest trip we’ve ever taken in terms of total traveling time. If you care to try it for yourself, here are the simple directions.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Istanbul, Travel, Turkey, vacation
Posted in Greece, This Fabulous Life, Travel | 1 Comment »
October 25th, 2008
Not that there was any real danger. Despite the Midnight Express
jokes, it is relatively safe here in Istanbul… that is just as safe as Greece (for whatever that’s worth).
So, we are here, finally! Arrived very late last night / early this morning at Irini’s house (Christos’ sister) after a LOOONG trip and some fun at the border. We will soon be venturing out to explore the city, which according to all reports is one of the most beautiful in the world. We’ll take pictures!
Oh yeah, an added surprise. I thought we were only going to the western side of Istanbul which is still on the European continent. But we crossed over into the eastern half; which means in addition to Turkey, we can now say officially we’ve been to Asia. Pretty cool 
The interwebs ain’t so great here (this and the last post actually had to be republished b/c the connection died while writting them) so we’ll probably not write again until we are back home… hopefully with lots of photos.
Tags: Asia, Istanbul, Turkey, vacation
Posted in This Fabulous Life, Travel | No Comments »
October 23rd, 2008
Kristy is done (finally!) with her thesis, and I’ve been working my clicking finger down to the bone on that interweb stuff I do. Since all work and no play makes thekristydave a dull pair, we’ve decided a small vacation is in order and we’re taking a long weekend (sandwiched between Friday and Tues) trip.
Our destination: Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
Yeah, as in TURKEY.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Asia, Constantinople, Istanbul, Turkey, vacation
Posted in This Fabulous Life, Travel | 1 Comment »