Adjustment...

Oyi, getting back to San Francisco is gonna take a bit of adjustment!! Just going to Crete was culture shock. Traffic circles, scooters, graffiti...loud noisy, doesn't feel like an island. Plus side, water is drinkable agin, yay! Things I'd recommend you face during the day vs at night....renting a car and driving 130 kilometers with a Greek map (read no gps) Greek maps are great for general vicinity, exact location...trust your instincts, or have an address written down that you can point to and repeatedly request assistance with! I was feeling like quite the awesome driver, my little mint blue bubble (I call the cars bubbles, they're kinda cute!) anywhozeyboozie my hamsters were whirring away (pretty sure if you open the hood you'd see a hamster in a wheel, I'm not convinced it's an engine...) at 100 kilometers/hour...yeah it's really not that fast. (look it up if you want to know, 1 woman conversion machine...hopefully joined by others soon!) so drove 2+ hours in the dark, up a brick street in old town (read narrow as all get up) did a 3 point turn....multiple times (damn I miss my back up camera!) hear we were close, turn left at the end of the road (woot! Something past just go straight!) proceeded back where I had just backed out of, turned left, and found (wait for it...) ya ready?...stairs. Yup stairs, I mean I know it's a rental and all...but uh, I reversed about 25 kilometers, nuther 3 point turn. Back down the very narrow, cafe lined road, and out to the fort. Parked, asked for directions again, (was given the same general advise) locked the crap in the car, and hoofed it. Yup, it was about 5 minutes by foot. Woo who to getting to the general vicinity of where we needed to be on hope faith a prayer and a little travel mojo, schweet. Hotel Doge is right smack in old town, and suddenly I feel transported to what I imagine Morocco must look like. Huge 4 poster bed, mosquito netting around it, red and orange bed spread all the wood work (night stand, cabinets, etc) look hand made. The floor is a gorgeous red tile. The shower way more high tech than mine at home. 5 shower heads, yes, five....though you can only use 3 at any one time (of course I had to try them) walked around old town today, as soon as you get to the outskirts: graffiti everywhere (boo hiss.) it was super muggy. Old town is pretty cool, surrounded by a fort, and there are areas where you can see the damage from the bombs dropped in WWII, pretty intense.  Lots of cute shops, plenty of tavernas. Was a heck of a drive, but happy we made it, felt a bit more like island life here, no where near as intense as Hiraklio. (like I said....I'm gonna need to ease back into this whole city life thing...)

We were constantly moving to different countries and adjusting to new things. It was such a free feeling. I'm glad I didn't have a traditional upbringing. - River Phoenix