10 May - Washington DC

Inside Union Station

A new time zone!  Some quick adjustment and off to go sightseeing.  We had a bus tour booked. So we walked to Union Station… missed the 1030 tour and had to wait till 1pm.  Not a real problem because Union Station is historical and impressive in its own right… and there were shops!  We looked around, bought a few things… bought some coffee, bought a bagel!

The Capitol Building

White House

Our tour was an overview of Washington (a ‘Taste of DC’).  Our tour guide was nice and very informative. She knew her stuff and had obviously said the spiel several hundred times before… because there were occasions when the information flowed so fast we couldn’t comprehend!  What did we see:  the Capitol Building, several of the Smithsonians, a number of monuments (including the Washington Monument-but more to follow), a number of government buildings and of course the White House.  Many of Washington’s buildings and monuments were built through the 1800s and 1900s, so they have a style of grandeur that replicate Roman and GREEK architecture! Lots of marble columns and white marble. Deja vu!  

Wilbur and Orville's kite!

Hope Diamond

At the end of the tour we went walking and got to see: the Wright Brother’s plane, Dorothy’s (from Wizard of Oz) ruby shoes, the Hope Diamond, ‘Old Glory’ the US flag that inspire the writing of ‘Star Spangled Banner’ and other stuff!

Filomena's hand made pasta & visitor!

With friends at Filomenas

Through the day, I had called my American friend and he was going to pick us up for dinner.  Whilst serving with Bob in Iraq, he had often talked about his favourite DC restaurant, Filomenas (an Italian restaurant that is also a favourite of several past Presidents).  The restaurant was SUPERB! Class, charm, service… it was faultless.  Bob had arranged for us to sit at a special table… the one reserved for Presidents (past and current).  It was like sitting in a family dining room… the room was filled with memorabilia of the restaurant and the family who owned it.  The food was excellent and in quantity!  The pasta was hand made on the premises (photos to prove it).

Lincoln Memorial at night

But wait there’s more!  After dinner, we went to the Lincoln Memorial.  This is the statue of President Abraham Lincoln (seated) inside a Greco/Roman ‘temple’.  He looks down ‘the Mall’ at the Washington Memorial and onto the Capitol Building.  This is an impressive monument to and impressive man… in my opinion one of the all-time great statesmen and orators!  Seeing the memorial at night added something… less people, quieter, sombre.  FANTASTIC!!

Bob then took us on a night drive of Washington… he gave us an even better guided tour!

We got back to the hotel and virtually fell into bed.  We had had another incredible FULL day!

9 May - Travel ALL Day

The plan... travel from Rethimon to Heraklion to Athens to London to Washington.

Bus, plane, plane, train, plane!

Farewell from the tour.  A fantastic tour, well run, plenty of flexibility, plenty of camaraderie, plenty of balance between military-cultural-ancient history. 

Karen writing here - To start the day, a vote of thanks was given to both Graham and Matt by Peter, on behalf of the group. We had prepared a booklet so everyone could write a personal comment to the guys. 

We then travelled as a group (minus 2 members who are remaining on Crete for 3 more days) to the airport.

A quick flight across the Sea of Crete and we were back in Athens. Final farewalls as various members of our group went in many different directions.

We had some time in the British Airlines lounge before loading bound for Heathrow.

This trip took 3 and a half hours, I got to sit next to a Greek University lecturer who enjoyed a chat hence I got no sleep or sewing done, he was full of interesting stories including ones about the Alps we flew over (very spectular - covered in snow), and why the plane hits turbulance at this point.   As we were landing I got to see London Bridge. A short stop over, then a bigger flight from Heathrow through to Washington. That took 7.5 hours, by this stage they tried to trick us by closing the screens on the windows so that we could sleep as the time change was back four hours. Any way it might have worked a bit on Peter (although he can sleep anywhere)  but I was not to be tricked so easily. I got to watch 3 movies - none I'll rave about as they were not so great, the pick however was Russell Crow in The Last Three Days.

Feeling very, very tired we arrived at 8pm Washington time but 4am Athens time!!!! We boarded a shuttle bus that kept us waiting for 30 minutes so he could get more passengers.

In the Hotel Helix at just after 11pm shower then bed aaahhhh. A huge day of travelling. Too tired to take much in on the drive from the airport to the hotel.

8 May - Last Day on Crete

Mothers’ Day… all the ladies (mothers) received a bunch of flowers and a gift (a scented soap). Nice touch... Glad I thought to have this included in the tour!!!!

Minoan art

Bus trip to Palace of Knossos. Knossos is a rare example of Minoan culture and building.  It sits just outside the city of Heraklion. 

Heraklion Airport from a 2/4 Bn position.

Heraklion was another defensive position where commonwealth troops defended an airfield.  The German paratroopers misjudged the size of force at Heraklion.  You get a sense that it was a slaughter.  The scale of death suffered by the Germans is bewildering and saddening.  even though were the enemy and seeking to impose their will!

We KNOW where we are!

Old Rethymon

Motorcycle riding in the afternoon/evening.  Visited some villages inland from Rethimon… Gonia, Kastelos(?).  Then we visited the old city of Rethimon (a pirate town!).  Narrow streets, old houses… character and charm just oozing out from every allyway and street.  Plenty of bugs in the teeth as we screamed around the backroads of Crete!  Karen’s heart missed a beat when we got the tiniest of tiny, tiny fishtails happening.  Pretty cool for a 150cc ‘scooter’… must be something in the skill of the rider! (but I don’t want to brag).

7 May - Over the hill!

Evacuation route to Sfakia

Mountains of stone and rock!

Road trip to Sfakia.  The road through the centre of Crete was the principal evacuation route of the Commonwealth Forces.  Crete is an island of mountains, complete with snow caps.  As you might guess, if you want to get from north to south… it is a case of up and over.  Some simply staggering landscapes!!  

 

At Sfakia.

Can I have a swim?

Sfakia is a tiny seaside (Libyan Sea… didn’t see Gaffafi!) town on the southside of Crete.  A gathering of small stone buildings hug a little bay with a an equally small pier/wharf.  The water was crystal clear… dark blue fading to shades of lighter blue and green as the ocean came to shore on the stony beach.  Guess who couldn’t hold herself back from charging into the water?  Karen of course, if she had had her togs she would have gone swimming (the water temperature was ‘pleasant’, apparently). 

One owner, handyman required!

After Sfakia, we drove eastward along the southern coast. We visited a Venetian castle, it was in amazingly good condition for a 500+ year old castle! We stopped for lunch at Plakias.

Warrior monk statue.

We visited a monastery that housed a band of warrior monks who helped many soldiers of the Commonwealth to escape for months, years after the evacuation ceased.  The monastery has been recognised for their efforts by the governments of Australia, NZ and UK.

Bridge... it is an engineer thing!

Southern Crete landscape.

Australian Memorial - Rethymon.

Who is taking the photo?

Roar of the engines!

Red wine, raki, racing... just fantastic fun!

We returned northward via a different route… not quite the steep climbs of our southern path.  We got back to the hotel in time to hire some motor scooters (Honda 150cc, we had a red one… for the obvious reason… red ones go faster!!). There were three couples.  We rode up into the mountains, not going anywhere in particular.  We stopped and shared a bottle of red wine and because it was a little chilly (travelling at HIGH speed) we also shared a Raki chaser!  We made it back to the hotel safely, even testing the scooters on a highway section.  If we had been racing I would have won! You know… if!  It was a huge amount of fun... it may be some time before I stop hearing a voice though (slow down, don't lean the bike over so far, ahhhhhh!).  Comment from Karen... I was alright, I wasn't as bad as that. Peter's reply... Yes dear!