Although Crete hosts one-quarter of Greece’s annual visitors, it’s still possible to escape the crowds by heading south. Thanks to the rugged mountains that stretch across much of the island’s spine, southern Crete remains a place much different from the rest of the Greek Islands.
Enamored Crete, a part of the world that has risen from the depths of conquest and adversity many times over, has transformed to a land of endless feasts, legends and dreams where the fine art of unpretentious hospitality is religiously practiced.
Crete the largest of all of the Greek Islands has an unparalleled character and atmosphere, which cannot be compared to any other part of Greece. A drive along one of its bountiful coasts will reveal a countryside that is constantly changing. In one place harsh and barren, in another wooded and gentle. Its villages perched on mountain ridges, adorned with olive trees, orange groves, vineyards and Cypress forests, while the hillsides are speckled with old stone farmhouses, and monasteries. Shores are lined with forbidding rocks at one glance, only to be transcended to beaches blessed with miles of sand or pebbles.
Anthony Bourdain is a 28-year veteran of professional kitchens, having worked as a dishwasher, line cook and chef in places good, bad and horrible — most of them in New York City. In 2000, he published a memoir of his experiences in the culinary underbelly. Kitchen Confidential became an unlikely, but enduring, international bestseller.
He has continued traveling for No Reservations (now entering its fifth season). Videos of his Trip to Greece were published on You Tube however, Travel Channel has had them removed, but they always seem to come back, so here you go:
The Sarah Hope Foundation Runs a Retreat on the Greek Island of Crete to offer Normal Family days for Children Suffering from Cancer. The charity is run by Sara’s parents Ged and Julie, who earlier this year moved along with son Mark, 21, and six-year-old daughter Faye, to Crete to man the holiday home full-time.
Sarahs Hope Crete Retreat
The charity was set up after Sara Hoburn, lost a two-year battle with cancer at the age of 16 in 2001. Her dream was to help other sick children lead normal family lives. She is the inspiration behind Saras Hope Foundation, which opened the retreat offering respite for youngsters with cancer.
The holiday retreat was opened after the UK based charity raised £170,000. It aims to generate £500,000 in the coming years to sustain the work it does. “I love watching the amazement on the children’s faces and I always have a bit of fun with them,” said Alan, 26 a young man working at the Crete summer retreat. Visit the Sarah Hope Foundation on Crete
