Summer Holiday: Crete

The view from our room!

Recently it’s been very, very warm here in The Netherlands! But I was already used to hot weather because I spent a week in Crete, Greece from the 8^th to the 15^th of August.

Back at the beginning of the year Kim and I decided that we wanted to go on a sunny holiday together this summer, and if we have a good plan we carry it out! So, at the beginning of April, we booked our holiday to Agios Nikolaos, one of the larger towns on the Greek island of Crete. We found a hotel located right by sea, which offered all inclusive for a relatively low price so we decided to book this.

As we didn’t want to waste any of the days we had paid for we decided to take the earliest flight (6:30 am) to Heraklion. Because we would have to leave for the airport at around 4:15 I decided to stay at Kim’s house the day before we left. In the early hours of Wednesday Kim’s dad brought us to Amsterdam airport and our holiday started! Eventually we arrived at our hotel at around 14:00, after a bus ride of about 1 ½ hours from Heraklion.

Sunrise seen from our room

 The view from our room in Hotel Coral was amazing! We had purposely booked seaview, which was only a few euros more expensive, because we’d heard it would be great. And it was! The bay where Agios Nikolaos is located is called Mirabello, which is Italian (dating from the Venetians who were once on Crete) for ‘beautiful view’. I definitely agree with this name! We could see the sea from our room, with mountains surrounding it. We also saw boats (and sometimes cruise ships) in the harbour of the town.

We spent most of our days relaxing. Most days we woke up at around 8, had breakfast and then went to the pool or beach (although it was mostly the pool because you had to pay for the beds on the beach unfortunately). Between 13:00 and 14:00 we would have lunch, and then spend the rest of our day lying by the pool again. Then at around 18:00 we would go back to our room and get ready for dinner, which started at 18:30. After dinner we would walk to the centre of Agios Nikolaos and then we would spend the rest of the night on our balcony playing games such as Yahtzee. We didn’t get bored for a single moment.

On the Jeep Safari. This was a normal road but we also did a lot of off-road driving between the olive trees!

 The only day we didn’t spend by the pool was the day we went on a Jeep Safari. We had booked our holiday with Dutch tour operator Sunweb. They offered several excursions and we chose the Jeep Safari because all other excursions either involved boats (Kim didn’t want to go on a boat due to a bad experience) or they left really early (one of them left the hotel at 4:00 am and would only return at midnight!), and because it just appealed to us. The day started at 8:00 am when a crazy Greek driver took us and 4 other guests to Chersonissos. At one point he was driving 110 km/h where 50 was allowed – oh, and he was on the phone… But eventually we arrived safely! Chersonissos was the starting point of the jeep safari, Kim and I both don’t have a drivers license so we were grouped with 2 Dutch guys who both did have a drivers license. With about 12 jeeps in a row we drove through Eastern Crete, mainly surrounded by olive trees. My highlight to this day was the stop at the other side of the island, where we had some time to swim in the Libyan Sea! The water was lovely and it was really nice to be able to rinse all the dust, which had accumulated over the course of the day, off our skin and from our hair.

By the harbour of Agios Nikolaos. 

At the end of our stay in Agios Nikolaos we also did a little bit of shopping, for souvenirs! Most of the shops we saw in the town were souvenir shops and thus very much aimed at tourists. But some of them were really nice. For instance, there was one which sold all kinds of soaps and other beauty products. There were also a lot of shops selling olive oil, herbs and the like. I bought quite a few souvenirs: a present box with a small bottle of olive oil, a small bottle of ouzo (Greek alcoholic drink) and different kinds of herbs (such as a mix for tzatziki) for my parents, a bottle opener (wherever we go, my brother and I always buy a bottle opener for our parents, it’s become a tradition!), acacia honey, three bracelets and vanilla scented olive oil scrub soap for myself, a pack of cards and a magnet of Poseidon for my brother and a bar of olive oil soap for Annabell and Eline. I really enjoy shopping for souvenirs!

Mocktail (Double Rainbow - Orange juice, lemon juice and grenadine) and cocktail (Strawberry Daiquiri) on the last night. Both were delicious!

On Wednesday the 15^th we had to go back home, but neither of us really wanted to go! Luckily we had a late flight, at 21:00, so we still had the whole day in our hotel. We spent this day by the pool until the bus came to pick us up at 17:30.

All in all we both had a great holiday and I really want to go back to Crete sometime!

xx Loes

P.S. Keep up to date with my life (especially when I move to London in 3 weeks time!) by following me on instagram: @Loeszieee

Tag: Been There, Done That!

I found this tag about travel on Beauty Before Breakfast, a Dutch beauty blog. I decided to copy the tag and translate it to English, because like Maud from Beauty Before Breakfast I really enjoy traveling! Here it goes:

Which countries of the world have you visited?
To be honest I haven't visited that many 'special'/extraordinary countries yet, with one or two exceptions. And I've only been on two continents: Europe and Africa (seeing as Moscow is in the European part of Russia). I've visited The Netherlands (duh), Germany, Belgium, England, Denmark, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Switzerland (if driving through the country and only getting out of the car for breakfast at a gas station counts?), Morocco, Russia. I think that was about it, so quite a short list. But after this summer I'll be able to add two countries: Czech Republic and Greece!

Which destination is at the top of your list of places you would like to visit sometime?
Definitely the Scandinavian countries, I would especially love to make a trip through Sweden and Norway. I generally want to see more of Europe, because I believe there's so much to see beside it being a relatively small continent. And farther abroad I would love to visit New York (seems like an amazing city, so definitely one of my must-see cities) and Canada (the nature there seems gorgeous).

What is your ideal vacation?
I must say I love relaxing on the beach, doing nothing at all. But I always want to see something of the area I am in (unfortunately my parents seem to enjoy the relaxing more than exploring the area, but hey I can go on holidays alone now and do what I want). So my ideal vacation would be a combination of relaxation and traveling around, seeing different towns and visiting famous (and less famous!) sights.

Which place made such an impression on you that you want to visit it again?
London, obviously (my all time favourite city!). But that doesn't really count since, if all goes right, I will be living there in about 3 months time. But I definitely want to visit Morocco again and make a tour around the country, since now I only saw Marrakech and part of the Atlas mountains. I would love to go back to this area but I also want to see the rest of the country. Furthermore, I will definitely visit Spain again - again an obvious one because I am going to study Spanish at university.

Show your favourite vacation photograph. 
The one above this is one of my favourites, I took it in Marrakech. But I don't know what my all time favourite vacation photograph is, and I can't look for one now because I recently got a new computer so there are no photos on here (I got this one from my photobucket). But I promise I will post many photographs after coming back from Prague and Crete - so now you have something to look forward to!

Have you ever been sent to a nice destination for your work? If so, where?
Well I just got my first job, so, no I haven't. But after university I would love to become a journalist - or something related, and travel a lot for my work. So hopefully my answer to this question will be a lot more interesting in about 10 years time!

With who do you travel most?
My parents and brother, all holidays I've been on till now have been with them. I've also made a few trips with school (Spain, Moscow and Morocco). But this summer I will travel with Eline (to Prague) and Kim (to Crete), so I think it will change in the following years and I will start spending more holidays with friends instead of my parents.

With who would you like to go on holiday sometime? (this can be anyone: family member, friend, famous person...)
Well I hope I will end up with a boyfriend/husband who likes travelling ;) haha
But at the moment mostly with my best friends! Oh and I would like to go on a shopping holiday with Abena sometime because she's so fashionable.

Who or what would you take to an uninhabited island?
I wouldn't like to go to an uninhabited island, because I enjoy having people around me. So I would take a bunch of friends and food and drinks so we can survive!

Have you ever been on holidays in The Netherlands? If so, where?
Yes, especially when we lived in Germany we spent quite a few holidays in the Netherlands. I've been to places like Texel (one of our islands) and Drenthe, and more.

Would you rather go to a fun park or a zoo?
It really depends on my mood! I don't really like thrill rides (unless they don't have scary loopings haha) so I only like fun parks when they have a lot of rides I do enjoy (such as the Efteling here in The Netherlands). I really like the zoo, I love taking photographs of all the animals! Although I understand that it is of course a lot more special to see these animals in their natural habitats.

Would you rather go on a skiing or sun holiday? 
Sun, definitely! I can't ski (have never tried) and I don't like the cold weather. I don't come from a family that goes on winter skiing holidays so it's just not my thing. Give me sun, the beach, a  swimming pool and some magazines and books and I'll enjoy myself!

What is your best holiday memory?
I really enjoyed the two weeks we spent relaxing on Sicily in 2009. It was my first all-inclusive holiday and I especially enjoyed all the food haha. Both the pools and the beach were great so we spent all of our days just relaxing. I also really enjoyed the trip we took to the Etna and Taormina. But I would have liked to see more of the island, so I do want to go back some time! My best 'holiday' memory from a school trip was the trip to Morocco - so different from everywhere I had gone before. That whole trip was just a new and great experience for me.

What is your least favourite holiday memory?
When we went to the Po delta in Italy (close to Venice) in 2010 we had to leave 3 days early because there was a severe storm with lots of rain. Our house was at a low point and the water ended up coming inside and at that point my parents decided it was time to go. Of course it was a good decision, the whole ground flour was wet (I think it was 5 - 10 cm of water) and everything smelled, but at that point I was really sad and I cried on the way back home (I still had plans for the last few days of the holiday and I can't stand changes to my plans!).

Which countries are you visiting during your holidays this year?
In July I will be going to Prague, Czech Republic, and in August I will be going to Agios Nikolaos (Crete), Greece. So two new countries for me! My parents might also squeeze in a weekend in Germany, but I'm not sure if that will work out.

Where would you never go on holidays?
There are not really places I would never like to go to... Although I am really scared of some animals (spiders aaah) which are currently holding me back of visiting some places, but I hope I can overcome this fear because there are some places I would love to visit (South America, Australia!).

So now you know a little bit more about my travelling (hasn't been much yet, but I'm still young!). I have quite a few plans for the future, the main one being that I really want to go on an Interrail trip around Europe somewhere in the near future (maybe next year or the year after).

I pass this tag on to all of you, so feel free to copy it!

Get ready for summer!

Summer is coming closer and closer, but are you ready for this amazing season yet? Here are some tips to prepare yourself for a great summer!

1. Enjoy the first sunny days, because you never know how the rest of the summer will be, especially if you live in a country like The Netherlands. Put on your bikini, don't forget to put on sunscreen, and spend about 10 minutes in the sun. On the next days you can build up and lie in the sun longer, so that you will get a bit of a tan. But watch out that you don't burn because first of all it's not healthy and you don't want to walk around looking like a tomato! Don't forget to treat your skin with some aftersun after a day in the garden or at the beach, even if you haven't burnt.

2. Fill your freezer with ice cream, because you never know when you will be craving some. Of course you can buy magnums and cornetto's, but in summer ice made from water and fruit juice instead of milk is often much more refreshing. It is also healthier, because it does not contain as many calories and fat.

3. Look up the dates of some (free) music festivals in your area, and put them in your agenda. Festivals have a nice atmosphere and are a perfect way of spending a summer day! Even free festivals even have popular artists performing, so you don't need a lot of money. My favourite free festivals are Parkpop in The Hague (in June) and Appelpop in Tiel (in September).

4. Prepare your body for summer. Don't like that bit of fat on your stomach that reminds you of Christmas? Start doing sports now, and you'll already have quite a bit trained off by July. If you don't do any sports yet, running is a good way to improve your condition and lose some weight. I started running about a year ago, and I still go twice a week. I like going running because it not only made me lose about 10 kilo's, it also helps me clear my mind and makes me happy! Don't forget to buy a new bikini and treat your body to a scrub (mix some sea salt with olive oil) to make your skin look nice.

5. Invite all of your friends to a 'start of summer' party in your garden! Prepare some nice finger food (wraps, vegetables with dip, bread, etc.), or, if you're not so good with cooking, ask everybody to bring in a dish. Decorate the garden, put drinks on the table, turn on some music and the party can start!

6. It's time to buy new clothes! You don't want to walk around in your dark-coloured winter clothes in summer, so go shopping and buy some new dresses, skirts and shorts. Don't forget to also buy a bikini or bathing suit, flipflops or sandals and sunglasses.

7. Research your holiday destination. It's always fun to look at what you can do there and decide what you would really like to see. If you're nearly going, you can also make a packing list based on what you want to do on holidays.

8. Not going on holidays this summer? Don't worry, you can have an awesome summer at home as well! It's not very hard to make it fun. All you need is some friends and waterballoons. I'm sure you'll have fun! Or bake some cupcakes with your friends, it'll be fun even if they don't turn out very nice. And there are so many other things to do: go to the beach, the swimmingpool, go on a bike tour to discover parts of your area that you've never seen, go shopping, etc. Do research on what you can do in your area before the summer holidays really start!

9. Put new music on your iPod. Look for happy songs, that fit with summer. Then take your music to the beach or listen to it in the garden. Music that fits your summer mood makes this season even better than it already is!

10. Already know that you'll have big projects to do for school over summer, like me? Try to work on them as much as you can before the holidays, so that you don't have too much left. And when the holidays are there, make sure you work on them at least once or twice a week. I know you need a lot of motivation to do this, but in the end it's rewarding because you'll get a good grade!

Are you looking forward to summer?