Thank you for all your patience, guidance and advice. It was a pretty smooth trip there and back as well as our time in Greece. When and if we travel to Europe again, I will be in touch. Your knowledge of hotels and airlines was very helpful in making the transitions smooth.

Air:

- Our Air Canada Business Class flights were excellent. The ability to lay down and rest was such a bonus. Our granddaughter slept well. The service, cuisine and friendliness of staff was exemplary. The connection in Toronto on the way back was a long wait. We had two on one flight and then two on the flight an hour later but it turned out that the earlier flight was delayed and left after the later one! Also luggage was mixed between the two. Air Canada also seems to push themselves to overbook and have no wiggle room for plane maintenance.

- Aegean Air was a bit more tumultuous with flight delays and having to ask people to check in their too heavy and too numerous “cabin baggage” lead to flight delays. It seems like they overbook and need more time to clear the plane for turnaround. They were late leaving both ways. Crews were friendly enough.

Hotels:

- The Sofitel was very nice and the service there was exemplary. They provided a child car seat for the taxi which the cabbie returned to the hotel. It seems they were ready for any eventuality.

- The Accent Inn was clean although much more basic. They were organized with taxis for their guests to get to the airport (we left the same time as a crew going back for a shift change at a mine). No problem with reimbursements for taxis.

Car Rentals:

We ended up changing to a larger car in Crete once we were altogether which was not a problem. The rental guy at the Heraklion airport was there 7 days a week because they could not find anyone else to work. There were a plethora of rental agencies.

Typically, in Greece, clear directions are not their strong suit. It was a bit like a treasure hunt to find the Avance Rental Agency at the airports.

Overall:

We had a wonderful trip, relaxing and enjoyable. The food was top notch. Best restaurants generally were the family owned ones on Crete (where Mom had cooked moussaka or yemista that day) and some of the ones in the guide book around Napflio. The fresh food from the markets was great too. We cooked quite a bit at home.

We are not the typical tourists who want everything organized and laid out. We did not rush to all the tourist sites, we’ve been to Greece before. Adrienne also enjoyed her time in Athens. We tend to be a bit more flexible. The driving near or in larger centers was a bit nerve-wracking as the streets are generally narrow and congested even in the shoulder season.

The store keepers were friendly and generous, often throwing in a treat, a little bag, a card for our granddaughter. Greeks generally love and indulge their children. The pace of life and the general attitude was comfortable for us. And again, having some Greek in the back pocket helped a lot.