Former cabinet minister Alan Johnson regularly visits Crete - here he reveals his favorite spots
Paradise beaches. Paradise taverns. And a pretty town where his latest thriller is set - says former cabinet minister Alan Johnson... You can't beat CreteAlan first visited Crete with his wife in 2014, staying in "an apartment of 'a room in the middle of nowhere'. in the middle of nowhere was the village of Livadia, where they ate in a threadbare cafe-general store "Each table had its own uninterrupted view of sunsets over the specular surface of the sea," he wrote Here, Alan recalls that happy first visit and reveals highlights of his many subsequent visits...
AdvertisementIt was in Devon ten years ago that my love affair with the Crete started. In an antique bookstore in the village of Dartington, I came across Winds Of Crete by an American author who had lived on the island with his Swedish girlfriend for six years in the 1970s, long before tourism became a part so important to the Greek economy.
By the time I finished reading David MacNeil Doren's personal account of the island, I was determined to go, if not for six years, at least for six days.
I had been to Corfu before but was curious about it, by far the largest of the Greek islands. Cretans say May is the best time to visit, when the temperate spring air carries the scent of herbaceous wildflowers - peonies, crocuses and chamomile. In spring, the beaches (rarely full) are nearly empty and the sea is at a comfortable 21C.
But in 2014 when my wife Carolyn and I decided to go there, I was still a Member of Parliament so tied to the summer holidays. We would go in August. But which part? Crete is a long and skinny island. East is different from...
It was in Devon ten years ago that my love affair with the Crete started. In an antique bookstore in the village of Dartington, I came across Winds Of Crete by an American author who had lived on the island with his Swedish girlfriend for six years in the 1970s, long before tourism became a part so important to the Greek economy.
By the time I finished reading David MacNeil Doren's personal account of the island, I was determined to go, if not for six years, at least for six days.
I had been to Corfu before but was curious about it, by far the largest of the Greek islands. Cretans say May is the best time to visit, when the temperate spring air carries the scent of herbaceous wildflowers - peonies, crocuses and chamomile. In spring, the beaches (rarely full) are nearly empty and the sea is at a comfortable 21C.
But in 2014 when my wife Carolyn and I decided to go there, I was still a Member of Parliament so tied to the summer holidays. We would go in August. But which part? Crete is a long and skinny island. East is different from...
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