Full Day Bygone Crete Cooking Class Adventure

Your Crete tour will commence with a wonderful scenic ride to a tiny village set in rolling hillsides. If that alone isn’t enough to entice you, we’ll spend the morning sipping coffees in the courtyard of a house made famous through folklore, and we’ll also get to meet the owner of the house and hear about life in 19th-century Crete. As we continue our drive, you’ll see a side of Crete that tourists don’t often get to see – namely, the rural areas beyond the city centres. Our next stop is one of the island’s most famous landmarks: the Monastery of Arkadi. Surrounded by striking natural beauty, and combined with a rich and prestigious history and numerous legends, this landmark of architecture will steal your heart. You’ll also have time to take a tour within its walls and admire the refectory, the museum, an icon shop, as well as the religious edifices.
From here on, our next mission will be to get you acquainted with rural life — so roll up your sleeves as we teach you how to cook, Cretan style! We’ll participate in a hands-on cooking class in a picturesque mountaintop village. Discover all the techniques required to make the perfect Cretan meal. While your food is slowly cooked, we’ll grasp the opportunity to explore this remote region. With the help of a local, we’ll marvel at a quaint Byzantine church from the 11th century. The exceptionally beautiful and well-preserved mosaics and frescoes are certainly something to marvel at! We’ll also spend some time exploring the nature around us and learn all about Cretan herbs and their use in everyday life — from medicine to cooking!
We will then take some time to explore an abandoned monastery, located in the heart of the Amari Valley. This Byzantine monastery flourished during the late Venetian and Turkish rule, but was turned into an agricultural school in the mid-20th century. You’ll feel like an explorer as we walk through the deserted rooms that were once full of life. At this point you’ll be probably be starving. But worry not, our bus will take us back to the village, where we’ll get to taste not only our fresh-baked bread, but other products from the family’s farm! A three-course meal and a million-dollar view — what else could one need?
With our bellies stuffed and our hearts content, we’ll end our night off with a walk through one of the most beautiful gorges in Crete. We’ll venture and explore for about half an hour through lush, green scenery and along running waters — to make room for some traditional Cretan sweets and raki, of course!
Though the day may come to a close very quickly, you’ll be left with a sense of appreciation for being able to experience a side of Crete that most tourists on the island are unaware of.