Sisters are doing it for themselves!

The day began on a sad note. I waved goodbye to Martin as he sped off in a taxi towards the airport and a fortnight in rainy England.

Luckily the day improved when my mum and I - "the girls" - set off on an adventure.

We got our local bus into Hania centre then hopped on the 11am bus for Rethymno. The temperature was already over 40 degrees so we were grateful of the arctic air-conditioning in the coach style bus.

Rethymno was pretty busy, as you'd expect in July, but this added to, rather than spoilt, the experience.

The only other time I've been to Rethymno was when Martin and I visited last year...the day after Easter! Everything, bar a few tavernas, was shut and everyone, bar a few taverna workers, were indoors or in the villages. The tourists and students from the  local university were out in force today, and the city had a real vibe about it.

Apart from our usual, numerous coffee stops, we also discovered an excellent taverna that not only took care of our hunger pangs but was atmospheric and cool to boot.

And when it's 45 degrees on the streets, this is a pretty damn important factor!

Despite all this, the main attraction and most important draw of all was it's name - 'Lemonokipos'...Lemon Tree Garden!

The entrance to this lovely, tranquil, little haven is on busy Ethnikis Antistaseos Street, but the tables are actually in a courtyard of lemon trees at the back.

The shade of the lemon trees kept us cool and cheery while we stuffed ourselves to bursting on gorgeous favourites...souvlaki and gyros, and a greek salad of course.

The cover bread and olives were mighty tasty, but there was no complimentary desert or raki. However, when the bill arrived for 23 Euros we certainly couldn't complain!

Excellent food, lovely setting and a special bonus of a funny bathroom.

My mum came back from the bathroom and immediately sent me off to look at the 'cute' door in the toilets.

I had to laugh when I saw that the lock on the door was a huge piece of wood - castle gate barricade styles!

A good day was had by all...well, by mum and I at least. I'm sure Martin, after travelling for 15 hours, wasn't loving his day as much.