Summers finally here!

Well, here i am again in sunny Crete! The weather is simply gorgeous and so is Villa Dioneysia! Yes, thats right, it is finished and looking wonderful!. This time, I have come to Crete  with my 4 children so everything is slightly hectic at the moment. Well, not for them, as everyday they just sunbathe on the roof terrace, working on their tan!

Now that Villa Dioneysia is fully furnished, it looks wonderful and the first thing my daughter said was: 'It feels very homely.' Its amazing, because after a day of either chilling on the roof terrace, or enjoying a trip to the beach (just round the corner,) we just come home, get ready and head to the port for some drinks and some food! The port of Chania has so much to offer, with a buzzing atmosphere, you would be stupid to miss out! Cretan food is so delicious too. I'm a fan of seafood, however there is much more to offer, such as homemade meatballs, stuffed burgers and excellent salads. The restaurants always have a good atmosphere, whether it be a Monday night, or a Saturday, where there is always entertainment, such as traditional live Greek music.



Yesterday, i made my first meal in, which was spaghetti bolognaise. The kids loved it and where all excited as we were picking up my eldest son Harry from the airport. I'm so thrilled with the end result of Villa Dioneysia, it already feels like home and is so central it's great! Anyway, I've just come back from a hard day of relaxing on the beach, and am now off up to my roof terrace, with a glass of local rose wine, to enjoy the sea views, so i will catch you later, love Denise x

Things are coming together!

window carcasses

the stained windows

the stair railings

The start of the year has seemed to gone very quickly and villa Dionysia has moved on slowly! But finally Andreas's Dad has arrived from Cyprus where he has been busy hand crafting the bedroom furniture and the kitchen cupboards. These are now on their way over to Crete. The windows are this week being stained and the staircases will be finished off., with the wooden steps being put in place. The wooden floors also will need laying down. There is still quiet a bit to do! I shall be choosing curtain material soon and I'm busy trying to decide which handles I want on the cupboards.
At Cretan Life we have also been busy setting up a holiday rental company, which will have several houses in Chania which will be available to rent out through our new company 'rent a property in crete'. This is a new and exciting venture and at the moment we have my Villa, a two bedroom apartment on the harbour front  and a couple of other old houses in Chania with more coming on to our books every week. Watch this space for more information!

Happy New Year

Happy new year to everyone, I hope it was a good one. I spent a fantastic time with my children but are glad they have all gone back to work, school etc.
At Cretan Life we are looking forward to 2011 we have a new and exciting venture happening soon, watch this space! and we are looking forward to meeting old and new friends once again in Chania.

Villa Dionysia has not had too many transformations over xmas because Kyrillos my builder  returned home to Bulgaria for xmas with his family and most of the work is waiting to be completed in the new year. At the moment I'm waiting for the wooden floor to be fitted and the final coat of paint applied. Andreas's father who is from Cyprus will come over to fit the oak floors, he has been busy over xmas making my kitchen units and hand crafting items of furniture to go in the bedrooms and around the house. I can't wait to see it all. Before Xmas he came ove to Crete for a month and made all the window frames and the shutters and fitted it all so the house was water tight ready for the winter! Above are some pictures to show you how fantastic the house is looking . More to follow soon. I need to start choosing curtain material to finish the villa off.. Catch up soon Denise x

The Cretan Life Begins!

The story begins in 2002, my husband and I were introduced to Crete and decided to visit and immediately fell in love with the Island.

We set up a business a short time later buying and selling land. Then in 2007 my husband purchased a house in the old town of Chania.

My husband passed away earlier this year leaving me with four kids and a business and this house in Chania.

 

Chania is the second largest city in Crete and lies in the north of the island. It is divided into two parts, the Old town and the modern town. The Old town is situated next to the harbour and has over the years been influenced by the Venetians, Turkish and has been inhabited since Neolithic times.

Villa Dionysia as we have now called it is situatedin the Turkish quarter of Chania, and I have a team of local people busy renovating it ready to be rented out at the beginning of 2011.

VILLA DIONYSIA

Here is the Villa when we first purchased.  The first process was to take all the plaster off the outside walls.

Hi, this is the beginning of something big and the first page of a lot more to come. I will be telling my tales of my Cretan Life experiences! Log on for more!!!!



                          Denise