Driving in Greece

So, remember when your girlfriend in high school told you that the
stop signs with a white border are optional? Turns out no one told the
Greeks it was just a joke (though I don't think US police would think
it was so funny). No one obeys stop signs, or even stop lights for the
most part. It is pure insanity; pedestrians jump in front of you and
motorcycles drive between cars and around you, through intersections
when the light is red. Of course, Greece does have the highest
accident rate in Europe; I suspect I'd die from the stress before
getting hit, though. Good thing papa Wheeler was driving. I serenely
read War and Peace while the battle for my life raged in the streets
around us.

That didn't stop us from visiting the little towns our last day in
Crete. We left the major cities, and took an idyllic drive through the
Cretian countryside to little towns we'd never have seen otherwise. We
saw a tour in a travel agency going to little towns, and figured we'd
be able to do it on our own. Accordingly, we found three or four of
the little towns they had planned to see, stopped at the little
museums they had recommended and ate lunch at a little café
recommended by the woman running the local cultural museum. The food
was great, as was the local--it was located in the shade of some large
trees, and it was breezy and cool despite a strong summer sun (since
it's now summer).