It is Sunday Dec 30, the last Sunday of the year and I'm sitting in my apartment window overlooking the old harbour of Chania listening to CBC news in Canada give updates on a winter storm impacting New Brunswick again. It is sunny and warm here. The coffee is great and my breakfast is fresh fruit just picked yesterday.

Chania [pronounced hon-YA], is an ancient Venetian fortified city in the Aegean from which each empire exerted naval power for over a 1000 years. Below is the entrance to my apartment. No cars can get anywhere near here. It's a long walk through ancient streets to Fountain Square, passing great shops and wonderful restaurants of all kinds. Many of these houses date back to the old city dating from 1300's. My own apartment is an old Venetian Manor house over 600 years old.

With this simple post I conclude my first blog. It has been an experience to get it going. More to follow and to my friends and family in Canada, stay warm and safe as this storm passes by. Happy New Year to all.