Having a Gran time with all the family on Crete
Bel Mooney and daughter Kitty Dimbleby team up for a Med break – and discover it adds to the fun for everyone
THERE are some places you find yourself returning to again and again – sometimes by accident rather than design. I first visited the beautiful Elounda area of northern Crete in 1992 when my best friend begged me to join her on a ‘girlie’ holiday.
I loved the place so much I went again, once with another close girlfriend and then with my (then) husband Jonathan. I found myself visiting the ancient site of Knossos and Spinalonga, the island just off the coast of Elounda, for a third time.
Now it was Jonathan’s turn to fall in love with the sparkling deep blue sea, grey rocky hills, scent of thyme and rosemary. Not to mention Crete’s delicious wines.
So back we went two years later, this time taking my husband’s mother and stepfather as a special treat for them. I remember smiling to think that I had always trumpeted my wish to see new places, yet there I was, back in Elounda once again.
Jump to 2016 and life has changed totally. I’ve remarried and become a proud grandmother pushing 70. I needed a rest. One day my daughter suggested a family holiday – my husband Robin and me with Kitty, her husband Ed and their children, Chloe, three, and six-month-old baby Max.
Naturally I agreed. Who wouldn’t want to spend time with the grandchildren? It was then that Kitty told me she’d researched a resort, which ran a daily kids’ club – essential for weary parents who want some time off. Book it! I said.
And where was this lovely hotel? Between the villages of Plaka and Elounda in Crete.
The good news is that after a gap of many years, I found the area as delightful as ever. The coastline was more built-up, but that’s inevitable and, looking at the coast from a boat, it’s clear the new hotel developments are tastefully done. I didn’t revisit the one I’d l oved before, but embraced the new. Domes of Elounda is easily recognisably by its traditional architectural quirk of both white and terracotta domes on the sprawl of buildings. You can choose to stay in the main hotel complex or (as we did) in a family villa (with its own pool) over the ‘hill’. The excellent, well-run kids’ club was a short walk from our villa so my daughter and son-in-law were very happy.
So is a family holiday a rest for the grandparents? Robin and I found the perfect balance between being with the family and having quality time alone. We hired a driver for the day and went to Kritsa, a ravishingly pretty village about 20 minutes from Elounda which I’d visited before.
It specialises in handicrafts and boasts an exquisite jewel of a Byzantine church, and I was thrilled to find that all my memories of church and village were untarnished. The driver also took us to small archaeological sites I had never visited – surprised that these Brits wanted to clamber around among old stones rather than sit on the beach.
And then there was the family time. It was good to be able to give Kitty and Ed a break by taking Chloe for children’s tea – an extraordinarily noisy affair. My husband has become the perfect grandfather, always entertained by Chloe’s antics and even more patient than Granny. Helping with bedtime and watching Max dip his toes in the sea for the first time meant we really got to know the grandchildren.
The unexpected delight of a threegeneration vacation is discovering that, even though you would rather like to read your book in the sunshine, colouring in with an enchanting three-year-old is a privilege. And how can you put a price on helping your granddaughter with her new bracelet-making kit?
If I were asked to pick my favourite moment, it would be sitting by the pool watching Kitty, Ed and their two children enjoying their first swim as a family – and realising I could not be more lucky.
KITTY WRITES:
THERE are many things you dream of as the parents of young children: a full night’s sleep; a lie-in; sitting down for ten minutes with a cup of tea or glass of wine; the chance to read a book; having a grown-up conversation, or even just a shower uninterrupted by the demands of one of your little ones.
In Crete, all of these dreams came true and so many more. We managed to find the perfect balance of unforgettable moments with our beloved children alongside quality time together, and with my mother and stepfather. Memories of reading a book in blissful quiet vie with joyous memories of both children
shrieking with delight as they splashed in the sea.
The bonus of holidaying with the grandparents was that our children were well and truly outnumbered by adults. There was always another pair of hands to hold the baby or entertain the pre-schooler. The children were in their element; my daughter especially, only six months into adjusting to being a big sister, loved the additional attention from her beloved ‘Bibi and Grandad’.
Every morning we would drop the children at the well-staffed kids’ club before skipping back to our private pool to milk every second of relaxation out of our childfree hours.
We ate out all together on a couple of evenings but the late nights didn’t suit Chloe and – much as I adore my offspring – grown-up time is one of the things that keeps me sane. So we often booked babysitters, and headed out to one of the resort’s four restaurants for an evening meal.
We were keen for Mum and Robin to have a relaxing break so didn’t ask them to take on too much grandparent responsibility, but I know they enjoyed the cuddles and telling bedtime stories.
We stayed a week longer than Mum, moving to a suite. Childfree mornings continued; I sneaked to the spa and took advantage of yoga and fitness classes while Ed ran along the seafront, read and enjoyed the water sports on offer. We spent family afternoons by one of the two pools or on the beach, while Chloe played with new friends and we bonded with their parents, sharing beers and life stories.
By the end of our fortnight, my husband and I were rested and relaxed. And Chloe? She was devastated to learn we were coming home and is still missing a life with donuts at breakfast, chips every lunchtime, an array of friendly staff catering to her every whim and a hotel filled with friends to run around with. And to be honest, I don’t blame her…