We survived the parade, no riots, no nothin’. It was actually quite cool, with row after row of uniformed school children marching in the annual Independence Day parade. We then explored the city, which is surrounded by centuries-old Venetian-built stone walls. The wind was howling on the waterfront, sending waves spraying over the fortress that guards the small harbor here — once one of the most important in the Mediterranean. The ancient Minoans (5,000 years ago) used this harbor, as did various and sundry occupiers up to the time of Independence for Crete, less than 100 years ago.  We had lunch in a taverna overlooking the water; we’re finally getting with the Greek program, lunching at 2 p.m. and spending several hours waiting, first for the food, then another hour or so for the check. The cafes lining nearly every street in Heraklion were packed with holiday-goers. One pedestrian street near our hotel that has fabulously chic cafes (very cool scene last night) were today crowded with teeny-boppers flirting with each other amid the roar of motorcycles.  The scene harshed Rick’s mellow.So we escaped back to our hotel. It’s now late afternoon, we’re gathering our energy for tomorrow — we’re off to face the Minotaur at the labyrinth at King Minos’ palace at Knossos (at least the story goes — we’re learning a lot about imaginative and wishful-thinking archeology) and then on to Chania, our final Greek destination.