A sign of the times?

The Saturday before Christmas weekend and Chania was quiet!

We went for some Christmas shopping and expected the town to be really busy as many people would find this the last day to do serious shopping - especially if they are working.

We were in Town from about 12 - 3 The Body Shop - deserted. M&S very quiet. H&M deserted. Going for a coffee and a snack at "Grigory's" opposite the market - plenty of spare tables, even though it was too cold for anyone to sit out. Kotsovolos (large electrical store) was the same - with plenty of assistants waiting around to help the non existant customers. 

A wander through the old town - yes you would expect it to be quiet - but it was exceptionally so

The streets in the main shopping centre were not busy. A trip to Lidles and A&B supermarkets - and we had braced ourselves for a long wait at the tills - again quiet and no queueing, which is unusual even on a normal day. A very sad pop around Marinopolos where the shelves are bare and empty and the girl who used to be so busy on the deli counter was sitting knitting!. The good news on this one is that they expect to be working with their new partners in the new year and hopefully the shop will be saved.

Even taking into account that there was one week to go before the festivities it is a sad sign of the times that the town was so quiet. There was traditional music and dancing around the Christmas tree outside the Agora and a few people enjoying that - we could hear it all around the town!

Let's hope that late night shopping will be more lively for the businesses!