I am sure you are right about Athenians not doing Cretan food properly. I don't think I was even in a Cretan restaurant. Just ordered a simple dish of cooked vegetables in a bowl of bread that was described as a Cretan "farmer's salad" on the menu in a place not far from the temple of Olympian Zeus. And I will believe you if you tell me no one on Crete ever eats such a dish. And I hear you about not eating at the waterfront. Same is true in Italy, by and large. I have a friend who is a Greek academic, and fair bet he knows fellow academics in Crete's universities, so we will just shamelessly ask for an introduction and hope locals will tell us where the best restaurants are.

I never hear good things about driving anywhere in Greece (I've never done it) but would be tempted to rent a car to see the villages -- but I get ahead of myself because first I need to find out if the seasonal flights will still be flying at the time I want to go. But we are definitely going to Greece again, several times we hope in the near future. Thanks again!

Sandra
If I can offer any help, pls contact me. You will find my email on my profile.

Thank you Clausar! I will let you know if we are able to come this season.

Commenting on the Italy portion of your trip, I would frankly put all of my time in Positano, to avoid wasting precious vacation time checking into/out of hotels and changing bases. There are frequent ferries to Capri from Positano and you can see Pompeii as a day trip from Positano as well (easier to do with a private driver).

I hope you have been to Rome before, because you will really only have 1.25 days there.