Grecophiled

The Greeks have a very different schedule than ours. They wake late, skip breakfast

Golden Beach in the morning.

(or have a roll and a Greek coffee), eat a big lunch at 2 p.m., take a four or five hour break to come alive again at about 7 p.m. They eat dinner at about nine and stay up late.
We, on the other hand, are morning people. So we get up early and DO eat breakfast (we’re addicted to the incredible Greek yogurt and the honey we bought near Delphi), eat a larger lunch and light dinner or sometimes just a snack and skip dinner. It can be awkward but we’re making it work.

Tonight, however, is an exception. Stella, who owns a taverna in our neighborhood, has promised to make Jerry youvarlaki. It’s meatballs in a sort of lemony avgolemeno-style sauce and he fell in love wiht it in Athens. A real treat!

Tomorrow we will take the early ferry to Santorini, where we will spend two nights in Kyma Villa, a cave hotel on the cliffs of Oia. We will take a camera but not a computer so you’ll just have to wait a few days to see what Santorini looks like. I have wanted to go to
Santorini for decades so I am really excited to experience it!

BTW, I first fell in love with Greece when I was 20. I spent my 20th year going around the world and Greece was, bar none, my favorite country. I truly fell in love with the island of Myconos. I have debated and debated whether to return to Myconos on this trip but have decided not to. Everything I read tells me it has become a huge tourist destination and I know I would be disappointed. I lived there for two months in the beautiful home of a weaver named Vienoula Kousanthana. If she were still there of course I would want to visit her but she is not. So no Myconos.

We love our languid, lazy days on Paros and will return on Thursday to this beautiful home. We have done a little painting but have not been overly ambitious. I am mostly painting eggplants, lemons and olives. Food, natch. I am intimidated by the charming churches and curvy lines of the homes. How to achieve that bright bright white? It’s even whiter than the paper!

Kalispera!

Paula Rath

Here are some photos from the past few days that may inspire future paintings:

Last night’s sunset from the lanai of “The Hawaiian’s House.”

gh who can capture this kind of exquisite beauty?