Summer snippets

Sipping Greek coffee by the beach, while studying the map of Thassos. Or is the coffee Turkish? A quintessential Balkan dispute--petty, but always potentially dangerous. What matter is that the seeds are roasted right, not too mild but not too burnt either; that you heap generous amounts of coffee into the water; and that you brew it not one second longer than necessary (if you like a practical demonstration, send me an email :)

In a taverna under a century-old Platanus orientalis (Oriental plane) you eat a piece of toasted bread with some olive oil and a pinch of basil, and the world feels right. Especially once the grilled meat arrives.

A village, a promenade, a beach--Skala Marion in a nutshell. An ordinary place, where families run tavernas and grocery stores and rent out room for tourists. There are no hotels, aqua parks, carousels, or stands selling fake designer bags and cheap trinkets. It's a place which lives off tourism, but has a life without tourists as well, and this is why it is so beautiful.

A boy with a yogurt mustache, who just told me he wanted to come and live with me, so that he can start speaking French...