The Mediterranean Lifestyle

Despite what the foreign media says, we are not starving and the shops are not empty.
Even on a small island like Symi one can buy a decent bottle of champagne...

All spruced up and ready to face the day.  Taverna Merakles with Soroco boutique next door.  

Suddenly it is July and the harbour is taking on its high season character of glamour and sophistication.  Power boats instead of flotilla sailing yachts fill the harbour overnight and I noticed empty Moet boxes outside the wine shops this morning.  It is too hot for hikers and walkers and they will be back in late September.  In July and August Symi becomes a different place, where people relax on sun beds all day to recover from late nights under the stars.  The Mediterranean lifestyle with its long afternoon siestas makes sense when the afternoons are too hot to do anything except sleep.  Shops and businesses usually reopen around 6 but most people only eat late, after 9 p.m, when flagging appetites revive and meals progress at a leisurely pace.  July and August are traditionally popular with French and Italian visitors but this year we also have a number of Spanish, Swiss, Australian and Scandinavian visitors.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

The Gate House high on the hill at the back of Yialos, as seen from the Kali Strata on the opposite slope.

Monday morning line up in Yialos.  They had all gone by midday.

Light lunch under the trees.