After driving Carina to the airport Wednesday morning, Manolis, Alex and I headed to the Astir Hotel beach. Although my Greek companions insisted that Astir could not compare to the beaches of Aegean islands, the crystal-clear water and refreshing summer breeze made for a half day of seaside bliss. (It certainly helped that there was a beachfront Starbucks serving fresh-squeezed OJ and that I had brought along a copy of Faulkner’s
Absalom, Absalom! (nothing like reading about the American Deep South on a Greek beach).
On the way home, we stopped at a traditional restaurant where I was subjected to
kokoretsi (lamb intestines stuffed with liver—actually, much tastier than expected), accompanied by fried zucchini, lamp chops, and honey yogurt.
too hungry to take a picture before starting—
here's the aftermath
too hungry to take a picture before starting—