The price of Ouzo

Questions for the day:


1. How is a marble temple 'destroyed by fire'?*

2. How many dogs are there for every Greek citizen?


3. OT wonders is it wrong to eat ice cream more than once a day?


This morning we turned our keys, squeezed our ignition levers, flicked our indicators, muttered 'keep right' to ourselves, and traversed the length of the island. 

Thira is an archetype of the 'inhabited picturesque': without white curved roofs , blue domes and red geraniums**, the island would be a bleak and dusty volcanic speck. Habitation doesn't fight against or sit on top of the land; all that struggle left so deep in the past it looks natural. The slopes covered in squat vines remind me of the hills in Yorkshire - not the shape of the land, or the crops, or the climate, but the sense that every piece of dirt is tilth - has been turned over and over and over by human cultivation. 

We lunched today at a taverna above the donkey path that links Fira (the main town) and the old port. The donkeys were very... animal. Manure, sweat and brass bells, lined up along the zigs and zags below us. 


The waiter was very...friendly From Athens, he told me while OT was using the conveniences, just here for work. He bought us lunch (stuffed calamari) and then very kindly showed me exactly where the women's toilet was - taking advantage of the romantic and enticing location (no, you couldn't see the view, and yes, it was a little smelly), to snuggle up and ask for 'please, just one kiss'. He was polite enough to desist after a firm shove, and began to look distinctly sheepish when I came back up to the terrace and asked him, laughing, whether that trick ever worked, and if he ever had any takers for his offer. 


He disappeared downstairs again and came back with the bill and two glasses of Ouzo 'from us'. 


'What's this?' asked OT.
'I think it's an apology,' I said. 


So now you know. Two glasses of Ouzo = one very unsuccessful pass.


* This question is left over from Athens.
** I am doing my bit for local colour by wearing sky-blue sneakers on the ends of my white legs.