As I said, this day was for catching up on work and reading. Not too stressful, as I find reading by the hillside pool to be, well, exquisite. Oh, that view!
By evening, I hadn’t moved more than ten yards from the side of my deck chair. In the water, then out again, slobbering in the sun screen, turning (wet now) pages . The air here is hot and very windy – torrents of it blowing at you, keeping you from feeling oppressed by the temps.
Lunch? Delivered to my chair. Here, it looked like this:
grilled calamari on arugula
sour cherry ice cream
Decadent, right? I admit it.
Finally, by evening I work up the motivation to go down and get ready to eat. Dinner is at the other end of town and the walk is along a busy road. Hugely uninteresting. I mean, in places that sport one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, you’re not going to be impressed when you pass by a random amphitheater from around 400 BC.
The restaurant, by the way, is wonderful and it, too, has the view of the harbor and castle -- from the other side of town.
But I feel I cheated here as the owners are Turkish, but full-time residents of Paris. I mean, should I praise the sauces (SO French) or the fresh ingredients, brushed lovingly with olive oil (SO Turkish)?
The Ancient Wonder (Mausoleum of Halicarnassus) will be around tomorrow. I hope. I understand it’s so damaged (earthquakes, terrible excavations, etc) as to be unrecognizable. Still, so close… Must get to it. Tomorrow.
Your trip just keeps getting better and better. Your photos of all those spectacular views are wonderful. As for feeling somewhat cheated at dinner, it could have been worse. Consider what Duncan Heinz said after a disappointing meal: "If the soup had been as warm as the wine; if the wine had been as old as the turkey; and if the turkey had had a breast like the waitress, it would have been a swell dinner."
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