I kept my promise and left the hotel. I went the wrong way on purpose. Everyone who comes here goes to the rim. The caldera is the reason Santorini is famous, and every hotel, every terrace, every infinity pool seems…
Nobody Prunes Them – Corfu
You land on the water here, or near enough that your body believes it. The runway sits out in a lagoon on a strip of made ground, and the approach comes in low over it with the sea on both…
Santorini – The Day I Did Not Leave
I said I would go down to the water. I went as far as the pool. This was not the plan, and I would like it on record that I intended to go. I had packed the bag the night…
Santorini – The View You Have Already Seen
You have already seen this place. That is the difficulty. Before the ferry has finished turning into the bay you know the shape of what is coming, because you have seen it on a thousand screens, in other people’s holidays,…
Scopello, and the Film That Was Not There
I drove out of Palermo with a film in my head. That is the embarrassing part, so I will put it first. An hour west, the road climbing inland and then coming back down toward a sea you keep losing…
I Stayed This Time – Costa Smeralda
Last night I went down the steps at half past eight, while it was still the evening I had come for. Tonight I did not. I should be honest that this was curiosity rather than appetite. I had written that…
