Who needs a gym in Skopelos?!

This morning, I started my day by walking down the many steps to town to exchange money at the bank. On the way, I passed a church or two...







In town, I stopped to talk to a fisherman readying his nets for a day of fishing, and then I poked my head into a wonderful bakery. A taverna which overlooks the harbor was setting up for lunch and had just stocked it's case with many varieties of fresh fish on ice (right side of photo).







I also stopped at the waterfront sweets shop, Ambrosia, where they sell local honey with nuts and preserves made from plums, cherries and almonds. Just for the record, I'm not eating my way through Greece, mostly just looking, BUT...



Around lunch time, I did have my first real Greek pita. It was filled with shaved lamb, fried potato rounds, fresh onions & tomato, and tzatziki sauce. It was piping hot and delicious, and the friendly proprietors of "Platanos", Vangelis & Elena, were more than happy to pose for a picture.



And what day in Greece wouldn't be complete without a trip to the beach? I went to the only beach that's walking distance from town, Glyfoneri, about 15 minutes on foot. The good news is that on the way over, when I'm hot, sweaty and cranky from the heat, it's mostly DOWN hill (the beach is the last stretch of sand you can see in the distance!)



The steep uphill road awaits on the way home, but after a few hours of cool, refreshing dips in the Aegean Sea, it's not so daunting.



Here are a couple of very Greek street scenes...





This evening, I wandered down to the harbor to see a Norwegian Choir perform with some local Greek musicians outdoors on the waterfront. They were great, and one of the musicians was very cute ;-) Afterwards, I got a piece of cheesecake with cherries on top at the pastry shop. When you order food to-go here, be it pizza or pastries, they pack it in these fancy little glossy, cardboard boxes. My cheesecake box had art by Monet on it. I LOVE it here!