The Beaches of Halkidiki

On the way back from Ormylia around 4:30, Elise made the suggestion to stop somewhere along the way to see the famous Halkidiki beaches. We all thought that was an excellent idea, so Emmanuelle found a good spot for us to get out and walk along the beach. We walked along as the sun set – it was beautiful (see the top two photos).

In the middle photo, from left to right, is: Elise, Pelagia, Iren, and Emmanuelle.

Emmanuelle is our French friend who lives here in Panorama and is also in my Greek class.

Iren is her friend from Hungary, and one of the few Orthodox converts there. The two of them met in England, at Elder Sophrony’s monastery in Essex. Iren is in Thessaloniki temporarily to take a month-long intensive Greek class.

After that, we decided to get some fresh seafood at one of the many psarotavernas (seafood restaurants) that run along the Halkidiki coastline. So we drove on a little further to the town of Nea Moudania and walked along the paralia (boardwalk/coastline) until we found a little restaurant, where we had some fresh grilled octopus. Boy, is that good! Even Pelagia, who shudders when she thinks of the tentacles, likes it! ( :

The bottom photo is from Nea Moudania’s boardwalk.

For more photos of the day, click here.