During the peak season, business is booming; during the off-season, it's about human connection.
Do you ever go to the islands during the off-season?
The islands in the Mediterranean have a beautiful and luxurious appearance when summer arrives, with vibrant tans. White cruise ships float on the blue sea, transporting passengers in and out. Various seaside towns with visible sea views have bars, but few people are willing to sit inside; they all sit at outdoor tables, wearing shorts, sunglasses, and drinking colorful cocktails and eating various fruit salads and desserts. The sound of Bossa nova, jazz, Italian folk music, and music suitable for sunny days fills the air. Sun-kissed girls pose for selfies from various angles, uploading them to social networks. Shopkeepers bring various exotic-style dishes. The fun continues until late at night, and there are people wandering around looking for late-night snacks. Almost everything is silent by the next morning, except for the departing tourists. It's usually not until noon that people wake up to eat; after a nap, the streets come alive.
That time gives one a hallucination: as if happiness never ends, as if the sun always shines, and everyone is always 25 years old.
Of course, this isn't the case.
In winter, the off-season islands are another look.
Most outdoor shops are closed. The bosses go to other places to do business or rest, waiting for the peak season to return.
When the sun isn't as bright, the color of the sea is no longer deep blue, covered with gray, as if an old father had discovered his son's failing grade.
The wind is strong, the rain is heavy, but not cold, it's quite gloomy.
At this time, the shops are actually open, which is rare.
This was at the end of last year.
The boss opened a simple eatery. The menu was just one sheet of paper with two sides. One side was salads (various vegetable, cheese and different flavored olive oil combinations) and the other side was meat platters – later I realized that for dinner, the menu was also the same.
The boss handed us the menu and first told us, 'There are no desserts – there are no desserts in winter.'
He kindly took us to a place where there was sunlight (if the sunlight could break through the clouds) and brought us drinking water. He bowed slightly and left. After a while, music sounded in the shop – there was only our table of customers.
I ordered a salad (yellow cucumber, tomato, spinach, sheep cheese, marinated olives and fresh olive oil), a flavored salad (large lettuce, grilled cheese slices, honey and curry sauce), grilled beef, chicken and kebab (kebab is said in Europe, meaning roasted meat slices; the Mediterranean people often roast seasoned minced meat);
As a local place, it's made quite tasty:
The salad is crisp, the flavor is precise, the beef is cooked perfectly, with a moderate softness and hardness, the chicken is crispy, and the kebab is also not as 'a bit strange flavor' as the roast meat on the European continent.
In short, it's a rustic and mellow flavor. However, except for the flavored sauce, which the boss was very proud of because he made it himself, all the flavors are missing from the tourist resort.
That's what 'tourist resort flavor' means: colorful, fruity, sweet, and light-hearted flavors that make you want to take pictures and brag to your friends, suitable for pairing with champagne and cocktails, and makes your companions love you – but this place is much more honest and fiery.
I joked with my friend that this is the flavor of the off-season: a shop that doesn't try to please customers.
But in the winter, listening to 'Summer Time' by Ella Fitzgerald – it felt like reaching the end of the world.
Indeed, at this time, cats are more than people.
When we paid the bill, seeing the unbelievably low price, I asked the boss, 'Do you make money in winter?'
The boss shook his head.
Why would he be open then? – Most restaurants are closed.
The boss said, 'Because people still need to eat in town.'
Three days later, when we went a second time, the boss recognized me and invited me to sit down.
There was still a sunny spot (this day had sunshine), after ordering, he played 'Summer Time' – and served me a yogurt he made himself, if you don't mind.
When I raised my hand to pay the bill, he nodded and went out. When he returned, he was carrying a small Christmas cake.
I asked him where he bought it, and he said that there was only one dessert shop open in town during the winter – it was a dessert shop that had been open since 1912.
The boss said, 'I'm sorry we don't have desserts, so I bought this one as a gift.'
I thanked him, praising his generosity. The boss smiled and said, 'People like this are the same – just wanting to make friends.'
Not to make friends with people, but to go home and sleep through the winter?
