In Corfu, a Two-Villa Retreat

A hilltop studded with olive trees in the mountainous northern reaches of Corfu, one of Greece’s most popular islands, has inspired a restless foreign correspondent to create a haven.

Over the past four years, Keith Miller has built two luxury villas with views stretching to the mountains of nearby Albania. “I wanted the houses to be organic — to look as if they had grown out of the ground along with the olive trees,” said Mr. Miller, 59, during a recent tour.

Both structures are a mix of modern and traditional Greek styles but blend with their surroundings thanks to the use of locally produced building materials and the earthy colors — chiefly cream, beige and rust — commonly used on the island. External walls and some of the internal ones include fragments of local stone, and the roof tiles were reclaimed from old farmhouses, increasing the sense of authenticity.

Kea island

KEA, Greece – Father Lefteris – habit flowing, serving tray in hand – exits the kitchen and glides into the monastery's shaded courtyard. The middle-aged Greek Orthodox priest is carrying a half-litre carafe filled with what looks like water. Only it isn't water.

The shot glasses give it away.

"Some `white coffee'?" he proffers, a twinkle in his eye.

He is euphemistically referring to the locally distilled raki, a clear variety of firewater similar to grappa in its powerful kick and alarming capacity to inebriate.

"Bravo," he says when a visitor refills his own glass after the first round.

The southern Peloponnese

We had two options when leaving the Ionian Sea by yacht.

Turn left at Patras and take a short cut through the man-made Corinth Canal to the Saronic Gulf, Athens and the sun-drenched Greek Islands, or carry on south around the outstretched fingers of the Peloponnese Peninsula.

We opted for the long route.

The Peloponnese is a huge chunk of Greece separated from the mainland by the Gulf of Corinth with the Ionian Sea on the west and the Saronic Gulf on the east.

It's a region of outstanding beauty with fertile valleys, spectacular mountains, beautiful beaches and some of Greece's prettiest towns, including the former capital, Napflion, and the old walled town of Monemvasia.

Greek authorities vowed to clean up the tourist scene in seaside resorts

GREECE
Greek authorities vowed to clean up the tourist scene in seaside resorts after a 20-year-old Australian was beaten to death by bouncers at a Mykonos bar. Much of the resorts' violence and indecency comes from bar owners serving drinks fortified with industrial alcohol.

GERMANY
A five-day strike by Lufthansa staff ended Aug. 1. The airline does not expect its schedule to return to normal until mid-August.