September 16, 2024

Corfu Greece

 


 

We set our clocks ahead one hour this AM.  (Paul wondered why he was awake at 4 – until he realized the new clock setting – the body precedes the mind apparently).  We have been really fortunate weather-wise.  Going this time of year, the temperatures are tolerable, but the chances of rain increase.  All along the Dalmatian coast we dodged the rain - sometime by only a few miles.  After a nice breakfast we queued up for our tour.  The bus was 9 minutes late!  oh no!  Heads will roll!  Our Shore Excursion Manager was not best pleased and had some words with her local counterpart. But the bus did come and we were off on our tour.

 

 


Look for an airplane landing between the trees



The Island that looks like a ship is Odysseus' ill-fated attempt to get back to Ithaca 



Shirley and our guide Alexis (Greek for Andrew?)

 


Shirley’s take: 


Our tour of Corfu (Kerkyra) began with a bus ride to Kanoni (Kavovi) named for the Naploeonic cannon there.  Beautiful views from here.  Then back to the town of Corfu.  Everything is so lush; apparently Corfu gets more rain than anywhere else in Greece.  It is the 2nd largest island of the Greek islands.  Historically, it has been under Byzantine, Venetian, French, and British rule, but never under the Ottomans. England’s Prince Philip was born here. Two famous Brits here were the Durrell brothers of the 20th century.  Lawrence was a writer most known for The Alexandria Quartet.  He claimed that Shakespeare set The Tempest here. Others say it was set in Malta.  Paul and I have visited both places.  Gerald Durrell was known as a scientist studying nature and his book My Family and Other Animals is very popular.

 




 

As for movies, this a popular spot for filming.  My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was partially filmed here.  James Bond fans would recognize Corfu as the setting for mountain roads and the casino in For Your Eyes Only. In the casino instead of his usual martini, 007 has a local white wine.  The winery boasts that it did not pay for the advertising, but instead kept the crew supplied with wine.

 

After the tour, we made our way around the streets lapping up the local culture. There were buskers, made-in-china shops, and made in Corfu shops, restaurants, upscale, down scale shops all mixed up.  We popped in a Greek Orthodox church (St. Spyridon) which was very ornate – Venetian mixed with Greek vibe.

 




 

Then we rode a bus through the very narrow streets made even narrower by parked cars and scooters.  We did not think the bus could make some of the turns, but somehow it did with a millimeter to spare. We drove along the one-time posh area that was now in need of a good wash to the port.

 

While we were gone, the Costa Deliziosa (2826 passengers) docked next to us.  It dwarfed the Viking ship (the Viking Sea has 930 passengers). Paul took a picture of what seemed to be a number of trucks queued up to empty the Costa ship. (You might ask – of what … but I’ll leave that for you to figure out.  )

 


 

That was our day in Corfu.  Altogether a very nice place.  Not too crowded with tourists (like Dubrovnik) but very compact – all available space was taken up. 


Some thoughts about cruising from Shirley - Travel is an adventure in many ways such as trying different foods.  Each day I try the Smoothie of the Day at breakfast and the Soup of the Day at lunch.  This morning I had a peanut butter and banana smoothie topped with chocolate shavings.  Yummy! Today's soup is Roasted Bell Pepper with Garlic.  I was hesitant but it was absolutely delicious!  I rank it so far as #2 among soups.  My favorite continues to be Sweet Corn Chowder! The other evening I tried octopus again.  I had it once before and didn't like it but now I know I don't like it--not much flavor and very rubbery in texture.  But I love seafood and am looking forward to the Lobster Feast this evening!

 

We went to a disappointing lecture about Greek gods – but he spent a disjointed time talking about Atlantis ?!?!  Then we met some friends in the Explorer’s lounge before heading down to the theater for an ABBA tribute.  That was very well done.  Amazing 4 piece band and 4 vocals really brought the songs alive.  Shirley was dancing in her seat 

 

The day topped off with “Lobsterfest”, grilled lobsters tails cut in half and easy to get at – and very tasty as well!  A satisfying end to another good day on the cruise.


Good night 



Oh, and 12404 steps Anna 























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