Saturday: Corfu, part 2
Jun. 2nd, 2007 05:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deirdreFinally pulling out of Corfu. I hope the person with the medical emergency will be okay. Looking over the balcony (yes, I'm out on the balcony, so suffer major envy already), we're passing the new fortress.
Corfu has a neatness about it, and yet the Venetian influence is obvious, particularly in building proportions. They even paint their shutters and leave the walls needing a paint job, just like the Venetians. It definitely feels more organized, without feeling the least bit uptight. I can't explain it, and certainly a few hours doesn't offer a detailed look at a place's true culture.
We went on the "Colorful Towns" tour, which is something of a misnomer. We got to see the Achilleion, which is a large house built by Empress Elisabeth as her refuge. It's dedicated to Achilles; she really loved the Greek lore (I have, by the way, come to really dislike the word "myth" on this trip).
The Achilleion really is a fabulous place, and if you ever go to Corfu, I highly recommend it, if only for the views of Corfu below. It's built on one of the narrower parts of the island.
After visiting, we stopped a few places for explanations, then arrived in Corfu town to see some of the sights. The last place we visited, the church of St. Spiridon, well, my experience is typical with Christian churches -- some mishap always seems to occur. In this case, it was dark inside (very dark), and of course it had been a bright sunlit day outside. I saw a walkway to the side of some pews, but my eyes hadn't adjusted enough to tell me that the walkway was narrow and two levels. Naturally, I tripped, landing with force on one of the built-in chairs on the side wall. Hard. Fortunately, it was unoccupied. Jehovah having some fun at my expense again. I try to be respectful, but it's just not meant to be.
We had a half hour to ourselves, so I found postcards (for those of you wanting Corfu cards, though because I didn't have the addresses with me, they'll be mailed from Crete) and a cool little lidded dish with Poseidon on it. Poseidon is very tied to Corfu, as one might expect from a Greek island (if you want to know more, follow the wikipedia link above to the Corfu entry). Rick had one of the local ginger beers, and I had a Coca-Cola -- the European variety is vastly superior to the American in two respects: 1) made with real sugar, which tastes better; 2) comes in glass bottles which tastes better. American Coke always tastes like peroxide to me; the Mexican and European varieties don't.
At that point, we could have stayed in town for another three hours, or gone back to the ship, which we opted to do. Not only were there no lines, I was tired and sore. Rick and I donned our bathing suits and went up to the hot tub (which should properly be called a lukewarm tub, though the temp was really exactly what I wanted). After bathing, we got an early run at the poolside buffet, and I had a burger the way I like it: with some cheese, a mound of grilled onions, and a couple of slices of bacon.
Rick has found the launderettes, so I'll be off after those in a bit. I've done some handwashing of clothes, but we've been on the road for a week, and I have way more laundry to do than handwashing can reasonably accommodate, especially with drying times being what they are.
Each day, my ability to read and comprehend Greek improves, naturally just in time to be inundated with Arabic and Medu Neter.
One other bit to catch up: the Shore Excursion director mentioned that each of our buses in Turkey and Egypt would be accompanied by an armed guard. Having been to Belfast, this doesn't bother me, but some people suddenly seemed perturbed.
Corfu has a neatness about it, and yet the Venetian influence is obvious, particularly in building proportions. They even paint their shutters and leave the walls needing a paint job, just like the Venetians. It definitely feels more organized, without feeling the least bit uptight. I can't explain it, and certainly a few hours doesn't offer a detailed look at a place's true culture.
We went on the "Colorful Towns" tour, which is something of a misnomer. We got to see the Achilleion, which is a large house built by Empress Elisabeth as her refuge. It's dedicated to Achilles; she really loved the Greek lore (I have, by the way, come to really dislike the word "myth" on this trip).
The Achilleion really is a fabulous place, and if you ever go to Corfu, I highly recommend it, if only for the views of Corfu below. It's built on one of the narrower parts of the island.
After visiting, we stopped a few places for explanations, then arrived in Corfu town to see some of the sights. The last place we visited, the church of St. Spiridon, well, my experience is typical with Christian churches -- some mishap always seems to occur. In this case, it was dark inside (very dark), and of course it had been a bright sunlit day outside. I saw a walkway to the side of some pews, but my eyes hadn't adjusted enough to tell me that the walkway was narrow and two levels. Naturally, I tripped, landing with force on one of the built-in chairs on the side wall. Hard. Fortunately, it was unoccupied. Jehovah having some fun at my expense again. I try to be respectful, but it's just not meant to be.
We had a half hour to ourselves, so I found postcards (for those of you wanting Corfu cards, though because I didn't have the addresses with me, they'll be mailed from Crete) and a cool little lidded dish with Poseidon on it. Poseidon is very tied to Corfu, as one might expect from a Greek island (if you want to know more, follow the wikipedia link above to the Corfu entry). Rick had one of the local ginger beers, and I had a Coca-Cola -- the European variety is vastly superior to the American in two respects: 1) made with real sugar, which tastes better; 2) comes in glass bottles which tastes better. American Coke always tastes like peroxide to me; the Mexican and European varieties don't.
At that point, we could have stayed in town for another three hours, or gone back to the ship, which we opted to do. Not only were there no lines, I was tired and sore. Rick and I donned our bathing suits and went up to the hot tub (which should properly be called a lukewarm tub, though the temp was really exactly what I wanted). After bathing, we got an early run at the poolside buffet, and I had a burger the way I like it: with some cheese, a mound of grilled onions, and a couple of slices of bacon.
Rick has found the launderettes, so I'll be off after those in a bit. I've done some handwashing of clothes, but we've been on the road for a week, and I have way more laundry to do than handwashing can reasonably accommodate, especially with drying times being what they are.
Each day, my ability to read and comprehend Greek improves, naturally just in time to be inundated with Arabic and Medu Neter.
One other bit to catch up: the Shore Excursion director mentioned that each of our buses in Turkey and Egypt would be accompanied by an armed guard. Having been to Belfast, this doesn't bother me, but some people suddenly seemed perturbed.