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| Sunrise near Corfu |
As I had mentioned in a previous blog, our time on the Norwegian Pearl is actually two back to back nine day cruises. Corfu is our only port of call in Greece on this first cruise. Our second cruise will take us to Mykonos, Santorini and Athens, as well as a return visit to Corfu. Based on our first visit, we’re already looking forward to the encore.
Corfu is an island located in the Ionian Sea in Greece’s northwestern frontier. Both the island and the largest city share the name Corfu. The population of the island is around 100,000 and the city population is close to 32,000. Corfu does not have all of the white and blue buildings and homes like Mykonos and Santorini. However, it is incredibly scenic in it’s own way. In 2007 the city’s old town was added to the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List.
The ship docked close to old town which gave us the option of walking or taking a shuttle bus for 2 euros each. Not being sure about how much walking we’d be doing during the day and the fact that the bus was sitting there, we took the bus. It was Saturday morning and the town was slowly coming to life, thanks mostly to coffee and freshly baked Greek pastries.
For this visit we concentrated on the old town, which like so many of the old European cities, was a maze of narrow streets and passageways filled with shops and restaurants. The opposite side of the city opens up and there is a huge plaza which overlooks the Old Fortress that was built in the 15th century. Next to the plaza is also the Palace of Saint Michael and George. The palace was built in 1819 during the time of British rule. It has been well preserved and is now an art gallery.
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| This bench overlooking the Ionian Sea and the Old Fortress has to be in my top ten list of favorite benches! |
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| The Palace of Saints Michael and George |
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| Another view of the palace…… |
Of course we couldn’t leave Corfu without sampling some of their traditional dishes. We were familiar with some, like gyros meat and tzatziki. We also enjoyed dakos, which is made with crumbled feta cheese, tomatoes, capers and spices served on dried bread. After the late lunch we made our way (by walking) back to the ship.
Weather permitting, on our return visit next week we’re planning a little exploring of other parts of the island and some beach time!
