Thursday 22 July 2021

Part 1/3 Corfu Town


 Gosh! looking back through all my pictures, it seems a lifetime ago that we were in Corfu Town. We arrived early afternoon, having flown there on a plane just a third full I would say. We got randomly tested on arrival at the Corfu Airport, although listening to others throughout our trip, we think all the British flights were being tested! It did slow us up slightly and I felt sorry for our Airbnb host Daminos, who kindly offered to collect us from the airport


He drove us to his apartment and wow! what a view to greet you.


I choose this apartment as it was as close to the sea as I could get and it meant Jeff could go for a swim in the sea every morning


You also got to witness the beautiful sunrise and something I wasn't expecting, that literally took your breath away, 1000's of swifts and swallows flying out over the sea....


....to the rooftops behind. I t was absolutely mesmerising.
I have posted a couple of video's over on my Instagram page if you want to go and look.


We spent what was left of the day, getting our bearings, acclimatising to the heat and just taking in our new surroundings and hustle and bustle of the town, feeling very lucky to actually be there!


Day two and I was up early to see the sunrise. We spent the day exploring the town a little more thoroughly on foot, with our main mission to find the Green Bus, bus station, for a planned day out and our transfer to Kalami later in our stay. Let's say it was further out of town than we were expecting!!


We resorted to buying a paper map, so much easier than on your phone!


We explored the Old Town and the New Town and found the potential swimming spots and good eating areas for the evenings. All the important things!


On day 3 we ventured out of town, on a local bus to Paleokastritsa, a day at the beach!


And it was stunning, although the water much colder than expected.


It was just lovely to spend a day doing nothing other than read, swim, snooze, eat and drink and just totally switch off and completely relax. Something I didn't really appreciate how much I needed to do.


Day 4 and we decided to get out early and walk to the top of the Old Fort before it got too hot. 


Thank goodness we did because by 9am it was already roasting.......


.....but worth it for the views. 


Plus we discovered a small beach to go to the following day. We spent the afternoon swimming in the sea, directly below our apartment, perfect. In the evening we explored a little further in to the Old Town and discovered this courtyard and.....


....this wonderful restaurant Bellissamo. 
It was just a lovely find, with really nice staff, great atmosphere and delicious food. Wish we'd found it sooner. One thing I don't do on holiday is cook! It's my one treat to myself, no cooking when I'm on holiday. Yes it makes it more expensive but you get to try out all the local cuisine and sample all the traditional dishes and do some great people watching to boot!!


Day 5 and we spent the day on the hidden beach, that could only be accessed via the Old Fort. We think it was where the locals went, probably for free, as you could only access it if you paid as if you were going to the fort.


Anyway it was the perfect spot to read, swim and do nothing!!


The evenings were always busy in the Old Town, especially for the Euro's Cup Final night, although there were few and far Brits about. We ended up watching it at our apartment and I'll be honest, I went to bed at extra time - it was 2 hours later in Greece! Well that was my excuse!!


Day 6 and our final morning! Daminos our host had very kindly offered to take us to the bus station, as it would have been too far to walk to with our cases.


He really was the perfect host, found through Airbnb, collecting us from the airport, taking us to the bus station. On arrival he explained how everything worked, where everything was.....left us a bowlful of fresh fruit, a stocked fridge, honestly it was wonderful....


....... and such a great location, with views out to sea.


So from Corfu Old Town, we headed North to Kalami. We originally had not even considered staying here but due to our Kassiopi host needing to adjust our dates, we decided to stop over here and we're so glad we did, as it might have been my favourite bit. Daminos dropped us off at the bus station and we took the Green bus up along the coast to the resort. The bus only took you to the closest drop off point on the main road, so it was a bit of a trek on foot to the apartment, although thankfully downhill.....


... to the White House complex, former home of Gerald Durrell.


We spent the afternoon exploring, swimming and the evening eating in a Taverna by the sea but I'll tell you more about that in my next post x 

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