Greece - Day 4: around Corfu (on foot)

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around Corfu (4.3km, on foot): we expected to be able to get on the boat after noon, so we left our luggage at the hotel and wandered around Corfu. Gina and i went to look for the historic Jewish quarter and whatever else we could find. Then we met up with David, Tom, and Beth and got lunch at a place called Aegli, before heading back to the hotel.


morning view from our hotel window

this nice roof is visible from our window too

there is a dumbwaiter in the hotel breakfast room

a dumbwaiter!

this ornate mirror is also in the breakfast room

display of dishware, also in the breakfast room

some sort of partially-decorative information about the hotel building

the view from our hotel room is very sunny now

the attractive tiled roofs surround this roof deck

more roof decks of Corfu

hotel doorknob with push-button latch mechanism

the slow elevator is full of mirrors; Gina demonstrates

this table is a mirror also

facade of the first three floors of Cavalieri Hotel

we start our exploration of Corfu by looking at the water

peninsula containing old town and old fortress of Corfu

marina

clock tower in Corfu old town

how's the water?

donation from the Ministry of National Education

A. Solomos, the poet who wrote the national hymn, apparently

a tree of nontrivial size

Maitland Monument, in the large park by the hotel

gazebo/music pavilion in the center of Spianada Square park

Gina heading down a narrow street

a shoe scraper!

a building with realty photos in the window and lots of vines

it's good to be anti-Nazi. keep up the good work, team

this is probably an actual civic building of some sort

... but it also totally plays the courthouse on the Durrells in Corfu show, for those playing the home game

narrow street with parking offset in several dimensions

narrow street with one-dimensional parking

the sign says 'nope'

the tunnel where the sign is telling you not to go

fish market

pedestrian street in Corfu

a cheese shop!

cheeses, in the window

trahanas, in the cheese shop; we bought some, and took it home, and made spanikopita with it, and it was great, actually

a tall apartment building

Palette: Brunch & Plants (we did not stop in for either brunch or plants, so we have no further data)

a wall, near several buildings

synagogue building in the old Jewish quarter of Corfu

door of the synagogue building

side of the synagogue building

a ruin that was also there

while we were looking at this mezuzah, a guy came around in a car and said, do you want to see the inside of the building?

we said, 'yes, of course,' and then we got to go inside and upstairs and look at the sanctuary

window near the stairwell

stained glass

candles are perhaps sometimes here

decorative top of the ark (active services only for the High Holidays, they told us)

the synagogue building on its street corner

i've had days like that

outdoor seating on a narrow street

signs point to old things

this street is very pink

Plous Books & Coffee

down an alley, we found this Work Shop by Tom

it was an active olive woodworking studio

honey jars at Work Shop by Tom

the olive tree dragon is not for sale

so, this is a typewriter

gears inside a wood block, at Corfu Gallery

we thought this olive tree was also super cool

'so... what's up with the souvenir dicks?' is a question for which we did not get an answer beyond, 'tourists'

belltower of the Church of Saints Basil and Stephen

salak, or snake fruit (we had to try it, of course; it tasted like a fruit)

tamarilo (we didn't get one of these; apparently they're nightshades, though)

kumquats

many additional fruits

a tabacco house on a narrow somewhat triangular corner

plaza containing a banknote museum and some other buildings

window of Holy Church of Kyra Phaneromeni

manhole covers of Corfu

another narrow street

another plaza

a shop selling cheeses and breads

preserved slice of an excavated building

Bell Tower of the Annunziata Holy Church

close-up of part of excavated building

i mean, fair enough

a sidewalk that is in fact stairs

a somewhat vertical part of town

Gina looks at a graffiti-covered tunnel

i look at the Kapodistrias Philharmonic Society of Corfu building

we opt for the tunnel

more vertical Corfu

pomegranates

more stairs down

at the bottom of all the stairs, we find... the New Fortress

view from Palaiologue Square

an alley between two residential buildings, made of more stairs

looking at the New Fortress through the fence

of course we want to go through this random tunnel

here we are in the tunnel

this is not the way out

the tunnel leads to the other side of the fortress

and then to the Corfu Central Market

a round tower

eggplants!

more fish (we are on an island, after all)

a Japanese grocery store

a building with lots of heads

back in the restaurant district

a former palace (now an art museum)

ooh, more eggplants

hey, we're right by the ocean

boats, and the mainland

Gina wanted to find out about the Corfu Reading Society

it was closed and they didn't answer their bell, so we did not find out about it

the Department of Informatics, apparently

about to walk through the palace/art museum arch, while watching for traffic

fairy tale art log, at a shop called Hans & Gretel

we saw these signs all over; apparently it's a state-owned gambling monopoly

we meet up with Beth, David, and Tom, and seek out lunch

interior of Aegli Restaurant, where we again sit outside

shutters above the door

a variety of food

my lunch: tsigareli, a wild greens stew with olives and garlic; it was good!

the hole for hanging a snake on this doorframe

covered outdoor dining area at Aegli

it's sunny! it's nice that we had a covered dining area

different colors of pigeons

we pretty much only ate Greek food in Greece, but these signs told us that we had the option of focaccia-based sandwiches

scaffolding on a building near our hotel

Corfu: hotel to boat (1.7km, by taxi): back at the hotel, we gathered our luggage and ordered a taxi to the place we had learned the boat was docked. We checked in, met our guides Alex and Mary Lu and several other passengers, and explored the boat a bit.


Beth, Gina, and Tom posing in front of Cavalieri as we wait for our taxi

our meeting point is supposed to be Sette Venti cafe in the bus terminal, but this looks a lot like a boat

yes! let's go to the boat

front of the boat

now that i'm on the boat, the water is much closer

hey, i know these people

Tom on deck

Gavin, Beth, and Ruth, on deck

Beth and Ruth, pondering how many candid photos they're going to have to endure being on a trip with me

view across to the ferry terminal, this is probably the ferry to Igoumenitsa on the mainland

our cabin bathroom, somewhere between a head and a hotel bathroom in nature

view from our cabin window

Beth, chilling on deck

tourmate Marten exploring the lower walkway of the boat

exploring the bicycle deck, where the bicycles are

checking out the top deck of the boat

this is the front deck, where you can sit in the shade

lots of miscellaneous boat parking and car parking

Gina, on the upper walkway of the boat

sailboats have fenders; big sailboats have big fenders

overview of the boat

they put up a flag for every country of origin of someone currently on the boat: we are still waiting for some of the flags to arrive

and of course there's a Greek flag, flying from the bicycle deck

our cabin is on the port side, but our windows probably look approximately like these

around Corfu (2.7km, on foot): Ruth and Gavin hadn't seen Corfu at all, so we went out again in the afternoon to wander the town a bit, looking at the New Fortress area and some shops. Then we returned to the boat for dinner and a discussion of the plan for the next day.


we can see the new fortress from the street where we're docked

Gavin and David getting off the boat

time to go explore Corfu town again!

wall with mortar

wall with a lot going on

David and Beth are pleased to be embarking on this journey

why is the winged lion of Venice here? because the Venetians conquered Corfu in the 14th century and left a bunch of stuff here

more complicated fort wall parts

everyone is smiling because we are about to walk through a tunnel

everyone is blurry because we are in a tunnel

Gina's hand says we should go that way

sure, Gina's hand, if you insist

back at the narrow alley between two residences

this is a cool plate

a door with a mysterious past

back in the restaurant area

Gavin looks into gyro options

we imagine buying these amazing brightly colored sandals with jeweled bird heads and then staying on a boat for a week

Gina demonstrates the extremely adhoc-looking staircase in this store

back at the archaeological site, in slightly better light now

this bag is looking at you

on the other side of this door lies doom

playmobil store!

you can't have a hazelnut praline croissant, but you can have a bright green croissant

street of Corfu

do not enter the new fortress grounds

returning to our boat

view from our window

large cruise ship is large

still docked next to the bus station

wall decoration on the boat

modes of transit: airplane

modes of transit: pirate ship

modes of transit: transformer

ferry containing large trucks

lights reflected in the water

cruise ship lights are on

fingernail moon

first course of first dinner on the boat

Greek salad

moussaka

vegetarian dinner

grapes on a nice plate

view from our window at night

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