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Published: September 3rd 2012
Corfu is the second largest of the Ionian Islands.
The island's has seen its share of unrest over the centuries. The legacy of these struggles is visible in the form of castles in strategic locations across the island. Two of these castles enclose its capital, which is the only city in Greece to be surrounded in such a way. As a result, Corfu's capital has been officially declared "castle city" by the Greek government.
In 2007, the city's old city was designated for the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Island of Corfu is known for rich scenery, numerous olive groves, turquoise waters, rugged mountains, hidden coves, and miles of sandy beaches… we saw none of these Well, okay, we saw the water.
It was a Sunday morning and we decided to walk into the old city. It was about a 30 minute walk from the port. Our first stop was, what we thought, the Old Fort. You see, Corfu has two forts in the old city. One is called "The Old Fort" and the other, "The New Fort". Both are incredibly ancient, and in the research I did to figure out which one is which, I got confused,
so for the sake of this story, I will be calling the fort we went to, "The Old Fort". Afterall, it is older than me so in my world, it is "The Old Fort".
In any case, we walked into town and went to the fort. In hindsight, I think we went to the less-exciting fort. There was no one there but Laurie, myself and another family from the ship. We had the whole place to ourselves. It was very cool, but there were no guides or information about the place, so we wandered around, took pictures, and moved on.
From the fort, we headed into the streets of Corfu. We had been told that some shiops may not be open because it was a Sunday, but we didn't experience that. Once we found the right streets to be on, we found all the stores open and the shopkeepers more than willing to sell us what they had. I bought a leather belt that was 3 euros... It turned out to be fake and started to fall apart after the third day. Really, what did I expect for 3 euros?
We bought some t-shirts & stuff and
wandered along the promenade, taking in the very expensive homes along the way. We even found a McDonalds that was selling "The Greek Mac". The picture looked good (they always do) but we decided to pass.
We wandered along the waterfront and made our way to The Palace of St. George and St Michael.
The foundation stone for the palace was laid on St. George's Day in 1819. It was built by Sir Frederick Adam, the British Lord Commissioner of the Ionian Islands. It served as the High Commissioner's residence, but was also the home of the Ionian Senate.
After the union of Corfu with the Kingdom of Greece 1864, the palace served as a royal residence until WWII.
Nowadays, it is home to a museum and art gallery.
We stopped for a break at the palace cafe. I tried the local brew (very good) and then we wandered the backstreets and make our way back to the ship.
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Deb Holbik
non-member comment
Travel Writing
Bob: I think your next 'calling' should be as a travel writer. Resorts and all. Get working on that next will you. Never mind Rick Steeves! I have enjoyed all the photos and by the sounds of it you guys are having a wonderful adventure. Here's to many more discoveries. Love ya, Deb.