I woke up at 6:47, 3 minutes before the alarm. It's not much, but this getting up early is wearing thin.
My husband K got up with the alarm. I was out on the veranda taking photos of our approach to Corfu, when our daughter J arrived at 7:20 to go to breakfast. I think this photo is of the pilot coming onboard, although he could be leaving.
We went back to our cabins at 8 to get washed up and to grab our supplies for the day. While awaiting my turn in the restroom, I took photos from the veranda. There was a very small island out in the water and below me, people were disembarking to start their day as the crew set up the tables and chairs for welcoming people back.
J was at our cabin at 8:15 and we reached World Showcase at 8:17. She and I got in line to get our Green 6 stickers for today's excursion. Actually, the excursion we'd chosen for today- Achillon, Kanoni & Corfu- had been changed due to work at Achillon. This disappointed us, because we wanted to see the gardens there. But, it is what it is.
Very soon, we were sent to the buses, which were on the mainland, necessitating a walk along half the length of our ship. When we reached the end of our dock, we saw this incredibly cool looking ship, but had no time to study it or google it.
We were on our bus at 8:35, but it took a while longer to gather all the rest of our tour group. Finally at 8:48, we were on the road.
Fun fact: Corfu means "an island in the Ionian Sea", which is exactly what it is. In fact, it is a semicircular island. It is mostly Greek Orthodox, but there is a large Catholic population, as witnessed by this photo.
As we motored along, we saw Corfu's small airport. We also drove by a Lidl supermarket. I was surprised to see it here, since it is a German brand. But, then again, it is all over the place. So, why not here?
Our first stop was at 9:10 for Kanoni, which is a small peninsula not far from the Old Town. It is named for the old cannon that is up on the hill where we stopped. This area is known for its beaches. There were gorgeous flowers and lush foliage at the overlook, as well as two cafés that weren't keen on tourists traipsing through for photos.
The main things to see here are Mouse Island (Pontikonissi) out in the water and the Catholic Vlacherna Monastery reached by a walkway. The view was stunning. When we went to look over the lagoon, we discovered a runway of the airport.
After the requisite selfies and photos, I went to a small shop looking for postcards and pins. I struck out on the latter, but got 2 cards for 0.80 euros. When I went out the back toward the lagoon, I found a woman waiting outside restroom. It said you needed a code, but she hoped to catch the door, when the previous occupant came out. But, that woman said it had just been unlocked. I quickly found J, so that we could both take advantage of this.
We were back on the bus and on our way again at 9:29. Now, we passed something you just don't see every day- the ruins of an early basilica. It wasn't set up for visits or anything. It was just there.
Our next stop was the replacement for Achillon- Mon Repos. We reached the park of the same name at 9:35. We got off the bus at the entrance to the park, which led us up a long drive. By now, it was a warm 77 degrees. I was less than keen on hiking through these lovely woods.Here's the map of the park:
The first place we passed was St. Euphemia Monastery, a decrepit-looking place that dates to the 15th century. However, there is still one nun who lives there and hosts people who come on retreats. Definitely a penance to stay somewhere with no air conditioning.
It might have been nice to look at some of the flowers and paths, but, like other tours, this one was single-minded. Our destination was the villa of Mon Repos. It was built in 1828 as the summer residence of the British Governor Frederick Adam and his second wife, who was from Corfu.It was the first neo-classical building in Greece. Later, the King of Greece lived here. As did other royalty from other nations. In 1921, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born on the dining room table. He would grow up to be Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth of England. When Constantine II was forced to abdicate in 1967 and fled the country, he took everything in the place with him. The villa became derelict until it was turned into the Museum of Palaiopolis in 2001. Now, it could use a good paint job on the outside.
When we were allowed inside, we found that the interior was in better shape. There were floor plans on the wall letting you know what each room was. Our guide took us around the ones on the lower floor. We couldn't linger too much, because there was another group behind us.
The room below was to the left of the front door and looked out to the water. Next is a painting of Frederick Adam himself. The last photo is of a locked ground floor room that held statues and such.
J and I joined a woman who was walking with a cane, when she found the elevator. Just couldn't imagine climbing those stairs.We rode back down with her, too.
Upstairs, it was more of a museum. Once display showed a hoard of 510 Corcyraean and Corinthian coins, that was found in the area of the ancient Agora an dated to the 3rd century BC.
The design and color of the decoration above this floor were really lovely.
Back down on the ground floor, the line for the restroom was long and very warm. Our guide had left us to get back to the bus by 10:35, which wasn't a lot of time. But, we did take a photo of the villa from the water side as well as some flowers, such as this sort of daisy with a purple center and the Hedge Bindweed.
Going downhill is not my knee's favorite. So, I was grateful, when we spotted a picturesque arch in the wall near the nunnery. It needed to be photographed.
We did reach the bus in time and just before we got on, I took this picture of the apartments across the street. They seemed fairly typical, based on what we'd seen on the drive here.
Our next destination was the Old Town, which we reached at 10:44. The bus stopped behind some other buses on the side of the street near the Old Fortress, which built by the Venetians on a promontory that they separated from the city by digging a moat. We piled out of the bus and hurried across the street.
Here, there was a lovely park with flower beds and performance venues. The fountain in the second photo is Venetian. The pigeons had a dark brown head rather than the multi-colored metallic look of our pigeons. On the other side of the park were buildings built by the Venetians.
The guide led us down a narrow passage to a plaza. Here were buildings decked in deep red bougainvillea. There was an unassuming building that turned out to be the main Catholic church. I'll post its photo further on with the description of our personal visit. One narrow building, which could have had just one house or multiple apartments was particularly lovely.
We turned down another street that headed back toward the Old Fortress. Here were fancy grill work and attractive storefronts.
We found ourselves turning onto the Esplanade, which was draped with Corfu and Greek flags. IT turned out that on May 21, 1864, Corfu joined Greece. They were prepared for the celebration in a few days. On the opposite side of the walkway were tables and chairs belonging to various restaurants across the Esplanade.
We got to almost the end of the Esplanade and could see the Gate of St. George nearby.
She let us know about a few more places we could see on our own, as she now let us loose. K, J, and I decided to go see the Greek Orthodox church dedicated to the patron saint of Corfu, St. Spyridon. It was quite elaborate inside and looked more Venetian, due to when it was built. It was rather dark. The doors were open on either side which allowed for air movement. A fair number of folks came through. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside.
We crossed through the building to the small square on the other side. Sadly, there were steep stairs to descend, but this was the easiest way to move on. I did see this gorgeous bougainvillea that deserved its own Facebook post.
J pulled up Google maps to help us find our way back to the Catholic church. The route took us past interesting things. For example, there was this building with the bells that made it look like a church, but it was a municipal building. We also saw a small grocery store and we love to see what they sell in those. I was amazed at all the personal products that were familiar.
Finally, we turned onto a square at the end of which we saw the Catholic church. It was called the Catholic Cathedral of St. Jacobi and St. Christofori, whom we would know as the Apostle, St. James, and the martyr St. Christopher. I found it interesting that the Germans call the Apostle, St. James, too. It was a much simpler church than the Greek Orthodox that we'd just left, but that made sense, since the Catholics are a smaller group here. There were stained glass windows dedicated to each saint, as well as a painting of the two of them. There was a Byzantine icon of Our Lady of Health, which was a new title for her, as far as I was concerned. It was not a Cathedral as I'm used to, but it works for a place where Catholicism is a minor religion.
Not far from the church, I saw this building with more bougainvillea. Later, I found out that it is the appropriately named Bougainvillea Restaurant.
J had talked herself into one of the donuts we'd seen at the beginning of the Old Town tour. We knew that place was near the beginning of the narrow lane we'd started off on. As she bought it, we were treated to the tolling of the church bells, since we were not far from the church. In the narrow space, they reverberated quite nicely.
It was now 80.6 degrees and it felt much warmer. K suddenly decided that he would accept the soap-on-a-rope that we'd seen earlier as a gift from J, probably for Father's Day. Unfortunately, we no longer remembered where the store was where we'd seen it and we were running out of time. J and I both remembered that it was on what could be a northwest corner of an intersection. We tore down the next wide street to our left, hoping another store would have it or we'd see the original store. We finally found the original store and I told her she could get me one, too, since she was already buying him a couple.
On the way back to the bus, we got to see some more nice plantings and got a good view of the Old Fortress and the end of its promontory.
We reached the corner where the bus had been at 12:15, but the guide was there and said it was parked farther down the street. Even though we were onboard two minutes late, there were still others to wait for. We departed at 12:24. A few minutes later, the guide pointed out the New Fortress as we passed it.
We reached the port at 12:33, but we were not dropped off near the ship. We had to get off at the Terminal, in order to go through security. We gave the guide a 5 euro tip and headed in. Security was a bit of a nothing. I think they just wanted us to go through their duty free shop.
On the other side of the building, we soon found a shuttle to board at 12:38 to take us out to the ship. Even though our bags had been scanned back in the terminal, of course they had to be scanned again as we boarded the ship at 12:45.
As usual, we headed to the cabins to dump things and for me to stuff my purse into the safe and load my shipboard small bag with camera, Day-Timer (in which I write all my notes to write this blog), and pen. We were in the Lido Market by 1.
J manned the table so that K and I could get food. I left my drink card with her so that she could get my usual Coke Zero. I picked up some desserts and delivered them to J, before going off for my food. I added a pretzel roll and bowl of fruit to my luncheon salad. K got himself a whole meal of chicken, broccoli, bread, and mashed potatoes. When it was J's turn, she got a sandwich and a piece of quiche.
We didn't want to move when we finished eating. So, I made my post to Facebook for my armchair travelers at home and J posted photos and texted with friends. K played Words with Friends.
Finally, at 2:04, we were ready to explore the upper ship forward. We made our way up to Deck 11(Sun Deck). It was a gorgeous, warm afternoon and the Sliding Dome Cover over the pool was totally open. We moved around the windbreak plexiglass panels as we made our way forward. J even took a moment to try out the elliptical machine we found up there.
We had to go inside to access the elevators and we found this amazing needlework-covered sewing scene. This is really amazing work and took major planning to execute.
We went outside on the Observation Deck to get a good look at our surroundings. There was another ship next to us. The cool thing about that was that on the other side of that ship, we could see Albania. The tall mountains in the background were on the mainland of Albania.
Then, we looked on the other side of the ship, where we had a great view
from the Old Town all the way to where we were docked. I was amazed at
the great zoom on my camera.
We were able to see that three-masted ship out in front of our ship and discovered the masts moved. This was the Maltese Falcon and it was built in Istanbul. The company that owns it uses it for charters.
We then used the elevators to check out the artwork in the forward section of the ship. Unfortunately, I do not always know what deck I found specific artworks on. I've tried googling the pieces, but I usually can't find a name or a creator for any of them.
On the Schubert Deck (7), I found another needlework sculpture that was pretty cool.
On Mozart Deck (6), we found this sculpture. On the landing above, we could see variations on Mona Lisa.
Based on timing of the photo alone, I'm going to guess that this series based on my favorite painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring by Vermeer, was on the landing above Gershwin Deck (5).
This interesting conglomeration may have been on the wall of Beethoven Deck (4), which the voice in the elevator always pronounced wrong!
And this trio may have been on the landing above in this forward stairwell of the ship.
It is a total guess, but Starry Night made from recycled toys on the left and Wheat Field with Cypresses on the right and also from toys, is probably on the landing above the Promenade Deck (3). Both are pretty cool.
2:35 found us back in our cabin. J and I went out to the verandah to work on the crossword that I'd picked up on Deck 12 and K went off to the fitness center. I wound up dozing off and J suddenly woke me, saying it was time for coloring. We flew down there and arrived at 3:33. What a pleasant way to spend an hour!
At 4:30, we took the elevator up to 12 to talk to Excursions about excursions for Tunis and Marseilles. They told us that they would probably show up after Rome. It turned out that we were on a cruise that was two 7-day cruises shoved together. The second 7 day would start in Rome.
We were back in our cabins to get ready for dinner at 4:46. I found K getting dressed after his shower. The three of us went to the Plaza Deck (2) to hear the concert from the Lincoln Center Stage, which was entitled "French Connection". Really great group!
Unfortunately, we had to slip away at the beginning of the last piece to go down the deck to our 5:30 reservation in the Dining Room.
For our appetizers, all three of us chose the tasty Chicken and Tabbouleh Salad from the "exc port to table" selections.
My main course was also from those selections on the menu and was a delicious Veal Piccata, Fresh Mozzarella, and Basil. J picked Gallic-herb Roasted Chicken. We split, as usual. K left himself out by having Salmon with Alaska Amberbeer Bearnaise. He liked it.
Dessert offered some interesting choices. I got Chocolate Delight No Sugar Added, while J chose Red Velvet Cake, which looked like no Red Velvet I'd seen, nor did it taste like one. K picked Chocolate and Whiskey Torte, because J and I were leery of it. She doesn't drink and I don't like whiskey. Actually, you couldn't really taste the whiskey. It was a pretty good cake.
K headed back to the Lincoln Center Stage to hear the rest of the set at 6:40 (from the second performance of the evening). J and I went back to my cabin about 6:45. But on the way to the elevator, I looked up and saw these cool pieces on the landing above. All are made of other things. Beautiful!
Out on our verandah at 7:08, we could see the coast of Albania.
At 7:23, the weirdest thing happened. My phone now said Vodefone AL and gave the time as 6:23. But, then at 7:33, it went back to saying 7:33.
The three of us met up for the 8:00 jewelry drawing. None of us won, but I had pink champagne and we got a pink earring and necklace set.
Knowing little about Kotor, we went to the port talk at 8:15. One thing that stuck was me that if we saw the winged lion, that was for St. Mark of Venice. We were also encouraged to get up early for the sailing into the fjord that leads to Kotor.
On the way back to the cabins, K and I signed up for the Ukraine relief walk on the 20th. We convinced J that she didn't have to walk, she should just contribute. So, we all had $25 deducted from our accounts and we were given wristbands and On Deck for a Cause t-shirts. In other years, the cause has been cancer research.
We were in our cabin at 8:55. My phone says I walked 10, 563 steps for 3.5 miles and climbed 3 floors.
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