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Thursday November 29th, 2012: Corfu, Greece
Bob: The winds and rain had abated a bit in the morning, so Captain Nash decided he would dock after all. We had breakfast with Jim and Susan and added a new walker to our intrepid group, Laurie, so after breakfast the five of us set off to walk around the port area to the old city on the end of the peninsula. The advantage of having been to Corfu previously (Wanderungs 19 and 24), was that we knew roughly where we were going and what to expect. So we guided the others along the shoreline to the old fortress built by the Venetians during their roughly 400 year long occupation of Corfu, where we turned into the old part of the city. Sure enough, when we examined the entrance to the fort very carefully, we could see the winged lion symbol of Venice carved into the stone above the doorway, just like the statue that stands in St. Mark's square in Venice. |
Monika: We met again for breakfast with Jim and Susan, since we were going to walk together to and in Corfu Town. They also had invited a single woman, Laurie, to come with us. The way towards the town was easy, just follow the seashore. We stopped at the fort for a closer look and pictures. I don't think we had noted the beauty of the large doors before. |
Bob: At the fort we turned into town and came across a grocery store where we found those sesame seed pretzels we had enjoyed so much, so we decided to stop back by on our return to the ship and do some grocery shopping. A few blocks further in we found the Jewish synagogue that remains in active use although only about 60 Jewish folks still live in the area. Laurie told me it was an Orthodox synagogue and I was supposed to keep my hat on, which confused me because I have been scolded in Christian churches for not taking my hat off! Arrrgh! It was very pretty inside and I was just sorry I couldn't take pictures either there or later in St. Spiridion's church. |
Monika: At the edge of the old town, we noted a supermarket and decided to come back to it on our way back to the ship. But then we went into the old town with all its crooked little streets, shops, and little churches. Laurie saw the sign for the synagogue. We found it and it was a small inconspicuous church. There was also a memorial to the Jews that had been killed during WWII. |
Bob: As we continued wandering into the city we were caught in a rain squall but many of the shops had awnings or small roofs so we could easily find shelter to don our raingear. However, we decided if it was going to rain we might as well have lunch and Jim found a nice neighborhood cafe where we had a comfortable and quite tasty meal. Afterwards the other three split off to have fish eat their feet while we tried to find the Archeological Museum. We did find the museum, but it was closed for renovations from May 2012 for three years (!), so we walked back into the old district. |
Monika: Jim spotted a place where you could have your feet nibbled on by fish to get rid of the dead skin. He thought about it, but then decided, first lunch. Of course, he asked - both he and Susan are extroverts - and got directions for a nice little Greek restaurant. It really seemed very authentic food and it was delicious. Afterwards we found the edge of the old town with the large park and the old fort. We wanted to see the archeological museum that was at the northern end of the park, and Jim, Susan, and Laurie wanted to back to the fish nibbling place. So we split and walked along the beautiful main park area along the water. Bob had his GPS so we did find the museum without problems, but the museum was closed for renovation. Oh well, so much for plans. |
Bob: By chance we met the other folks just as they had finished having fish nibble their feet (they said it was very refreshing!), so we joined forces again and wandered back through the city. Stopping at the market on the way back out, I found not only the pretzels but also some rechargeable NIMH batteries that I could use for Monika's camera. Yay! |
Monika: We decided to walk back along the city streets and saw some interesting side streets, before getting back to the fish nibbling place. And indeed there were our compatriots just having finished their treatment. So we kept meandering together, looking at stores, and finally stopping for a cup of Espresso at a little coffee shop. By now it was 2:30 and the stores were closing for siesta. We decided to head back to the supermarket and after a few wrong turns we did find it. We picked up a bottle of wine and some pretzels and Bob even found some rechargeable batteries for my camera. So all was well with the world. |
Bob: We got back to the ship around 4 p.m. and just sat on the balcony eating sesame pretzel sticks and pistachio nuts for a while before getting ready for dinner with Will and Cordie. There we had our usual jolly meal, after which I loaned Will a shirt and tie for the upcoming formal night (don't want to miss a good dinner!). I wanted to listen to the really good string quartet that performed on this cruise, but they had already finished by that time, so we just settled in for a quiet evening of puzzles, reading, and writing in our journal. |
Monika: We returned to the ship rather tired but ready for dinner. |
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