Grand Event Cruise – Corfu, Greece

Posted on July 25, 2012 by CruiseMiss — 1 Comment

Today we arrived in the hot and sunny port of Corfu. I think come 9am it was already something ridiculous like 30 degrees and it was only going to get hotter!

The port here was actually quite nice; it was not built up or covered in containers. It was not really a working dock at all so quite nice to be able to get off the ship and stroll along to the port building, admiring the ship as it got further and further away. From here we would get a shuttle bus into the old town which was only about 10 or 15 minutes away if that.

When we stepped off the bus there was nothing about that first glance that filled me with excitement, if anything the dock had been nicer! But, never judge a book by its cover as they say and I am certainly glad I didn’t. We crossed the road and headed towards the old town, once through a small arch way it became evident that this was a little kingdom hidden away, you had to discover it not just stumble upon it.

It was wonderful; it opened up into old winding streets filled with small stores selling the gorgeous olive oil soaps and other local goods along with the throat burning and brain melting Ouzo. There were also a few small bakery stores here and there and it was almost impossible for me to resist the Baklva. They were huge pieces too; I imagine there must have been a million calories in each one.

We continued to follow the winding streets and admire the beautiful buildings of this area. Eventually we came out into an open area, to the top was a museum, in front were restaurants and beyond these a small park area. Although the grass looked like it had seen better days it was still quite pleasant but directly in the sunlight, the melting process had once again begun.

By now the heat was almost unbearable, it was agreed that an ice cold drink and 5 minute rest was in order. We found a nice little café and watched the locals go by. It was wonderful, so peaceful. This was one of those places I could quite happily stay all day just people watching and not get bored for a second. It had nothing to do with the free WI-FI, promise!

Corfu was one of those places that I always enjoy. I don’t want a huge shopping mall, if am going to shop on holiday I want small stores with locally produced goods, things that are traditional and handmade. If I want a pleasant stroll I want to be surrounded by beautiful buildings, not new modern ones, old ones that often look like they need a little TLC. For me Corfu provided this. It was a genuine taste of life here.

After another hour or so exploring we made a start on our journey back towards the ship. We got on the shuttle bus no problem at all but once we arrived back at the port building it became a living hell. I think every single passenger decided to go back at the same time, the queue almost stretched back to England. It was extremely hot by now and the local authorities we trying desperately hard to get the queue into a shape which would allow everyone to be inside the building and out of the direct sunlight. It seemed at first like we would be there forever but in reality I think it only took about 20 minutes before we were through security and walking back towards the ship.

The view coming back to the ship was wonderful as now also alongside was the Star Clipper yacht Royal Clipper and she looked amazing. All I wanted to do now was get back onboard and onto deck 17 so I could look down upon this small beauty and see what her open decks were like. I was not disappointed, aside from a lot of rigging the open decks were actually quite spacious and there were quite a few people enjoying the sunshine. There were I think 2 Jacuzzi tubs, a few spots with sun loungers and I think a small terrace type bar area. I could be wrong but that’s what it looked like to me.