Although we have a hire car we decided that it would be better to take the bus from the hotel to Corfu Town today. It seemed that everyone else from the hotel had also had the same idea as the bus was packed and we seemed to get shuffled from being at the front of the queue to the back – what happened to a nice bit of orderly queueing? Anyway taking the bus proved to be a smart move as parking seemed to be in short supply in town.
The first thing to do was to find out exactly where we were as we needed to be able to make our way back to the bus stop. This was more challenging than it sounds as our map had the road names in English and, of course, the signs were in Greek! Once Helen had found her bearings we were set.
Corfu Town is a pretty place with lots of narrow streets with shops selling gifts and the usual sort of tat you find at holiday destinations. If you receive a holiday gift from us it won’t have been bought in one of these shops, obviously, just in case you were wondering.
Unfortunately the weather has taken a turn for the worst and there was light rain all day, but “warm rain” as my father would say. At the Old Fort, which curiously looks newer than the old fort, it was blowing a gale so we were glad to get down.
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The hotel we are staying in is very nice but isn’t a single building but lots of small units scattered over the side of a hill – it’s a little bit like a hotel version of Centreparcs. It is a steep climb from the bottom of the hill to the main building at the top where the restaurants, reception etc are so there is a funicular lift to take guests from the beach at the bottom to the top. It is the slowest and least reliable form of transport I have ever had the misfortune to use. It is quicker to climb the steps and there are hundreds of them. Just to add to the excitement the lift has two separate compartments served by two doors but only certain ones open on different levels. So, for example, only door one opens at beach level but at level four where our room is only door two opens!
The restaurant is all buffet dining and the food excellent. When I leave I will particularly miss the Greek yoghurt, honey and banana for breakfast! The only problem with the restaurant is that in order to reach your table you have to be guided there by the most obsequious maitre d’ I have ever met. Once past his slimy toadying it is fine.
