The weather was brilliant after yesterday's thunderstorm!
There were a few bus trip choices operating that were reasonably priced. Unfortunately, you can't have them all in one go and choosing the best or better is always a must. Am I right? That is why, we chose the Corfu Highlights which turned out to be the out-of-sight decision as well as good value for money.
My cellular phone's alarm was barking like a mad dog which woke us up both. It was an indication to hit the shower room and revitalise our sleepy bodies; to powder ourselves for the refreshingly cool aura; to dress-up fittingly captivating and more importantly, to eat our bowls of healthy muesli breakfast with slices of fruits. We managed all of it in less than an hour and were even 10 minutes early for our bus operator to collect us.
We were the second set of passengers to board and luckily got seats in the front row. It felt refreshing to the senses as even at that early hour it was warm. A Queen like me always prefers to sit on the front row, closer to the driver as well as the voice of our historian escort for the whole journey. Just a joke! We just got lucky that we were the first group to be collected.
It carried on manoeuvring and snaking around the roads. Stopping at designated points to collect the paid wanderers for the Corfu Highlights. The driver managed to gather all of us on schedule. Hip hip hooray!
Our first itinerary for the day was the Corfu Town. However, we only had a squeezy 90-minute to explore the capital. Wish they allotted 2 hours for this first course of the journey as reconnoitring the Old Venetian Fortress from the outside to the inside took us time. A free of charge entrance gate was wide opened connecting onto a sturdy cantilever bridge (once a drawbridge) with metal railings and elevated sidewalks. The towering height of the permanent bridge and its tower foundation below the ground served as a parking space and passageway for the sailing/power yachts. I certainly appreciated the view from the bridge deck as it wasn't just a coastal body of water (Contra Fossa Channel). It has a moat called the 'contrafossa' which has been known to the locals as transformed artificial island.
A narrow arched main gate welcomed us which was linked to a concrete rooflike shelter with cobblestone pavement and then another bridge leading to a terraced building. After those impediments, we were able to look into the handsome terrain quality of the Old Venetian Fortress under the mild heat of the sun. It had an arid feeling which kept me thinking, why it was chosen as a scene location of James Bond's 1981 film entitled For Your Eyes Only? Yes, this 12th spy film with the leading actor, Sir Roger Moore, used the warehouse, adjoining the Yacht Club in north of the fortress ruins; the stairs, behind the Venetian Bell Tower and the cliff, where Locque was shot and then pushed over.
Our tight scheduled time was ticking and even though we would love to circumscribe the whole Fortress by foot, we decided to stop. We traced our way back to the primary gate and headed to Viktorus Dousmani. The Esplanade was well-formed with handsome trees and beautified with resplendent garden flowers all leading into the town itself. Each narrow alley of different road surfaces was satiated with short storey neoclassical buildings; well-preserved and historical. However, most of the ground floor levels were transformed into monetising eating places, boutique outlets and souvenir shops.
My phone clamoured which means we only had 10 minutes more to look around the Corfu Town. We didn't panic and just walked leisurely, with the sun on our faces, going to our earmark bus on Agoniston Politechniou.
The illustrative professional escort for our trip just finished her pictorial dialogue about the Achilleion Palace. We were then directed to take the right side of the Palace which had paved staircase en routing to our stand by bus. I was quite hungry that time of the day and ate everything in my lunch box. I could feel gently the striking heat of the sun but the cooler air inside of the bus alleviated the melting atmosphere. When our professional escort finished counting her eggs (us, the passengers), she thrilled us about liqueur and artisan sweets tasting at this newly built building of Lazaris. A family rooted business which began in 1924 and is now administered by Konstantinos Lazaris with his passionate team. I was able to taste their locally prepared, traditionally made and served inside the building, Kumquat Liqueur. I tasted all four liqueurs with different strengths and flavours but there was only one that passed my finicky palate, the Crema di Limoncello. Over and above, we tasted their gastronomic tradition of the island and handmade colourful sweets, too. Reluctantly, I was thinking of buying a bottle of liqueur but my attention got diverted to their cans of Olive Oil and the relishing pepper flavoured fig pie. So, we ended-up buying 2 small cans of olive oil as presents and the fig pie for personal consumption. It was a delightful sojourn to Lazaris' cosy and airy interior with complimentary home-made products.
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| (Photo Courtesy of Lazaris Distillery & Artisan Sweets' Facebook Page) |
(Left Photo Courtesy of Lazaris Distillery & Artisan Sweets' Facebook Page)
We headed back into our bus and soon set off to visit the turquoise water of Liapades Bay in Paleokastritsa and also, enjoy the idyllic landscape of the Paradise Beach. More importantly, we were there to consume food as our diminishing energies had swallowed our enthusiasm and excitement. We arrived and I was charmed by the welcoming crystal clear turquoise water as well as fascinated by the tenderness yet big rocky mountain formations verdant in foliage. Revealingly, it was worth travelling to and then, indulging on the sandy beach of this preserved gem of Corfu. I'm hoping that despite the monetisation from the tourists, they will perpetually safeguard its lush and precious beauty.
We had a satisfying luncheon with an exceptional and picturesque vista. Our bus driver started the engine and allowed us to relax in our respective seats. The kickoff for our penultimate destination initiated and we meandered along these green steep uphill roads. We also walked by foot and passed through a forest of olives and cypresses before reaching the entrance to a 13th century Byzantine Monastery. The entire residence of the monastery was built right beside the breathtaking view of Moni Theotokos and the sea below. I admired the stunning aerial views of Angelokastro and the Liapades Bay. The inside of this historical friary had vibrant hues of sturdy & healthy plants; a large chapel dedicated to Pangian (Virgin Mary) of Paleokastritsa; a small basement liqueur shop and an ecclesiastical museum with rare items/memorabilia. If you are a woman and wearing above-the-knee dress with no sleeves, you will be asked to wear the in house skirt and cover your shoulder with a shawl.
We walked back along this downhill road surface again under the cooling foliage of olives and cypresses leading to our stand by bus. Our driver had an ample relaxing time while waiting for us and was very ready to drive back down to the snaking road configuration with complex and demanding manoeuvring skills. He did an outstanding steer and more so, when we headed up onto the narrow labyrinths of Bella Vista Sunset Restaurant. It was a scratch free joyride despite the fact that the bus side mirrors were just a few inches away from the facade of each building.
The Bella Vista Sunset Restaurant on Epar.Od.Pelekas-Kastellanion had a comforting and restful ambience which made it ideal as our ultimate destination. It had sliding doors leading to this heart-stirring terrace with aerial views of the sea and neighbouring beauty of rocky/vegetative mountains.
That was the whole itinerary of our bus tour in which we visited and learnt about historical buildings; discovered and touched down breathtaking places as well as sampled and tasted some of their delicacies. We drove on a desolated road surrounded by prosperous trees and one by one, we were taken and dropped back at our respective collecting points.
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