Greek Isle of Corfu

Hello from Vacation part two!

Our time in Corfu is the part of our travels we were most excited about for a handful of reasons. We’ve never been to Greece. Cory was off work. We were spending it with friends/locals. We were celebrating a sweet baby girl’s baptism.

The last reason is the main reason we were there… to celebrate the youngest coordinate very well with our friends as I knew it wasn’t that big of an island. Well, we didn’t see them at the airport as I thought, as we later found out, because they hadn’t arrived yet. We knew we’d connect at some point that day! No fear, we just set out for Corfu town to begin our adventures on the island. The boys needed hair cuts so off they went to the barber. Naturally, the girls decided to get pedicures. It was a fun impromptu daddy/son and mother/daughter date then we met back up for lunch close to the old fort. It’s a beautiful island and everyone is so relaxed.

At this point, we still had not heard from our friends about our accommodations, so we decided to take a ride to the north side of the island to Sidari Beach for a few more hours in the sun and sand. Once we arrived in Sidari, we needed to acquire towels and toys at a local shop. Cory was quick to handle it for us and noticed a sign that said the nearby pool was available for customers of the attached bar…this would be handy later. The kids were so excited to get in the sea! We made our way to the specific beach in Sidari called Canal de Armour, where we proceeded to change into our swimmers in an empty field/parking lot…we did say this was an adventure, right?!? Cory took the kids out into this beautiful cove and showed them the caves and stunning vistas of the sea. After a good swim and some playing in the sand, we needed a place to clean up a bit and continue waiting for word on where we were spending the night.

Now back to that pool Cory saw that was free for bar customers. We bought some drinks and turned the babies loose in the awesome kiddie pool. We were chatting about our sleeping situation for the night when we heard from our friends! They had just landed and gave us our lodging info. We finished our quick dip in the pool; then we grabbed supper at Cafe Mediterraneo, where the kids enjoyed the playground with lots of other kids dining there. Final adventure for the day was a night drive to our village for the week, Agios Gordios. Google maps only got us lost once, but no biggie, we finally made it!

On Tuesday, June 13, we showered quickly, as we’d just thrown everyone in bed at the late hour the night prior, before going to breakfast at Sebastian’s (a friend of Christos’ restaurant). They have way better Greek yogurt than we do! It is so fun to see our friend Christos at home seeing family and friends. Our families were excited to play together! We decided on the pool for the morning and had a lunch of the best chicken souvlaki and pita bread I think I’ve ever had. Yum! For afternoon naps, I enjoyed mine from our porch overlooking the ocean. Breathtaking! We also got in some beach time at Black Rocks beach. It’s a hidden gem! So Island time is way different; we were still on the beach at 9:30pm then we had supper. We finally got in bed at midnight after a simply awesome day!

The good part with this late night is that the kids let us sleep in til 9am! Bonus! We took a boat ride to see caves at Agios Georgios Pagon; it’s the clearest water I’ve ever seen! Back to our village for pool time and a fun dinner with friends. This is the way vacation should be!

The kids slept a good 12 hours Wednesday night then played at the house for the morning to really recharge. By afternoon, they were ready for the beach again. Tonight we watched the sunset at Black Rocks before we had a family style barbecue. It consisted of a Greek salad (my favorite), lamb chops, pork ribs, chicken souvlaki and fries (always with oregano on them). Delicious!

Friday night, we went to Ambelonas Winery and Olive farm for a tour and tasting. Everyone in Corfu makes their own wine and olive oil; some people turn it into a business and others just consume their own. We stopped at a Pelekas lookout to see all of Corfu and it didn’t disappoint! The Vasilaki’s have been amazing hosts with fun things planned all week and tonight was no different. We had dinner with all their family followed by Greek dancing. It was so fun but so different! Cory especially loved seeing the unique rotisseries and Greek barbecue preparations…it was stunningly good!

Saturday morning came early as we went on a boat tour off the east coast of the island. We stopped at a couple beaches, both with rocks instead of sand. Our water shoes weren’t ready to deal with the tiny rocks getting stuck in our shoes. Ouch! The third stop was to a cave you could swim in and cliff you jump from; of course, Cory did both!

Sunday was the big day! The church in Sinarades, where Haley and Christos were married is also where the baptism was held. It had a tall clock and bell tower that we heard ringing. It was such an interesting ceremony with everything done in threes for the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The ceremony, although in Greek, was beautiful as was Gabby’s gown made from her grandmother’s wedding dress. A reception followed with more Greek food and dancing. They use olive oil on everything and I cannot wait to do it myself at home. There were four courses with barbecued lamb bringing up the rear; it was so much good food! We enjoyed a dip in the pool for a bit that afternoon before getting our kids fed and to bed! I, on the other hand, got to have a night out with friends; it lead to a much later bedtime that I’m used to, but totally worth it!

Mondays come whether you want them to or not as you cannot be on vacation forever. So back to Germany we go. Next stop, Frankfurt!

Canal de Amour at Sidari Beach