Today was our travel day from Corfu to Athens. We began by waking up with the biggest hangover of the trip as a result of the generous drinks at the toga party. Thankfully we didn't have any activities to do today, just ferry and bus travel.
We took the ferry from Corfu to Igoumenitsa, which only took an hour and a half. Being hungover on a moving ferry on the sea is an interesting experience but not necessarily something I'm looking to recreate. After we got to the mainland, it was on to the bus and then we had six hours of bus trip to get to Athens.
After a couple of hours we stopped at Amfilochia for a gyros! A bit like a souvlaki but smaller and contains hot chips as well as the standard meat, salad and tzatziki. It was the perfect antidote to our hangovers which were being aggravated by the bus travel.
We got in to Athens around 6pm. Our bus parked a couple of streets away from our hotel and we got to walk through the alleyways (which remind me a lot of Melbourne) to get to it. We had some time to have a shower and a quick nap and then we had dinner at a little restaurant which had two live bouzouki players. Afterwards we did a bit of souvenir shopping and a group of us shared a shisha at a little bar around the corner of the hotel.
I want to live here forever. I really love Athens. Also, if anyone is concerned, the streets are safe to walk at night and everyone seems happy and conflict-free.
Tomorrow we get to explore the Acropolis!!! I'm so excited! I think I might get a little bit emotional.
Showing posts with label igoumenitsa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label igoumenitsa. Show all posts
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Day Six
Today we got up early again to catch a ferry from Igoumenitsa to Corfu! It was only an hour and a half and we spent it on the top level of the ferry under a canopy for shade, looking out onto the sea and mainland Greece. One of the boys brought a football so we kicked it around much to the amusement of the Americans and Canadians who didn't know anything about AFL.
Seeing Corfu Town from the top of the boat was really lovely. We came in to the older part of town with the beautiful Venetian architecture and impressive Byzantine fortress on a hill. All the buildings were painted pastel colours with typically Venetian window shutters and little cobbled alleyways.
We were actually upgraded to a four star hotel that had an amazing pool and poolside bar, it was really nice. After checking in, we headed off to spend the day on George's boat.
So we went straight to the harbour in Corfu to get on George's boat. We had been warned that some of the things George said were inappropriate but it turned out that every sentence he said was blatantly sexual. He was actually hilarious and a really great tour guide for the trip. First he took us to a little dock in the middle of the bay where there were some performing sea lions (so cute) with trainers getting them to do tricks. He also showed us the highest point of the island and knew a surprising amount about the flora of Corfu.
Then we stopped off at a little beach towards the south, where we could choose to do some water sporting activities, or swim, or sunbake. George gave us some pool noodles (guess the innuendo for that one) so we could float in the beautiful sea. We all jumped off the boat into this clear blue water, it was perfect. The beaches on the east side of Corfu have rocks instead of sand so it was ingeresting to navigate that for the first time. I decided not to do any water sports and opted instead to stay floating in the sea as long as possible with some friends. George made us hot chips, salad, sandwiches and tzatziki for lunch and it was the best tzatziki I have ever tasted.
After everyone was finished with parasailing and wakeboarding, we got back on the boat and sailed around for a bit. After a while George called all the Australians to the front of the boat to sing the national anthem. This was made much easier by the fact that we were allowed to drink after the water sports had finished. Then he called out for the New Zealanders, Canadians, Americans, Brits, and so on until everyone had a chance to sing.
Afterwards, and in high spirits, we set sail for a smaller island off Corfu which George has named Skinnydippy Island, so guess what we all were instructed to do. A surprising amount of people were up for it, so it was a good time.
We left George's boat at 4pm after having the best time. I had such a good time that I forgot to take any pictures. We also bought tshirts from George that had a wide range of sexual innuendo picture puns on the front (I chose the least offensive one) and a huge picture of an orgy on the boat on the back of the shirt.
After the boat we went to the beautiful hotel pool to relax with some drinks. Then we went to a huge traditional Corfu dinner with dancing in circles, rings of fire and smashing plates. Again, I had such a good time that I forgot to take photos. But we've been talking a lot about "mind pictures" on this trip and I've certainly taken a lot of those.
After dinner we went to a local club in old Corfu Town which was also a good time. We stayed out late but it was alright because the next day we were allowed to sleep in! By "sleep in" I mean sleep til 8am. The next day was our free day to do whatever we wanted, so we chose to hire a van and beach hop. More adventures to follow!
Seeing Corfu Town from the top of the boat was really lovely. We came in to the older part of town with the beautiful Venetian architecture and impressive Byzantine fortress on a hill. All the buildings were painted pastel colours with typically Venetian window shutters and little cobbled alleyways.
We were actually upgraded to a four star hotel that had an amazing pool and poolside bar, it was really nice. After checking in, we headed off to spend the day on George's boat.
So we went straight to the harbour in Corfu to get on George's boat. We had been warned that some of the things George said were inappropriate but it turned out that every sentence he said was blatantly sexual. He was actually hilarious and a really great tour guide for the trip. First he took us to a little dock in the middle of the bay where there were some performing sea lions (so cute) with trainers getting them to do tricks. He also showed us the highest point of the island and knew a surprising amount about the flora of Corfu.
Then we stopped off at a little beach towards the south, where we could choose to do some water sporting activities, or swim, or sunbake. George gave us some pool noodles (guess the innuendo for that one) so we could float in the beautiful sea. We all jumped off the boat into this clear blue water, it was perfect. The beaches on the east side of Corfu have rocks instead of sand so it was ingeresting to navigate that for the first time. I decided not to do any water sports and opted instead to stay floating in the sea as long as possible with some friends. George made us hot chips, salad, sandwiches and tzatziki for lunch and it was the best tzatziki I have ever tasted.
After everyone was finished with parasailing and wakeboarding, we got back on the boat and sailed around for a bit. After a while George called all the Australians to the front of the boat to sing the national anthem. This was made much easier by the fact that we were allowed to drink after the water sports had finished. Then he called out for the New Zealanders, Canadians, Americans, Brits, and so on until everyone had a chance to sing.
Afterwards, and in high spirits, we set sail for a smaller island off Corfu which George has named Skinnydippy Island, so guess what we all were instructed to do. A surprising amount of people were up for it, so it was a good time.
We left George's boat at 4pm after having the best time. I had such a good time that I forgot to take any pictures. We also bought tshirts from George that had a wide range of sexual innuendo picture puns on the front (I chose the least offensive one) and a huge picture of an orgy on the boat on the back of the shirt.
After the boat we went to the beautiful hotel pool to relax with some drinks. Then we went to a huge traditional Corfu dinner with dancing in circles, rings of fire and smashing plates. Again, I had such a good time that I forgot to take photos. But we've been talking a lot about "mind pictures" on this trip and I've certainly taken a lot of those.
After dinner we went to a local club in old Corfu Town which was also a good time. We stayed out late but it was alright because the next day we were allowed to sleep in! By "sleep in" I mean sleep til 8am. The next day was our free day to do whatever we wanted, so we chose to hire a van and beach hop. More adventures to follow!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)