2 On the Road: Corfu (Kerkyra), Greece

Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark was born in Corfu in 1921 and grew up to become Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II.

I think the ferry in front of us could haul cars. The big ship in the background is the Norwegian Jade so we weren't the only cruise ship at the dock.

We boarded a bus for our tour. It was trying to rain on us so the bus windows were spotted with rain drops. Not the best for picture taking. This is part of the defensive walls of the new fortress. Yep, Corfu has two fortresses, actually three but I never saw the third one. The New Fortress was built on the hill of St. Mark in stages. Originally started by the Venetians in the 16th century. The current buildings which exist within the fortress walls were built by the British between 1815 and 1863. One is a stone building which is now used as the headquarters of the Naval Station of Corfu.

1728 Venetian monument affixed to the Skarponas Rampart[13] of the defensive wall of the New Fortress of Corfu Town, then governed by Marco Antonio Diedo, ordered to be built by Alvise III Sebastiano Mocenigo (1662–1732), Doge of Venice

Windmill on a point

The Tower of Nerantchicha was part of the ancient 4th century BC wall of the city. It has survived because it was later used as a Byzantine church.

The window was free of rain drops when we passed back by the site later.

Our first stop was an overlook of Mouse Island.

Here you can see Mouse Island out in the bay. The island connected to the mainland by a pier is home to Panagia Vlacherna, a church and monastery.

Of course Mouse Island is the name for the tourists. The real name is Pontikonisi. The building on it is a Byzantine chapel dating back to the 11th century and only open to visitors every year on August 6th.

A different angle on Mouse Island

Barrier between the Ionian Sea and Chalikiopoulos Lagoon

Ioannis Capodistrias Corfu International Airport. No plane took off or landed while we were at the airport.

This was the first Mediterranean port we visited where the cats and dogs roamed free.

As we drove back toward the old town section of Corfu, we saw the Old Fort across the water.

As we near the Old Town area, we saw the Monument of the Union of the Ionian Islands in Spianada City Square. It commemorates the union of the Ionian islands with Greece. The monument is made of marble. In its center, there is a concentric set of steps. At the top of them is a column which bears the commemorative inscription "ENΩΣΙΣ 21 ΜΑΪΟΥ 1864" or in English "Union May 21, 1864. Surrounding it are seven marble pieces. Each one represents one Ionian island with its coat of arms made of bronze placed on the side facing the main monument in the center of the circle.

Beautiful Bird of Paradise in Spianada Square

The Liston is an arched stone colonnade in front of the Spianada along a pedestrian walkway, also called The Liston. People gather here because there are a lot of restaurants, snack bars and places to grab a cup of coffee. Designed and built during the French dominance in Corfu Island (1807-1814), according to the architectural standards of the 19th century, but also using the Venetian lamps that already existed there before 1807, the second floor was the headquarters for French soldiers and officers. Later, during the 50 years that the British dominated Corfu and just before the merge with Greece (1814-1864), they added the rest of the floors and the arches, giving the building its final imposing look

Huge lamps on the Liston

The Town Hall building was originally the Lodge of the Nobles and today it's the only building that has walls covered with carved stone of Sinies. Its construction began in 1663 and continued for thirty years. The use of this building changed several times during its existence. In 1720 it became the Lyric Theatre then, in 1903 a floor was added and it became the Town Hall of Corfu.

The bust of Admiral F. Morosini, is located on one side of the building along with the description of his enterprises, and four children around him to symbolize his virtues. The bust was damaged due to the bombing of 1687 which, incidentally, was ordered by the admiral.

The outside of the building has stone decorations representing masks, historical engravings and other symbols, like a boat which is the emblem of the island.

Notice that each "mask" is different.

The Church of Saint James is the Catholic Church. It was built in the 16th century, destroyed during World War II and rebuilt in 1970.

The street always looked crowded when our tour group went through they were sparsely populated once they are gone.

Not every old building was in good repair.

I can't imagine the demand for one of these is very high. It's not like it's going to fit in a suitcase.

Stores are quite different from what you see in the US.

Well we already saw the cats roaming free so it was time to see a dog.

Scooters fit anywhere. It's not like there are a lot of parking areas.

We went back to Spianada Square to find the toilets and saw these steep gutters along the road. Makes for interesting parking.

The pigeons like the square too.

The cats were keeping a close eye on things.

Back at Old Town we browsed the shops. There were lots of shops selling items make out of olive wood. Loved these toothpick holders

Statue in front of Saint Michael and Saint George Palace.

The Palace of St. Michael and St. George was commissioned by Sir Thomas Maitland and it originally served as the residence of the British Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands. It was built between 1819 and 1824, to a neoclassical design of Colonel George Whitmore. It's the only example of Georgian architecture in all Mediterranean.