Today we wandered around Corfu, a little island off the western part of Greece. It was OK, but only OK. Or as Linda said tonight as we sat with a drink watching the last stragglers get to the ship: "I wonder why this became a popular tourist spot."
Frankly, after Dubrovnik Corfu looked just a little rough around the edges - too touristy, not maintained as well, trying hard to get your money without doing much more than sitting prettily in the middle of a drop-dead gorgeous sea.
Mind you, part of our perception was jaded because we zigged when we should have zagged in the Old Town. (Every place in Europe seems to have an Old Town they use to suck in tourists, by the way. Sydney may be the only place I know with a Newtown.) We left the touristy part and got into a really humdrum and uninteresting section where it looked like the hottest buy would be used clothing. It's the section that put the Fu in Corfu.
But we finally found our way back to overpriced sidewalk cafes and brand names in English so we felt better. I knew neither of us was having the greatest of days because we ordered a diet Coke and a coffee - not our usual drinks when we're in a party mood.
After our drinks, we walked past the town's main church, named after its patron Agio (St) Spiridon. Which reminded me of Spiro in Sydney, the only guy named Spiridon I have actually known. Spiro would pobably like it here, if only because his namesake is the town's patron and all the girls think would think he looked like a rock star. But also because it feels like the sort of place that would love having a guy like Spiro around to fix whatever it is they have broken even if he is figuring out how to do it for the first time.
Anyhow, not every place is going to be a 10 on the meter, and there really wasn't anything bad about Corfu. Just not the sort of Wow things we've seen elsewhere. Pictures from Dubrovnik are here and pictures from Corfu are here.
Tomorrow is the first Tuesday in November - one of the most important dates on the calendar.
For every year on the first Tuesday in November, Australia stops to watch a horse race. This year, an hour after Australia watches the Melbourne Cup, the US opens its polls to decide the next president. We'll be cruising the Messina Straits while all the action is happening. Not sure if that's good or bad, but it is the way it is.
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