Wednesday, June 19th
Today, we walked around the town of Corfu - we really enjoyed our time there and I even bought a giraffe to add to my collection. When we arrived back at the ship, we found a nice comfy chaise lounge on Deck 7 and read some more of our books. In the evening, we went to the restaurant ‘SHARE’ to celebrate our 40th anniversary. The food was more fine dining than we are used to and so some of it was not to our liking, but the main meal and the dessert were delicious! The waiters sang ‘Happy Anniversary’ to us and gave us a special cake. Our stateroom steward, Radmila, put up a ‘Happy Anniversary’ sign and two balloons on our cabin door. That evening, we went and saw the singer, Nik Page, again - he was fabulous - well worth a second visit!
Steps for the day: 14,153
"Happy 40th Anniversary" to us :-)
Corfu architecture
Mike walking along the cobblestone streets of Corfu
Old Port Marina, Corfu - our ship is in the distance (in the middle of the photo)
More Corfu architecture
Looking across the Straits of Corfu towards Albania
Tour boat in the Straits of Corfu - Corfu Pirate Ship 'Black Rose'
At the right front of the photo is part of the seawall that surrounds the Old Venetian Fortress which is in the background of this photo
The Old Venetian Fortress - preserved the old town of Corfu inside its impressive walls - the original fortress was built during Byzantine times and later partly replaced by a Venetian structure - the citadel features two peaks which were fortified by strong towers for centuries - the western and higher peak, which is closer to town, was fortified by the Byzantines around the 12th century AD - the eastern peak was used as a powder magazine for a time - in the early 15th century the Venetians started replacing the old Byzantine fortifications - as part of their defensive plans for the citadel and to secure its perimeter, the Venetians created a moat which transformed the citadel into an artificial island - the moat exists to this day- since the creation of the moat, access to the citadel was by a drawbridge, which in modern times has been replaced by a permanent one - the fortress houses the Public Library of Corfu which is located in the old British barracks - the fortress grounds are also used for various types of art and culture exhibits
The boats which are next to the sea wall surrounding the fortress are in the moat
The permanent bridge (which replaced the old drawbridge) leading to the front gate of the fortress
Sue standing by a jacaranda tree in Spianada Square
Beautiful flowers in Spianada Square
The Liston - a long building that runs along the site of the Spianada - back in 1807, when the French ruled Corfu, only noblemen were allowed to enter it - nowadays it's full of coffee shops, restaurants and galleries
Coffee shops in the Liston building have these outdoor seating areas across from the building - there were tons of these outdoor seating areas along there which were full of people eating and drinking
Great architecture in Corfu
Mouseio Asiatikis Technis Kerkyras (Museum of Asian Art of Corfu) - opened in 1927 - a museum in the Palace of St. Michael and St. George (the palace having been built during British rule) - the only museum in Greece dedicated to the art of Asia, it has collections of Chinese art, Japanese art, Indian art and others
Walking through the streets of Corfu
Mike standing in a Corfu street
Great Greek Corfu
Wooden bicycles outside a store
The Saint Spyridon Church - a Greek Orthodox church - built in the 1580s - houses the relics of Saint Spyridon - is a single-nave basilica - its bell tower is the highest in the Ionian Islands - is the most famous church in Corfu
Horse-drawn carriage sightseeing taxi - the driver was letting the horse rest in the shade
The New Venetian Fortress - building began in 1577 and was completed by 1588 - it is smaller than the Old Fortress - built on the hill of St. Mark - the Corfu city council sent diplomatic representatives to Venice complaining about the lack of fortifications for the parts of the city of Corfu lying outside the walls of the medieval citadel - in response, the Venetians proceeded with works to build walls and fortifications to strengthen the defences of the wider town lying outside the walls of the old citadel - after the fortification works were completed the Venetians built the New Fortress to further strengthen the defences of the outer city of Corfu
Views of the marina on our walk back to the ship
All dressed up for our anniversary dinner at 'Share' - a specialty restaurant onboard the ship
Standing in the 'Share' restaurant in front of our dining table - check out the view
Standing in the 'Share' restaurant - we decided to treat ourselves to a special dinner for our anniversary - we chose 'Share' which offered a six course dining experience
Mike seated at our table in the 'Share' restaurant
A toast to ourselves on our 40th anniversary - virgin pina coladas
Charcuterie - Nduja is a spicy, spreadable salami cured from prosciutto, with prominent chilies and spices and duck prosciutto - AND Taleggio Cheese with accompaniments
Mozzarella cheese balls with tomato
Ricotta Cavatelli - Roasted sunchokes, pickled beets and a Castelmagno espuma (plump, chewy pasta pieces in a ricotta-based soup with whole roasted sunchokes [a type of Jersulem artichoke], pickled beets, shavings of rich Castelmagno blue cheese and brussels sprout leaves AND Pork Ravioli - Green curry filling coated in lemongrass cream, and topped with crunchy chicharrones
Alaska King Crab - butter poached chunks of crab with 'Pee-wee potato salad" and confit egg yolk
Prawns "Baja Style" - jumbo prawns simmered in spicy tomato water, roasted garlic and a black pepper frisee salad
Brown Butter Berkshire Port Chop for Two - a hard roasted double-bone pork rack with confit carrots, broccoli puree and a jus of whole grain mustard
Dessert time - yum - Dark Chocolate Cremeux - chocolate hazelnut custard with crispy mousse and burnt vanilla ice cream AND the waiter also gave us a chocolate anniversary cake to take back to our cabin
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