Day 12 - tour of the south of Corfu and Achilleion

The group walking up to the Achilleion

This was our chance to compare the south of Corfu with the north which we had seen by both coach and boat. Our base at Dassia was a little north of the main town so it was through there to Gastouri to visit the magnificent Achilleion Palace built by Elisabeth, the Empress of Austria late in the 19^th century. She was fascinated by Greek culture and mythology which explains the murals inside and the statues that dominate the immediate garden area, the main two being of Achilles the warrior and Achilles trying to pull the fatal arrow from his heel. (Alot of the women compared him most favourably to Brad Pitt and took quite a few photos of the rear view of the statue - for obvious reasons! :) )

The rear scape .... sigh

Front scape

We then took a short trip down the hill to Benitses with its relatively new marina for a refreshing waterside coffee. Most of Corfu is either waterside or mountainside. From there it was through a few villages before cutting across the narrower portion of the island at Messongi to the west coast village Angirades. The three hour stop was planned to allow for plenty of swimming and sunbathing but unfortunately the north wind had started to blow making the swimming option somewhat less desirable. The alternative of a stroll around the shops and a few pre lunch drinks in the scenically placed Panorama Restaurant was acceptable.
Then came the traditional Greek dish of baked lamb and eggplant, Mousaka. On our leisurely coach trip back Malcolm plugged his iPhone into the dashboard and gave us a selection of his eclectic musical tastes. We don’t know whether the sun had been getting to him but he had trouble identifying some of the artists. During the trip we made a nice collection for the driver Kostas and the guide Sophia who had been very obliging over our three days of touring.

As for the comparison, the south was equally as charming though much narrower and less mountainous.

Because of the wind in the evening we set up a long table in Saki’s bar which became the forum for some joke telling and an unusual version of Galway Bay delivered by Dick in a beautiful baritone voice that would have made Bing Crosby envious (at least that is what the ever modest Dick maintained!