Asian art in a British building in Greece...

When we arrived in Corfu, we heard it was a major tourist destination, and based on the area the marina was located, we couldn’t figure it out.  So we decided to leave the comfort zone of the marina and venture into Corfu Town.  We had been there before to deal with the Votafone office and customs, but the Fodor’s book said there was a lot to be seen. 

The first line of business was taking a bus there.  Easy enough.  We knew to get on the Blue bus going towards town and to purchase the pink ticket, €1.30.  The bus was supposed to come about every 15 minutes so we waited.  More people from the marina came and waited with us and the bus pulled up.  The bus was packed.  We couldn’t see through to the other side.  There were people sitting, standing, sitting on each other, absolutely packed with people.  We hesitated but the driver opened the doors so we moved towards him to see what he could offer.  The people from the marina had the wrong type of ticket so he shushed them away and yelled at them in Greek.  He took my ticket and motioned for me to board and Dad held onto my backpack to make sure we weren’t separated.  We ended up standing on the stairs that led out of the bus where the door opened and closed.  He tore our tickets and we were off.  The driver started talking to me in Greek and when I said “English?” he apologized and just motioned to the doors.  What he was doing was warning me because the door opened towards us and was going to catch my backpack.  He stopped to let 3 or 4 more people on the other door’s stairs and then we were officially full.  Riding on the very front of a bus in Europe was an experience.  I was literally pressed up against the window and could see everything we were about to hit, but missed.  It was very much like riding a Disney bus.  The amount of people and the way the bus driver drove, but they never let guests that close to the front window.  There was one close call when an older woman was leaving church and shuffling down the side of the road.  The bus driver laid on the horn and she didn’t hear it coming so she kept walking.  I am pretty sure he nudged her and that was how she realized it was there and moved over.  It reminded me of the bus in Harry Potter… (all of my Harry Potter reading friends please forgive me, it’s on my list while I’m here!) but the bus with the talking head driving that stops for that old lady to cross the road.  It was very much like that.  Oh and the AC was broken, not that it would’ve been useful with all of those people on the bus, but the driver stopped just to tell people to open the windows because it was getting too hot.  Dad and I were wide awake when we made it to Corfu Town.

When we were dropped off in the middle of town where we had been before, we decided to follow the string of tourists to see what the town had to offer.  I had the Fodor’s book and saw there was a “Walking Tour of Corfu” so we picked a couple of spots to head for and walked.  The road we were walking on led us to touristville.  No kidding.  Streets of ticky tacky shops full of tourists.  Apparently this is a major cruise stop for the Greek Islands.  I am still not 100% convinced that it was a great place for tourists to hang out, but I enjoyed myself.

This is the main area of town, Liston.  Like I said there was nobody on the streets and only a few shops open, and then you pass by the McDonalds and a sea of people emerges.  This is also where the nightlife flourishes.

This is our first piece of baklava in Greece… it was Heaven.  Dad really enjoyed it and said it was one of the best pieces he has ever had.

Corfu Town is a hodgepodge of architecture and cultures.  There is Venetian, French, British, and of course Greek influence throughout the city.  It is the capital city of Corfu and I think the fact that over a million tourists visit a year and the population of over 100,000 people has given it a touristy flair that was a bit of a turn off.  Corfu itself is supposed to be on the more picturesque islands in the Greek Islands and while the coast was nice, I don’t think we really experience this.

Ok I guess it is pretty picturesque.  This is a view from the top of the hill the city is located on.  Not too bad.

What we did experience was fun though. 

The Church of St. Spyridon was one of the coolest things.  There was a baptism going on, but like most of the churches in Europe, the doors were still open for people to come and go as they pleased.  We were there on a Sunday and you could see the crowd of people circled around the ceremony as the child was being baptized, and then around them were people coming and going buying candles and doing other official Sunday business.  I can’t even begin to describe how impressive the church was inside.  Frescos and gold detail everywhere.  The ornate designs were breathtaking and awe inspiring.  What was interesting was there were no crucifixes or any sign of the crucifixion at all inside the church.  The exterior had a bell tower that is considered one of the central figures of Corfu Town.

This is the exterior of the church.  You can see the bell tower is a pretty prominent figure.  It can be seen from practically anywhere in the town which is pretty cool.  The church is surrounded by gray buildings that serve as religious trinket shops and apartments.

This is the baptism we got to see inside the Church of Saint Spiridon.  The photo doesn’t do it justice at all, but you can see how everything around the baptism was lit up and the rest of the church was in the dark.  It was so beautiful.

A Greek Orthodox priest.  It was Sunday so they were walking all around town, and it was fun to see some who were visiting, shopping for trinkets to take home or send to loved ones.

We also saw the Palace of St. Michael and St. George which also served as the Corfu Asian Art Museum.  The building was constructed as a residence for the lord high commissioner and headquarters for the order of St. Michael and St. George, but was abandoned after the British left in 1864.  Later the building was renovated and turned into the Museum of Asian Art which is a bit odd.  It was free on Sunday so we decided to take a peek and we both stopped at one moment and realized that we were looking at ancient Asian art, in a British built building, in Greece.  It was a good collection and displayed really well, but was just a little hard to get into.  You would go in one room and it would still be one of the great halls with all of the original art and furniture from the British days, and then you would walk into the next and there would be a display of Asian erotic art. 

This is Asian erotic art.  Don’t try that one at home folks.  There was an entire section of the museum with pieces much like this one displayed.

This is Mow and I posing outside of the Palace of St. Michael and St. George/The Asian Art Museum.  I am not sure who the statue is representing… there was no plaque.  

 I don’t know the rules of cricket, or any idea of how to play the game, but we got to watch a cricket match in the park which was fun. The pitcher uses his entire body to throw that ball and then a guy with a paddle like bat hits it.  They wear white and baseball hats.  I have just bestowed all of my cricket knowledge onto you.

All in all it was a good trip away from the boat and marina and we got to see a lot of interesting things.

Now just raise your fist up under your chin… this was a statue set in a small courtyard on the walk to the main square from all of the tourist areas.  This is Costas Georgakis, a student who was born in Corfu in 1948 and burned himself to death in Genoa, Italy in 1970 for the freedom and democracy of Greece.  Ok then.