Think I’m going to need to buy a new laptop when I get home. Mine is misbehaving badly. It’s seven years old, so I guess it is just tired.
But onto Corfu. I visited here about fifteen years ago and remember it as beautiful. It remains so, but in the intervening years it has lost some of its charm as chain stores moved into old town. Still, the city has a Venetian look to it. This isn’t surprising since they ruled it for four hundred years, beginning in the fifteenth century.
There are elaborate Venetian style terraces on almost every building in the old city. On the main pedestrian market there are high arched passages, now filled back to back with restaurants.
While sitting on a bench listening to a group of young men playing traditional Greek folk tunes, a woman sat down beside me. She asked, “Are you Greek?” When I replied “I’m American.” She said, “Oh, you look Greek. I wanted to know what the song is about, but I guess you can’t help with that.” That she thought I was Greek came as a real surprise. We got into a long conversation. Turns out she is a British expat who moved to Corfu when she retired. “The cost of living is less and the weather is better.” She went on to tell me that a fifth of the Corfu population are expats from all over Europe. She also explained that every student is giving an instrument at a young age and provided with free music instruction while they are in school.
Today I once again walked a great deal, thrilled that I was able to do so. Though I must admit I took full advantage of both the many coffee shops and benches.