At 5am we arrive at the Boutique Hotel Bella Vista in Corfu town. The taxi driver helps heave the bags up the steps and the gentleman on reception says “You must be Caroline?” He briefly explains breakfast timings etc. and tells us the water and wine in the mini bar are complimentary. A few minutes later we stand in a lovely room, simple and romantic, looking at a large vase of red roses and a bottle of fizz on ice with 2 champagne glasses beside it. Are we the wrong Caroline? It seems unlikely. We’re delighted, unsure, and too tired to figure anything out. To bed.
We sleep til about 11am and make a slow start to the day. We’re here for 2 nights (well, nearly) so today is to catch our breath and catch up on sleep. After a coffee in the garden we begin to feel a little more human and we realise we’ve been upgraded to a Deluxe room, one of the 2 Bridal Suites! It feels auspicious. The hotel is an oasis, just a few minutes from Corfu old town. It has an interesting history and we’re looking forward to reading the booklet about it.
We wander out and find an Italian restaurant by the Esplanade gardens where we sit out and watch ferries and yachts going up and down the Corfu channel which runs between Corfu island and mainland Greece. We’ve sailed it ourselves at the start and end of many charters from Corfu. I must remember to take more photos to post …. we’re out of the habit.
After sharing a salad and a perfectly cooked plate of spaghetti with garlic, washed down with half a carafe of white wine and large bottle of water, we head back for a rest! I manage to figure out how to upload yesterday’s post from my tablet, as opposed to the 1st one posted from the PC at home, and before we know it, it’s time to head out to dinner!
Down some narrow streets towards the old town and we come to a small square with a quiet hum. We pass some restaurants that look a bit too formal and find The Olive Tree, near the Cathedral which has a nice feel. We have a simple traditional Greek meal, sharing tzatziki, pork souvlaki (grilled pork skewer) and Imam Biyaldi (stuffed aubergine). Everything is beautifully cooked and seasoned – a lucky find.
We haven’t yet drunk the fizz – we’ll take it with us as we’ll need some for the renaming ceremony to appease Poseidon and the gods of the Winds (LouLouditsi has a history, more anon.)
Tomorrow we get the ferry to Igoumenitsa on the mainland and meet up again with Mike and Mary, who sold us the boat. They’re currently on the ferry from Venice, having driven down in their motor home, and they’ll drive us down to Cleopatra marina, near Preveza. This is where LouLouDitsi has been, out of the water, all shut up and “winterised” since the end of June and is where we viewed her before buying last summer. Mike and Mary offered as much or as little of a handover as we wanted of their much loved boat, and we jumped at the offer of as much as possible. We lift back into the water on Weds 2 May and there’s a lot to do before then.
Tonight the bridal suite, tomorrow, John and I will be sleeping aboard LouLouDitsi for the very first time!