Day 95 : Corfu Old Town & Kanoni

While at Vespa yesterday, I was recommended to go visit Kanoni, a place where one can see planes fly in.

I decided to take another long walk as there were also a few spots I wanted to see along the way.

The first being the New Fortress located very close to where I was staying. However I couldn't seem to find the entrance in. When I did, it turns out the entrance was closed for access.

I however found a Farmer's market located round the corner from the entrance to the New Fortress and decided to cut through the market, spotting some seafood stores, fruits and vegetables and even this interesting range of candles in the market.

The next main spot was a million dollar view - view of the old fortress with a backdrop of snow mountains, and the windmill on the other end.

I continued my walk to Kanoni, coming across this unexpected Corfu sign on the way, with the airport runway at the back. 

I finally settled in at Kanoni Cafe for a late lunch at 2.30pm, again the only place that was open for a meal after walking a long time. 

And I got to dine with a view - the church in the distance is the Vlacherna Monastery. 

I ordered the Sofrito, a Corfu dish of beef cooked in garlic sauce, white wine, parsley and vinegar, along with a glass of red wine.

Wine is slightly more expensive here as compared to in the Balkans but still relatively cheap at €3. Definitely a very full glass of wine! The beef was also really good!

I was originally intending to walk down to see the monastery close up, but after learning that the walk requires me to back track by quite a fair bit, I changed my mind.

I even got to see 1 plane flying in while I was there.

The walk back to Corfu Town passed through the archaeological site of Palaiopolis - the roman baths and the early Christian Basilica. 

Round the corner from the archaeological site was Mon Repos Palace.

Mon Repos Palace was built in 1826 by the British Commissioner Frederic Adams as a gift to his Corfiot wife, Nina Palatianou. Later on, the palace became the summer residence of all British governors of Corfu and when the Ionian Islands were united to Greece, in 1864, it was given as a gift to King George I of Greece. 

This is also the house where Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Queen Elisabeth II, was born into on June, 10th, 1921.

I finally arrived back at the Old Fortress at 4.45pm, with numerous stops of rest in between. 

I was originally planning to climb to the top of the lighthouse but the access path was unfortunately closed off too.

So I went down towards the marina to say hi to Duane. 

He was just starting a video call to do a virtual tour of Corfu with an organisation he works with, and so we went off walking around the fortress and the Old Town and finally near the new fortress while I walked his dog Athena.

When his call was done, we headed over to Vittori bar for a beer and pinsa, before calling it a night. The bar only opened 1 month ago and every time I passed by, it is always packed. I was pleasantly surprised they allow dogs inside the bar.

The Pinsa was just average unfortunately, the one in Colonial Bar, Tirana was a lot better.