So it begins

'Ish' Time

Published Date : May 10, 1999

Today was a free day to explore at our leisure.  I was up early for breakfast, but promptly returned to bed for another couple of hours of recovery.  Sambuca and Ouzo do not mix well!

Sandi and I had planned a trip into Corfu city to explore the UNESCO heritage site, but time and Greek transit conspired against us.  The plan was to catch the 11am bus into town and spend the rest of the day exploring the markets and castles.  We made it to the bus stop across from our hotel in plenty of time, but didn’t take into account that Greece runs on “ish” time.  The 11am bus didn’t arrive until 1pm and we didn’t think that would leave us with enough time to get to town and back in time for dinner.

Sun and sand on Corfu

Our compromise was a shorter bus ride to a nearby beach, where we spent the afternoon exploring and enjoying our last hours of relaxation.  It’s back into travel mode tomorrow.  As excited as we all are about continuing our tour, none of us are eager to spend another 24 hours on a ferry.

Back to the hotel to meet up with the rest of our group, we discovered that another of the Canadian sister duos, Amber and Jo-Ellen, were going to miss out on the nights entertainment.  Amber was badly sunburned on the boat yesterday and was suffering from heatstroke.  Jo-Ellen elected to stay behind with her sister to keep an eye on her.

The rest of us were back on the bus for the first time in 3 days for a drive up into the mountain to a local family-run restaurant.  There we had a fantastic meal of roasted lamb, souvlaki, tzatziki, classic greek salad, baklava and wine.  The night was finished off with shots of flaming sambuca and traditional dancing.  A fitting end to our time in Greece!

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a ... zippo?

Published Date : May 11, 1999

On the ferry from Corfu to Venice

This morning was subdued. Our ferry to Venice didn’t leave until the afternoon, so we had a couple of hours to kill. Much of that time was spent packing and loading the bus, but we still had an hour or two left to putter. Most of us spent the time chatting in the hotel or saying goodbye to the beach.

Pip is slightly uneasy about our upcoming ferry trip. The US has begun an airstrike in Kosovo and the entire region is on edge. We will be sailing straight up the Adriatic Sea and there are several US Navy ships in the region. For now, the ferries are still running and nobody is anticipating problems, but it’s Pip’s job to worry.

We eventually drove to the ferry terminal and boarded our ship. Once again, we were given staterooms for the night, and once again I ended up with a top bunk. Luckily one without an emergency light this time! Making the most of the gorgeous evening, many of us sat on deck watching the sunset and enjoying the warm sea air.

The night was uneventful except for a couple of the Aussie guys who decided to play a prank on Pip once it got dark. They stood on the deck above her, tied a Zippo lighter to a string, and swung it through the air while one of the other guys standing next to her said, “Look, did you see that missile?!”

Apparently, she actually believed them for a while until someone finally let her in on the joke. She had a good laugh over it.

Back to Italia

Published Date : May 12, 1999

Venezia, here we come! Venice is another city that I’ve been looking forward to seeing. I blame it on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ��

We arrived in Venice in the afternoon, but didn’t make it to our campground until the evening. There we were enveloped in a mist of DEET and citronella as we valiantly tried to win against the cloud of mosquitoes. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes always win.

Tonight was a quiet night of settling in. Tomorrow we explore.

Sinking City

Published Date : May 13, 1999

We caught a water taxi into the city this morning. Our first stop was Piazzo San Marco where we met our local tour guide for the morning. Complete with pigeons and crowds of tourists, the square lived up to expectations. It was stunning. Our guide took us on a tour of the Doge’s Palace then we wound our way through the maze of streets to see a glass-blowing demonstration and a lace-making demonstration.

Pip gave us all maps of the city along with the advice to put the maps in our pockets and forget about them until it was time to come back to the meeting place. Venice is a city best explored through wandering, rather than planning. She was right. Sandi, Nikki, Adele and I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon meandering through the narrow streets, checking out markets and vistas as we went.

The Grand Canal of Venice by gondola

The city was recovering from a recent deluge of rain and many roads and walkways were flooded. Plywood walkways had been created in many places to compensate for the floodwaters. The flooding also added to another problem: the smell. Even at the best of times, Venice is known to have a distinct odour. With the extra water, the smell was even more pronounced than normal.

We headed back to Piazza San Marco to meet up with our group for the next activity of the day: a gondola ride. We were divided up into smaller groups and boarded gondolas resplendent with red velvet seats and a Persian rug on the floor. Our driver took us on a leisurely tour of the Venetian waterways, past the famous Bridge of Sighs, and we enjoyed exploring the city again from the water.

Arriving back on dry land we were met with happy news. One of the Australian couples, Dan and Jen, had gotten engaged while on the gondola ride. Dan had been planning the proposal for months before beginning the tour. He arranged for them to have a private gondola and he proposed as they passed under the Bridge of Sighs.

Island community of Burano, near Venice

I forgot to mention that on leaving Greece, we had a started a murder-mystery game among our tour group. Everyone was handed out cards assigning their role in the game. In order to be “murdered” the killer has to be alone with their victim. So Jen had initially refused to get on the gondola with Dan because she figured it was a setup to “kill” her. With much coaxing from Pip, Jen finally got on the boat with Dan!

Our last activity for the day was an optional excursion to the island-town of Burano. Only a handful of us elected to do this trip, and it was well worth it. The weather had started to sock in and it was extremely humid on the water, however the town was beautiful. Burano is known for its colourful homes and artist community. It was a pleasant excursion.