Greece: Eva Grecotel Palace, Corfu

I love travelling as much as I love fashion.  Thank God, I can do both.  I am working in fashion and my work allows me to pay for my travelling(having a hard working husband helps too.  :) )

I have few options when it comes to travelling.  I don't like the hassle of sorting out visa so I go for less or no visa requirements at all.  Being married to an British helps a lot.  I have less requirements as someone with the same passport as I.

I expected nothing but relaxation on this trip.  I chose according to price and "look" of the hotel and went to trip advisor for reviews.   Luckily, I picked one of the bests.  I am known to be malas or unlucky in making decisions whilst on tour.  It made Luke ill more than once when I chose restaurants.  I have to live by my decisions everyday.  Durian shake.

Location:

The hotel is located in the secluded area, very quiet at night time apart from the nightly entertainments.  The downside is, there are only few restaurants around.  I've only seen 3.  Luke and I went on Bed and Breakfast.  Big mistake.  If you stay in Eva Grecotel, I suggest going for the full board or renting a car.  The latter is the better decision though.  Corfu is a great island for exploring.

Room:

We had to wait for our room to become available.  To be fair, we arrived 2 hours before the check-in time.  As courtesy, we receive a room upgrade.  It supposed to have a view but the only view that we have is the lemon tree.  Not that I am complaining but we were near all the amenities in the bungalow.  We had the bar less than 5 minutes from us and so is the beach and pool.  

The room had 4 poster bed, bath with shower and his & her sink.  I love the idea of his and her sink.  Usually, I had to share with Luke on holiday and I didn't have to this time.  We can brush our teeth without getting into each others way.  Little luxury but made so much difference.  

Our room was tidied daily whilst we were away.  If I have a little complain, it's the lack of replenishment for toiletries.  I didn't have to ask on some hotels that I stayed in the past so I expected to get the same treatment in a 5 star hotel.

View:

One thing you can't deny about this place is the amazing view.  You get it almost everywhere!  Almost, cause we didn't have any views in our room.  :P  It is amazing how the view can change the mood of your holiday.  In our 6 days, we had 4 days overcast and 2 days of amazing sunshine but the overcast didn't spoil the holiday.  I remember saying to Luke that the place redeeming factor in a dark cloudy day is their view.  He agreed.

Panorama view taken from the hotel bar.

Corfu Day 6 - long winding road

Time flies when you're having fun.  Cliché, but true.  

Nakakabitin magbakasyon!  When you think you are having fun, it is time to go home.  :(  Few places we discovered before we went back to England.  Stumbling to these locations was pure luck.  Thank God for adventurous husband!  :)

1.  Paleokastritsa 

I have to say, the photos don't do justice to how stunning the place is.  When we went to Sidari, we were disappointed with the long drive and the state of the the area.  We were thankful that we booked in Kommeno bay where it feels exclusive and "clean".  The short drive to Corfu town centre is a bonus too.  We can never live away from town.  At least I can't.  Paleokastritsa is an ideal place for relaxing but if we stayed there, we won't be forced to explore.  The beach, the monastery and the restaurants are within the walking distance.  There is a diving and snorkelling area too.  Just happy that we saw a different side of Corfu.

2.  Angelokastro /  Castle of the Angel(s)

Since we were feeling adventurous, we followed the sign to Angelokastro not realising how far it was.  The drive was scenic and also, very long.  The rule is to just carry on.  When you think you reached a cul-de-sac, an open road magically appears.  

Luke and I didn't go to the Castle per se.  We haven't got the strength to walk, mostly out of laziness.  He was probably tired of driving too.  We stopped when we saw the castle from a far.  We found a couple who did the same.  They asked if we wanted a photo of us and we reciprocated their offer.  Being in a couples holiday is amazing but having photos together is proving to be difficult.  Luke hates bothering people and I hate asking for favour.  Together, we're doomed.  :-P  From Angelokastro, we went back to the hotel and slept in the pool side since we already checked out.  By 6ish, we left for town centre for dinner then headed to the airport.  We were knackered.  Full day without a hotel to go back to is a bad idea.  Will I do it again?  Of course!  You get your money's worth for the full day.  

Corfu Day 5 - tanning opportunity

Friday was the penultimate( yes, I use the term penultimate.  Now, cringe) day in Corfu.  We wanted to maximise our stay so Luke and I woke up earlier than usual to stuff ourselves with the breakfast buffet and to head to the pool early.  If you haven't been to European resorts, then you'll be surprised with the amount of towels in the sun bed without the actually owner with it.  This is the resort version of queue jumpers.  As civilised humans, we refrain from doing this.  It is just unfair and selfish.  If you know my husband, he is the last person to do this.  He is too moral which is good for me.  :)

We spent the whole morning tanning ourselves.  By lunch time, I've read all 3 books that I brought with me on this trip and started re-reading one of them.  I was bored.  My only entertainment were the people on the resort.  Like this old guy for instance.  He was swimming in the pool.  His wife threw speedo on him.  He undressed immediately with his back away from us but exposing his genitals in the people in the pool bar.  When he realised this, he faced our way.  Luke and I didn't hold back our laughter.  We left soon after for the beach.  When we had enough, we left for town centre.

That day, Luke found out that he have panorama feature on his phone.  :)  These are some of his test shots:

 Private beach owned by the hotel.

 View from just outside the hotel.

Corfu town port.

Corfu Day 4 - Canal D' Amour Disappointment

I am starting to feel like I have the Midas touch but instead of turning everything to gold, I turn everything to malas.  Take this trip for instance - This was my choice.  :P  Canal D' Amour is about 1.5 hours away from Kommeno Bay.  It is located in Sidari.  Driving from Kommeno Bay to Sidari is confusing.  The rule is to carry on until you see a sign.  We had to take few stops just to make sure that we are in the right area.  When we got there, we were disappointed.  The view is good but not amazing.  It is quite unique for a cove though.  Great for taking photos but that's about it.  Not worth the drive.  

Sidari,where Canal D' Amour is, is just horrendous.  It reminded me of Pattaya.  Not my crowd, not my type of holiday destination.  We left as soon as we arrived.  Luke and I were so thankful that we were where we stayed.  Kommeno bay is a great location, near to town.   Away from the busy crowd.  I feel such a snob. Well, I am. :P  

Unfortunately, it was overcast that day.  I regretted rushing to go to town the previous day.  I could have gotten a bit tanner.  Yup, that's all I can think about.  I am obsessed with tanned skin as I rarely get to have strong sunshine on my skin.  As Filipino, we are used to the sunshine but you go to the Philippines, everyone is white.  Everyone is obsessed about whitening their skin but that's another topic.  :P  Back to the topic, when Luke and I got back in the hotel, the weather is still bad.  We stayed beach side, relaxed as I wore my two piece with towel wrapped around my body.  At about 4PM, we gave up.  Showered, slept, had feta and wine and left for town.

Corfu Day 3 - The Explorer Banks

One thing my mum taught me that stuck with me on all my travels - basta may pera ka, wag kang matakot magbyahe, which translates to more or less to, as long as you have money in your pocket, do not be afraid to explore.  The same thing I shared with Luke on this trip although it wasn't about the money but instead, petrol. :P

Before Corfu, I made a list of things that I wanted to visit:

1.  Edem for Clubbing

2.  Canal D' Amour

3.  Old Town

4.  Liston

Let me say that from the above list, our best decision was to go against the list.  The list is a good idea of what you wanted to do, at the same time, it limits you in both time and experience.  At least that's how it is for me. 

The photos below are the reasons why I love Corfu town.  I will let the photos below to explain.

 (click on the photo to enlarge)

Corfu town is very small.  The tourist spots are very easy to locate.  All you need to do is walk.  There is something historic in every turn.  It is safe.  I wouldn't dare do this in Tondo.  :P  

Whilst Luke likes certainty, I like to walk aimlessly.  When we hit an unfamiliar turn, he wanted to re-trace our route whilst I just kept on going to see what's behind every turn.  Ako naman nasusunod.  The beauty in travelling is the element of surprise basta walang magnanakaw. Hahahaha.  By the third visit, I learnt Corfu's alleyways.  I know how to go to the Old Fortress to Liston, to the Pier.  This is my proud moment when travelling - knowing my bearings.  :D

Corfu Day 2 - desperate for a tan / let's get lost

Part 1 - Desperate for a tan

Living for almost a year now in the UK made me desperate for a tan.  In the Philippines, where I am originally from, people complain of the weather being too hot.  In England, it's the other way around - too cold, when is the winter gonna end?  Since the first day was spent in bed, we both decided that this day will be spent in the beach side.  We woke up early motivated by breakfast buffet because as most of you dearies know, "you know how I feel like missing free breakfast" - Luke.  We packed our Luke's bags  with our books, suntan and water.  The first half was spent taking photos followed by endless hours of reading.  

Cliche photo.  Why not?  :P

My failed attempt to look hot.  I am too wholesome. :P

My first book from the trip was the kite runner.  Wrong choice.  I was crying on and off through out my read.  Hahaha!

Part 2:  Let's get lost

I love that my husband loves to explore.  We loves long drives too.  It's such a joy to find someone who is interested with the same interest as I.

Luke and I rented a car for the rest of the trip.  The 30 Euro bill from the airport to the hotel, 10 Euro per person travel from hotel to Corfu town, lack of restaurants in the area and the ripped off dinner helped a lot in decision making I assume.  That's a lot!  Whew!

First stop, The Church of Ipapanti.  It looked romantic on the outside that I wanted to have another wedding not realising that this church maybe Greek Orthodox.  :(  This is my dream church - small but small enough to fill up with friends and family and very scenic.  I can imagine my shabby chic wedding happening here. 

Drama aside, we decided to do action shots.  :P

 

I can't close my mouth!  We did 3 attempts for me and one for Luke.  

The plan ended with church of Ipapanti.  LOL!  Luke decided to drive around and we stumble upon Gardelades.  It was a very small town.  Too small to the point that there are only 2 roads - leading to and leaving from Gardelades.  From this day forward, Luke kept on referring to small town boys AKA Cinema Paradiso - all I want is to leave this small town and go to big city when I grow up.  

From Gardelades, we ended up in Dassia.  Dassia according to Luke is a very English holiday area.  He had an instant hate for it.  :P  We then drove and circled through Corfu town twice failing to find the city centre.  We gave up and went home.  Slept and woke up in time for dinner.  Fatties.

We took a different route to town and ended up in the city centre, finally!  Corfu town blog post will follow. :)

Corfu Day 1 - this day shall be spent in bed

Day 1:

Lately, I have been slacking with planning on holidays.  Making up as we go along best describes our trips.  I am trying to rationalise this and come up with these reasons:

1.  I am a UK resident and I will have plenty of time to go back to any European country.

2.  I too tired from work to actually organise a trip.

3.  I am lazy.  No excuse.  

I think it must be #2.  My work is knackering and leaves me no time to think about planning.  Plus planning stresses me out and I try to avoid unnecessary stress.  I love trips with my husband.  He is an explorer by heart.  He loves long drives, he loves to take good photos and he loves to experiment and try out new things.  Whereas, I can't drive, I love to be in a good photo and I like to try new things but ended up with the same old things.  He said I have a set menu for every restaurant.  According to him this is what I always go for:

Chinese = crispy shredded beef with special fried rice / yang chow

Italian = seafood pasta or lasagne

Indian = chicken rogan josh or anything with creamy sauce and tomato

Burger Joint = cheese with bacon burger

Thai = red thai curry with sticky rice

Am I getting too predictable or this is marriage life for me?  :P

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Day 1 was a day spent in bed.  We left the UK at 5:55AM flight and arrived just before 11AM.  UK is 2 hours behind Greece.  When we finally checked in, we slept the whole day.  Luke and I where both knackered.  I kept on getting interrupted in my sleep worrying that we might end up sleeping the whole day, we did.  Luke pointed out that this is a new thing to us.  We arrive early, we sleep the whole day.  Never mind, we were on holiday.  We were meant to relax.

When we finally emerged from room, it was dinner time.  We enquired at the hotel and the price shocked us, it was 35GBP per person.  As we were both sensible, we walked out and found a restaurant 15 minutes walk from the hotel, Glogpo(I think) over looking the Church of Ipapanti.

I am a bit alien when it comes to Greek food.  I've only been to Cyma, I have no Greek friends and this is my first time in Greece.  As you have noticed, Greek is not on my set menu.  LOL!

 I love cheese!  Baked feta with paprika and bread.  It was heaven for me.

Veal steak.  The steak is bigger than my hand.  It was insane.  The salad is massive too.  That night, I discovered my love for Greek red house wine.  It wasn't dry and it was strong enough for me.  Luke got pissed drinking half a liter on his own.

The view from the restaurant is amazing.  The server was very polite and warm.  We wanted to go again but we didn't get the chance.  When we finally had the car, the only destination was in town.  Too much options in so little time.  <-- Spoken like a true fatty!