The Old Town in Corfu is really special and worth seeing, so I think it deserves a post of its own. During our vacation on Corfu, we visited the city three times and had enough time to see everything on our list of interest. This place immediately captured my heart with its good energy and positive vibes, artisan treasures filled shops, good food and authentic music, smells of spices and handmade soaps. A true adventure for the soul and satisfaction for the senses.
Our haven in the old town was a tiny café that stood right by its name - called "Mikro Café". A delightful multi-level terraced café, canopied with flowers and vines.
The Old Town is both a shopping and residential district so you can find alleys filled with goods intersecting residential ones.
As for the shops - well, that is quite an adventure. You just bring a full wallet and be ready to find the most amazing things. From handmade Byzantine icons to African masks the offer is varied and extraordinary.
In between shopping you can relax and feast on the wide offer of the Greek cuisine in small family-run restaurants which you can find in the least expected places, huddled in between the shops, or taking up a corner of a house.
My two big regrets:
Ceramic necklaces and bracelets. This is just a small section of what they had inside. The range of colors was mind-blowing and overly exciting for a color obsessed person like me. So, there I was, standing in this shop, like Alice in Wonderland (I pray to God that I had my mouth closed), but I thought my eyes are going to pop out. Not being able to settle on a favourite, I decided to choose one the next time we were there.
Now there is a thing you should know about my husband and me. That man knows I am modest and that I do not splurge on things, and when I set my heart on something, he urges me to buy it. In this case, seeing that I am not resolute, he suggested I buy several of them. The thing about me is that I always buy a piece of artisan jewelry when we are abroad. My jewelry collection is like a travel journal and memento of our travels. I treasure it deeply. And during the years, having also being given my mom's collection I have acquired a lot of jewelries. And it's a problem where to store it. So, I am very mindful when it comes to this and I choose the piece I want to buy carefully, to reflect all these memories, feelings and experiences as a keepsake. From everything I had seen there I set my heart on these and I didn't buy any. For the first time in my life. Regret it, but got over it. At least I have the pictures to look at them.
The second regret - tiles. I had a project imagined with a tile (still have, to tell the truth) and thought these would be lovely to use for it. Couldn't decide on to which one to buy and thought that I might find even more beautiful, and with all the hubbub and all the things one gets so easily distracted, I didn't buy any of these either. And that's that.
5 comments:
Oho - tiles! Whenever we're going to get the kitchen new (in approx. 10 years or so - or whenever our kitchen truely falls appart) we definitely have to go to Corfu first and buy tiles! Think I already know which ones I'd take. I wouldn't mind either the wall or the workingsurface to be (very) colourful, happy and bright. Seems Corfu is a good place to go to...
It's also due to my husband that I took that much yarn back from Lewis. Just like your's he urges me when I'm still debating with myself. You've got the perfect guy there!
Hugs,
Marjan
Ha! I jnew you'd like them! Well, I've got this things with tiles and cannot resist them to save my life. I still have tons of photo collages somewhere of tiles I snapped when we were in Tunisia ages ago. You should have seen those! Drool provoking :p
I think I saw somewhere on the internet they sell sticker tiles, so you stick them onto existing tiles but they were pretty expensive. If I find the link I will send it to you. Might not be too expensive if you consider the tile work that has to be done.
Oh the bracelets are so pretty but the tiles are prettier. Markets like these are overflowing with beautiful stuff that we naturally get confused. Plus there is always the fear of over spending so we stop ourselves from splurging. Having been in similar situations myself I understand your longing and regret well.
I love old town in Corfu! It is such a romantic place!!! Beautiful photos, Maya.
Looks like my kinda town. I have a hard time buying anything now because I know I really, really, really don't need it -- but I do have a thing for jewelry and tiles. And it's always nice to come home with a little memento from our travels. :)
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