I dined with the cats in Corfu

So, we wake up parked at Corfu. Which I had to google map about 87 times trying to remember where it was and also try to understand Greece- it’s really all over the place, if we’re being honest. I freaking love every inch of it so I was stoked.

Also, it was POURING. Like - dogs and cats. Can’t see out the window. That kind of rain. No rain coat. No umbrella.

We walked down to the gangway and decided - nope. We went back up to a coffee bar and grabbed a coffee and sat by a window to wait for the rain to clear out. The captain said the forecast was that by mid morning it should stop.

Sure enough! Around 11:30, things looked like they were clearing up so we headed back down to the gangway. We saw Mike and Diana coming in - they had rain coats and were mostly ok but others were absolutely soaked!! 

We cruised off the ship and tried to make sense of the port. I tell you - having been literally around the world to …I don’t know… a whole lot of ports, there is never any consistency. We thought there was a shuttle to take us to town. In fact, we had a piece of paper we signed to buy ticket for that round trip. But we saw no princess staff - which has NEVER happened. 

What we did see was some bus so we got on it. Listen. I would never do these things in the states. But for some reason when traveling, you just hop on busses. I don’t know what to tell you. Anyway, the bus went like… 1/8 of a mile. Which is to say - 1 minute. And then everyone was like - oh, should we get off? So we did. Where were we? We don’t know. 

Turns out, we were still in the middle of the port. There were 2 signs. One to go to Albania and then one to go to wherever the other place was. We still didn’t know. I’m all for Albania but I felt like staying in Greece made sense so next thing you know we’re walking across a very large parking lot, dodging busses, taxis, etc. and just trying to figure out if we can even walk out of this port.

Frankly, this is not our first port rodeo. We’ve screwed this up in many countries. Several continents. Both hemispheres. #Askmeanything 

So, we finally make it out alive and then realize, you know, we are literally nowhere near town. This is why there was a shuttle to take us. Which we didn’t take. Well. Decision time. We decided to just walk over to the other side of the street where we saw a cafe and have lunch with the locals. That was our goal anyway, right? Maybe we won’t see the “pretty” part of town or go into the tourist area - but local food is our goal and there was a place right there. 

We stroll in and find the dude who tells us to sit anywhere but then shows us a table. Cool. There were some local workers in dining and also - a whole bunch of cats. That’s when we knew this place was legit.

We had yet another absolutely terrific Greek meal. We got a pitcher of local white wine which was…ok. Doable. We later learned the restaurant owner bought the grapes every year and made it for their own use. Mad props, man! How cool. Not our fave, but a pleasure to try it. 

The rain was completely gone and the sun was out. What a treat! We walked back to the ship and unfortunately COMPLETELY forgot the one thing we wanted to buy on this island… they are known for their kumquats! My grandpa used to grow these and my brother and I love them. I was going to buy him a bottle of the liquor they make from them. Dang it!! We did find a Christmas ornament in the terminal shop before getting back on the ship. 

Later that evening, my brother sent a text asking what was going on and I said, “I dined with the cats in Corfu.” He said, “That sounds like a jazz song.” Maybe it should be.

We went up to the sanctuary deck and found the Malbec crew enjoying the sun. Another beautiful day in a beautiful place. We dined together in the sanctuary restaurant and headed to bed earlier than the night before, praise the Lord.