Travels with Julia

About a month ago (it's been that long!) I spent a week in Corfu with Julia. I have finally posted the photos. We had a long hard summer with little time for a holiday. So when we found out we had a week free we decided to go somewhere cheap and warm. We got a deal for hotel and airfare for a week in Corfu, Greece. Maybe we went a little too cheap, while our hotel was 600m from the beach, the beach was a 5m wide strip of pebbles next to a marina. And our room fronted a road that had trucks roaring up and down all night. But after we got over these slight inconveniences, we had a great time.

Corfu is small, but not tiny. It was manageable. For three of our seven days we rented a car and explored every paved road in the north. While most of this was intentional, some was due to the lack of coordination between our map and reality. The sign would point in one direction to a town, which was on the way home based on the map, and we would suddenly end up on the other side of the island. In one case we found a cute little village of half a dozen houses and a man selling homemade wine and olive oil. How cute. How rural. I'll spend €3 for a bottle. When we returned to our hotel for sip, we discovered that it was actually vinegar. But the experience was worth €3.

We spent days driving along the coast to many beaches. Each one had its own character. Most were rocky and not sandy, but the water was clear and blue. Our favorite was Paleokastritsa. Well, I liked it alot and we were there three times, so I assume that it was one of Julia's favorites as well. There we met Nikkos, a 20 year old nursing student who rented out kayaks and paddle boats. He saw us evening out our tans, and invited us to share some ouzo. When we returned a few days later we rented some kayaks and paddled into the sea to see some amazing cliffs and caves, but within an hour my arms were aching in such a way that it could only be resolved by a bit of ouzo and a nap on the beach.

We swam. We lay in the sun. We ran for the bus occasionally. We ate well. We drank lots of cappuccino freddos. Those were excellent. It is basically an iced espresso with foam. They sweeten the coffee part before chilling it so the sugar is actually dissolved. When we first found them we had four per day until we realized what it was doing to our budget. They were perfect for the heat, every day was about 30°C, and the sun, for we barely saw a cloud. It was a really nice holiday, but a bit too short. They always are.

Corfu

The vacation that I wanted or the vacation that I needed? A bit of both. I am enjoying the good weather, for I the first time in months I have gone 48 hours without rain. I am not sunburned yet, even though I have been outside for most daylight hours. Julia is making me do a bit of work on my thesis, only because her mentor is making her email him some edits. I have been reviewing lots of literature, but none of it seems relevant to my topic. But that hasn't been the whole holiday, don't despair. Yesterday we went to the beach at Glyfides and swam in the Adriatic, today we climbed forts in Corfu Town and drank many iced cappuccinos. Tomorrow we explore the north.

Excuses, excuses

The family just left. It was nice to spend time with Mom, Dad, and the Kid. Tomorrow I go on holiday, one week in Corfu. Thus, no time to write. I know I need to write about Belgium, Helsinki, Tallinn, and Berlin, about Asian night, about groupwork, about my family's visit, but I'm tired. No, exhausted. I've been working, my thesis proposal is due in four weeks. I've been fighting, I am desperate for a consistent funding policy. I will catch up eventually. Just not tonight.