Greetings from hot, sunny Corfu. It’s absolutely beautiful here. We arrived here early this morning via overnight ferry from Italy. The ferry itself wasn’t too exciting, but I think I’m going to enjoy it here in Greece.
Italy was very hot, and I finally caught that bug that was going around the bus so I spent my time in Rome feeling sick. Yuck. Despite that, I managed to tour the Vatican and see the Sistene Chapel, which was a bit disappointing because of the scaffolding and repair work being done on the famous ceiling at the moment. Saint Peter’s Cathedral was mainly appreciated for its air-conditioning, which is no small thing in this heat wave. It’s weird, though, how the church actually stood out, not really for its beauty but for its significance. The Vatican had – and still has – so much power, but also has been the cause of so much human suffering. It’s strange seeing the building that’s the source of all of it.
The next day was the sightseeing day in Rome, but I missed everything thanks to being sick, and pretty much spent the day sleeping at the campsite. That really sucked and I regret missing all the amazing sights. Elie’s promised me copies of her pictures, but it’s not the same.
Now I seem to be feeling a bit better, which is good because being sick is really awful and I’d hate to miss any more sightseeing.
The hotel here is one of the nicest places we’ve stayed so far, even despite the heat and the toilets you can’t throw toilet paper into. Everywhere has been an experience centered around washroom facilities, it seems. We had breakfast on the hotel roof this morning, and then headed into town for a quick orientation and some free time. I did my first shopping of the trip and bought a little silver bracelet – you know me, I’m a sucker for silver jewelry. Everything’s so cheap, too – lunch only cost me 2.20 euros. Then we went to the beach briefly. The beach here in front of the hotel isn’t all that special – it’s kinda rocky and there are sea urchins so we had to wear our shoes in the water – but it was adequate for today. And the water felt great.
Tonight we’re having a toga party, which should be, um, interesting. We actually ran into a couple of friends from home, who are just finishing up another Contiki tour. Small world.
We’ll be here until Friday morning, when we’ll be leaving for Athens and then Mykonos before heading up to Venice and then continuing on with the rest of the tour. It’s a nice interlude just being able to go to the beach and relax.
Wish you were all here!