Goooooood morning from Doukades, Greece!!
It’s been a few days since we have shared a blog post. Mostly that is due to not a ton of exciting events to share. We spent our couple of days in Albania relaxing and catching up on some much needed rest. We had a fantastic time in Czechia but it was also super busy and I think we both got a little worn down. Brett came down with a little bit of a virus which took a toll on his energy but it seems to be fast moving and with lots of rest and vitamin C (thanks Sherry!!) he is getting back to full speed now.
The people of Albania were very friendly to us and helped us with any inquiries we had. We knew it was shoulder season when we planned to be there however I don’t think we realized just how quiet it would be! We found it a bit difficult to find restaurants that were open near us and ended up going to the Sparr market daily (if not more!). Luckily it was just across the street. We spent a lot of time walking around and taking some sun. While Brett caught up on his rest I would hang on the balcony, read my book, and enjoy the sea view which was spectacular! We enjoyed some yummy food like fresh tomatoes and feta which was amazing! I even had an imported beer…..It tasted the same as in America lol. We found out that Albanian beer (or at least that which we tried) was not very good. Albania seems to be a country that is still trying to develop its tourism industry. That is just from our perspective having spent a short amount of time there. We think that in the height of summer it is probably a pretty hopping place to be!
We woke up Tuesday at a reasonable time and prepared for our walk to the ferry. The weather was temperate and made the walk nice and enjoyable. We had no issue getting the ferry back to Corfu, Greece which was very nice after our previous tribulations. The ferry ride itself was very nice and enjoyable. There was a breeze most of the way not to mention there was fantastic people watching. It’s always fascinating to me to hear all of the different languages spoken by visitors and further to that I found it interesting how many of them transition between their native language and English while having a conversation.
Once in Corfu we made our way to the rental car office. We had planned to splurge a little on our rental car since it is our honeymoon and all! I’m beyond excited about the car. The lady at the rental office was the cutest and so very sweet. She told me, “It’s a bride’s car!” To which I told her, well yes we are on our honeymoon! She was so surprised and said “Really?!” She just loved that and even noted that we are from Loveland. I’ll post some pictures tomorrow but we got an Audi A3 Cabriolet in White. I was pretty nervous to start the drive because Corfu is such a busy city and the drivers seem crazy! It wasn’t bad…….however Google put us in a tight spot – LITERALLY. We were not in the mindset to take pictures at the time which is a shame but we got directed down a road that became so narrow that even our little convertible could not fit!! I then had to reverse all the way up the lane. I then had the [not so] great idea to attempt to turn the car around using someone’s driveway. This proved to be more difficult than just reversing the whole thing. People joke about 30 point turns, I think mine was in fact 15-20. It took a lot of communication and kissing a scooter multiple times before we got the car around. I was so grateful to have Brett there helping me to stay calm and giving me queues so that we made it out of there with no issues.
The place we rented is in Doukades which is a traditional village in the northwestern part of the island of Corfu. It is located in the municipal unit of Palaiokastritsa. It’s population is somewhere around 600 for the village and 700 for the community, including the village Papathanatika. The name of the settlement came from its first inhabitants who bore the name Doukas (Δούκας, meaning duke). The earliest written reference to Doukades is a notary writing from 1616.
This is one of the cutest and smallest towns we have been to thus far on our trip. There is one tiny road going through town (you have to honk your horn as your go around the corners so other drivers know you are there!). There is also a small square with a market/bar, postal office, and 3 taverns. We are excited to hopefully try all 3 while we are here! I went to the market yesterday and couldn’t believe how affordable everything is! I got some snacks, a bunch of water and shrimp, cauliflower and wine for dinner, only spending 13€ (this is pretty much $14)!
Our hosts are beyond friendly and the cutest couple! The house, Amelia Stone Maissonete, used to be a traditional horse stable back in the day. It has been fully updated and transformed. Brett and I agree that this is probably our favorite AirBnB we have ever stayed in (and we have rented a lot!). As soon as I arrived I was already wishing we had more time to spend here. Every little detail is beautiful – the kitchen is on point, the exposed old stone walls, the bathrooms, the patio, the balcony from the bedrooms. They even have in-floor lighting inside and out to highlight the beauty of this house. They gave us a thoughtful traditional gift upon our arrival and even had the fixings for breakfast in the fridge for us. At first I thought I might be sad to not be by the sea but this little hill town is just so beautiful and quite. It’s very peaceful being here in the hills. We are so excited to be here and explore the island of Corfu more!
Devious Owl 