Been on Holiday to Corfu!

You may have noticed that it’s been a little quiet here on the Bustle & Sew blog lately.  That’s because we’ve been on holiday, spending some time in Agios Giordios, a village on the south west coast of the island of Corfu.  Such a beautiful place…..

This was the view from our balcony.  The bougainveillia was so beautiful in shade of scarlet and cerise, while the village itself nestled in a sandy bay hard up against the steep hillside….

One day we hired a car and I took this view from the road that wound its way up into the hills – so many hairpin bends – I was glad I wasn’t the driver!  Our car was very stylish – I was definitely channeling my inner Audrey Hepburn – think Roman Holiday….

I know … with my usual not very good photography skills I managed to chop off its “nose”!  It was such fun swishing along with the top down!  We drove to the north of the island, to Kassiopi, and enjoyed brunch at a little cafe on the harbourside.  I fed the fish with tiny pieces of torn up bread, and very much admired the beautiful carved dolphin figurehead I spotted on one of the boats…

Corfu Old Town is beautiful too .. of course it is a World Heritage Site – and I definitely understand why…

Though my attention was somewhat diverted from all things cultural by the amazing range of ice cream on offer (check out the image top right!).  After some deliberation I decided upon a scoop of the chocolate brownie flavour, which I think may well have been the nicest ice cream I have ever eaten! And as we walked and talked, flocks of swallows swooped and wheeled overhead, while the parent birds tended to their offspring crammed into nests in nooks and crannies in the old stucco plasterwork…

I don’t know if you can make out in this picture but there are three little babies in the nest, while the parent bird sits to the right.  I tried to catch a shot of the parents feeding their young, but they were far too quick for me!

Then back again to Agios Giordios to enjoy cool drinks and sunset on our balcony….

Wonderful!  Though I wasn’t entirely idle while I was there, making good progress on one of the projects for the August Bustle & Sew Magazine…..

A hoop featuring two little besties holding hands.  It was such an idyllic place to sit and stitch.  Indeed, I was totally enchanted by the island of Corfu.  It is a beautiful, surprisingly lush and green place, blanketed with olive trees planted three hundred years ago, punctuated by the sharp green spires of cypresses, of which I’m sure there must be hundreds of thousands across the island.  I have wanted to visit Corfu ever since enjoying Gerald Durrell’s “My Family and Other Animals” while at school, and I’m very much hoping to have the opportunity to return before too long.