Autumn in Corfu - For Your Eyes Only

We were really excited when some of our festival friends told us that they'd be in Corfu at the same time as us so we arranged to meet up for lunch. Travelling the 30km distance to see them involved catching a couple of buses but with it being a Sunday the service was quite limited so we decided to hire a car from lovely Mr George Michaelis in the village and take in a few sights along the way.

Our first stop was Pagi, one of the locations used in the 1981 James Bond film, For Your Eyes Only. 

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At the time of filming United Artists was on the brink of financial ruin and it was decided to film on Corfu to save money. On previous trips we've visited other locations where the film was shot, the New Fortress in Kerkyra HERE and The Achillion HERE. 

Pagi was the location for the infamous car chase featuring the yellow Citroen 2CV

  

After Roger Moore popped into the village taverna during filming, owner Spiros subsequently changed its name to Bond 007. We'd planned to stop for frappes and bougatsas (Greek custard pies) but discovered to our dismay that Spiros didn't open until midday so I've had to nick this photo of the interior from TripAdvisor.

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It wasn't a wasted journey though as we're always delighted to explore a traditional Ionian mountain village.

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Spot the cats, Ruth! 

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We loved the photos on the graves in the cemetery showing the departed villagers in their traditional dress.

Many of those buried here lived well into their 90s. The beautiful woman below died when she was 100 and we found another who'd lived until she was 102. 

We headed to the nearby beach resort of Arillas, close to where 007 wandered along the sand in his dinner suit...

  An area we'd not visited before, it had a very surfer-y vibe and reminded us of El Cotillo in Fuerteventura where we'd stayed back in February (HERE). It was ridiculously windy and both the beach and sea were deserted.

Next stop was Sidari (or, as Jon & I call it, Shitari) Corfu's answer to Blackpool, where our friends, Craig & Katie were spending a cheeky few days. We picked up a hitchhiker along the way, a lovely young guy from Gdansk, who was hoping to find somewhere on the island to go clubbing. We didn't like to disillusion him but Sidari's a British pensioners paradise, sports bars, curry houses, all-day bingo, karaoke and tribute acts. The most action you'll find is dodging the mobility scooters whizzing up and down the strip. I know some people love it, and our mates were more than happy with their three day sunshine break but no...just no! 

Anyway, we had a lovely leisurely lunch in a seafront taverna, a short walk away from the dreaded strip and it was fantastic to chat without being distracted by customers.

As we'd got the car we offered to show Craig & Katie a bit more of Corfu, driving them to Seventh Heaven at Perouládes, a very cool bar with a spectacular view we'd last visited in 2017.

We did consider scaling the cliffs down to the beach but the wind was insane! Jon likened the beach to California's Big Sur...it's gloriously rugged. 

After dropping our pals back in Sidari (see you in a field next year, guys!) we headed back to Paleokastritsa which, being nestled in the mountains, seemed to have escaped the winds battering the North coast of the island. 

After a quick change we spent the evening hanging out with one of our Greek friends, George (aka Jon's long lost twin), who runs Cactus, our favourite bar in the the village. Is that a vodka Martini, shaken not stirred? I have no idea but it fits in with the Bond theme! 

 Not only does George mix a wicked cocktail, his collection of vinyl (and his taste in music) is superb.

Yammas! 

While I'm a bit sad to be back at home in the rain, after 17 days with a handful of dresses, it's wonderful to be reunited with my wardrobe. Here's what I've worn so far this week....

Thanks for reading...see you soon!