After months of anticipation, Saturday the 2nd of August finally arrived. The day that I would travel to Corfu together with my brother and sister to meet my parents. My parents had already been travelling through Greece a week beforehand, but we would all come together for 1 week to fully relax and enjoy the peaceful surroundings of our rented villa. Well… peaceful? We would soon find out that this was not necessarily so, as the sounds of chirping crickets and barking dogs echoes loudly across the hills of Corfu.

Anyways, our flight was scheduled to depart at 4.30 AM. My brother and I already had our first setback when the trains were suddenly not running anymore. Oh, how I love public transport. Fortunately, we were able to take the car, and, together with our sister, could enjoy some deliciously sinful Burger King before going to the gate. Midnight cravings, you beast.

Early on Saturday morning we landed in Kerkyra, which is the capital of the island of Corfu. As we were not sure what we could do in this city, and still had to wait for almost 3,5 hours until our parents would arrive, we thought it best to travel to the village of Stavros, where the villa was supposedly located. During the 30-minute drive through the steep hills, I think I’ve died about 20 times due to the nonchalant driving skills of the taxi driver. Safe and sound (hallelujah!) we were dropped off next to the only restaurant in the area.

Fortunately, as always when going abroad, there was a very kind Dutch man who served us some drinks and basically kept us company throughout the suprisingly relaxing wait in the sun. The Greek owner of the restaurant was a remarkable man, who has lived in the United Kingdom and The Netherlands for years, and even worked as a cook for Manchester United. According to him, he was good friends with Sir Alex Ferguson, as could be seen by the photograph hanging in the restaurant. He also served us our first food that we consumed in Greece! We got a toastie/tostie/grilled sandwich with cheese, ham, tomato, and a fried egg. Honestly, I have not tasted it, as I was still shook up by the Burger King of the night before… But, my brother and sister did eat it, and loved it. I find the addition of a fried egg the invention of the year. Never have I thought of pimping the regular toastie by adding a fried egg, yet it seems so perfectly logic. I am going to make this soon, and will let you know how it turned out!

By the way, during our three-hour stay at this restaurant we had consumed a total of 6 cokes, and 2 toasties. The cost? 12 euros. This is equivalent to 16 dollars or 9.7 pounds. In The Netherlands, it would be hard to even have 1 toastie and 1 drink for that price.

After we finally reunited with our parents, it was around lunchtime which meant it was time to find a new restaurant. Preferably along the Ionian Sea. So we drove to Benitses, which is a small beach town on the foot of the mountain that our villa was located on. It was quite easy to find a nice spot in the shadow of the trees whilst enjoying a fine glass of Retsina or a big glass of Mythos. More about these drinks in a later post 😉

As lunch, I chose the Tuna Salad, as this is my go-to dish when I am indecisive, and I always have to try to see if it tops the Tuna Salad that I once had in a tiny patio restaurant in Samos. This one did not live up to my expectations unfortunately. As you can see, there is a huge load of whiskey sauce covering the actual salad. I am not a big fan of whiskey sauce as it is, but seeing the delicious tuna drowning in it made me dislike it even more. Pity.

The classic Greek salad that probably everyone in the world is familiar with. Basic ingredients including feta, black olives, red onion, cucumber, green bell pepper, and tomato turn this simple salad into a dish with complex flavours. The cooks also sprinkled over some ground paprika.

But the fish. Oh my gosh, you guys, the fish. If you ever find yourself on a Greek island, please please please order fish. First of all, you’re on an island, so fish is a logical option. But secondly, it is so amazingly delicious. These sardines were probably the best thing that I have eaten throughout the holidays. The meat was so soft, it melted in your mouth. I think that they were fried along with onion, garlic, and lemon juice. So if I am able to get my hands on sardines, I am sure going to try to recreate this dish!

My father always chooses the fish option, no matter where he goes, so he particularly enjoyed being on an island. He chose the red mullets, which where fried as a whole, probably also simply with garlic, onion, and olive oil. Aren’t they beautiful? You can even see their little teeth. It’s good to know that your food is actually fresh, and that you are actually able to see what it is. It does enhance the experience.

This post is already way too long, so I’ll stop here and put the other days in a new post. I am so sorry if I am boring you with this elaborate description of my holidays, I am just so excited about it and wanted to share it with you guys 🙂