Sarlat Pt 1

The trip from Corfu to Toulouse was without incident. On our last day in Corfu we visited the New Fort which had great views of the old town. We met Jenny and Gillian in Toulouse and drove up to Sarlat via a country route (because I missed the motorway turnoff!). We've been tripping around the Dordogne and eating too much - castles, caves, villages and countryside. Here are some pics....

Great roofscapes of the Corfu old town from the New Fort (only called 'new' because it was built a few hundred years after the 'old' fort in the 1500's)....

The scale of the cruise ships visiting Corfu are amazing. This one was arriving and was the third on this day. It puts 1,000's of people through the old town, which no doubt sustains the many shops and restaurants....

On the way to Sarlat from Toulouse we visited Lauzerte which was lovely. The use of art and modern intrusions into the fabric of historic buildings and towns is something the French are very good at...

Typical treatment of a town hall (called the Mairie) found in many smaller towns ...

Marian, Gillian and Jenny in front of a random house in Montfort, near Sarlat. The number of roses in all of the gardens was impressive....

We visited a lake system for restocking fish stocks in the river systems, which was very picturesque and a great walk....

This is a private house on the river at Saint-Leon-Sur-Vezere....

Old chateau now in council ownership in a council park, very well maintained, in Campagne near Sarlat....

The weather has been a bit dodgy, but when the sun comes out the golden stone really shines - this is Sarlat from the main square....

Tough living in the Dordogne - coffee in the main square of Sarlat on Wednesday market day....

We have been surprised to see so many Poppies in the countryside....

Looking back to Castelnau (town and castle) on a walk nearby....

Castelnau - we aim to go canoeing on the river in the next few days ....

Visiting La Roque-Gageac - they used to have forts in the caves in the cliffs behind to avoid the Vikings....

Corfu

Corfu is awesome. We are staying in the old town in Nick and Jodies apartment, which is super nice and right in the middle of the action! The weather has been a mix of mostly blue skies, but also 2 days of wet weather - which I'm told is why the island is so green - and it is! We hired a car for 2 days and went north and south across the island - there are huge views on the west coast. Here are some pics (in reverse order - not sure how that happened)...

The old town is situated between two Venetian forts, which resisted the Ottomans for the 400 years they had Corfu - Napoleon finally took Venice in 1797. The forts are still dominant. The pedestrianised old town is great with lots of outdoor eating and shops - you can sit right next to the water as well...

Oh dear....

From Cavalerie rooftop garden bar....

We took a walking tour up in the mountains which had fantastic views and very nice forest trails - as well as a visit to a very nice and characterful village with a restored old olive press.....

Typical scene in the old town - noice....

There are cats everywhere - it turns out Brexit let to an increase in the local stray cat population, because the charity that used to round them up and send them off to the UK can't do it as easily now, because it's outside the EU!...

Huge views down the west coast....

You can take boat trips out to caves and remote beaches in the north-west of the island (we didn't do it as the weather was a bit dodgy)....

One of the cafes right on the water in the old town (En Plo)....

I couldn't fit my boat into the harbour - just kidding - it is apparently the Emir of Qatar's boat, who visits regularly with his 9 wives. He bought a local hotel and built 9 identical villas for each of them...

Gate to the 'new' fort - with Venetian lion overhead....

We took a sunset cruise on this boat - great....

The arrival by plane is pretty speccy - there's water right outside the window until just before the wheels touch down!...

View of town at beginning of sunset cruise....

View from the 'old' fort....

Street scene adjacent to the Liston (fab colonnade building to the left) - we had lunch under the umbrellas on the right....

The 'old' fort. It has two 'hills' that had buildings on each - from afar it cast a clear silhouette and it is those 'two peaks' that give the name 'Corfu' - originally a Byzantine word....

The harbour...

Street scenes....

Athens

This post is a bit out of date as I've had some internet service issues here in Corfu. So I'll try to put another post up after this one. Athens was great - the lifestyle is very casual with outdoor eating and cafes everywhere. Food is also great. Here are some pics.... 

Our first stop was at this nice cafe in Monastiraki (Marian sitting far left)...

Athens Panathenaic Stadium, because the first stadium was built here in 330 BC. It was re-built in marble in 144 AD. Once excavated in 1800's it was refurbished and used for the first modern Olympics in 1896... 

We went to a great ancient technology museum - whoduthunk! Great stuff in there. They had a reconstruction of Archemedis alarm clock, which via water and 4 large pots on top of each other, would whistle when the appropriate length of time elapsed! He'd set it for 7 hours. This picture is a working reconstruction of the first keyboard instrument, a water/wind organ from 300BC....

It's amazing how dense the living in Athens is. It is mostly 8 storeys from one end to the other, with balconies hanging over the footpaths. Shops on the ground floors. Plus plenty of trees (many fruit trees laden with oranges etc) on most streets. This one has a nice vista point....

I was particularly taken with this apartment building - in stone....

We took the funicular up to Lycabettus Hill with fab views of the city and Acropolis....

Half-way down the main shopping street (mall) there's a 11th century church in the middle of a cross-roads. It was preserved by the King in the 1300's when they were wanting to demolish it for the new street system - nice....

Inside a larger church nearby.....

Street scene in the Plaka....

Still standing ancient weather station (tower) with sundials on the outside and a water clock on the inside. You can see markings on the stone for the sundials sticking out (eg from the feet of the winged figure).... 

This is a still standing Temple of Hephaestus from the Ancient Agora - pretty amazing - was used for different purposes since construction (which is why it is still standing)....

Broad views of Ancient Agora....