February 2024 – Tips-and-Travel

Corfu or Corcyra, capital of the periphery of the Ionian Islands, is a Greek island located in the Ionian Sea, on the western side of Greece, near its border with Albania. It is an island full of beauty that presents gigantic faults that were born in the tertiary. The island has three very different zones, in the north the mountains, to the south the plains and to the center the hills and it has three large lagoons. Mount Pantokrator, 906 m, is its highest point. It is the greenest area of Greece because it is both moist and fertile. To see: the residence of the British governors where is the Museum of the Asian arts; the Achilleion (residence built by the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, called Sissi); the monasteries of Vlachernes and Pontikoníssi; the palace of Mon Repos; the Byzantine castle of Angelókastro; the Old Fort and Fort Neuf; Palaia Peritheia (the oldest village); the beaches of Glyfáda, Sidári, Rhóda, Ágios Stéphanos, Ágios Górdios, Palaiokastrítsa; among others.

Tips

From November to March (winter), it often rains and in summer it is really hot and it is very sunny. The month of July is generally the driest.

If you have the opportunity to visit Corfu at Easter, you could enjoy the well-known festivities. During the 3 days before Easter, all the schools of music, in full uniform, march through the streets of the city, until late at night and Easter Saturday at 11 am exactly, the inhabitants throw pitchers and pots full of water through the windows covering the streets of broken shards.

In September, the Corfu festival takes place with performances of plays, ballets, concerts and operas.

If you like hiking, you will find trails around Mount Pantokrator.

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Juliet’s house is a museum in a XII century building where they reconstructed the famous balcony, located near the historic center of Verona, Veneto, Italy. This house and balcony became famous thanks to the tragedy of William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, published in 1597. This house was built by the Dal Cappello family and we can see their carved coat of arms on the keystone of the arch internal court. This tragedy was located in Verona and from that moment, the city was considered one og the most romantic cities in the world and it was also called ‘the city of lovers of Verona’. From the nineteenth century, a legend takes place and the building was considered the house where lived Juliette Capulet, where his beloved Romeo Montescchi had declared his love at the foot of the balcony. From 1905, the building was converted into a museum and became a major tourist attraction. The historian Antonio Avena has the house restored completely between 1936 and 1940 and they add the balcony to the facade of the inner courtyard. Here you will find 16th and 17th century furniture, paintings and engravings showing the history of Romeo and Juliet, Renaissance ceramics and the costumes for Franco Zeffirelli’s film Romeo and Juliet (1968). The bronze statue of Juliet, made by Nereo Constantini, is at the end of the courtyard. There are walls covered with love vows and multicolored graffiti left by lovers at the entrance of the building.

Tips

If you want to take a picture with the statue of Juliet, go as early as possible because it is almost always full of public. If you want to leave your message or make a graffiti, you should do the same.

There is a tradition that says the statue of Juliet, gives good luck to lovers, you must touch the right breast.

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