After our brief sojourn outside of the EU to Dubrovnik, Croatia, our itinerary returned us to a string of Greek ports. First stop: Corfu, or Kerkira (the Greek name for both the island and the capital city). As is true with so many outposts among the Ionian Islands, Kerkira was dominated by Venetian rule for decades, and I would observe that influence in the architecture throughout town later in the day. As we approached the pier, it was obvious that our luck with warm and sunny weather would continue. The four of us had booked a morning bus tour out to some of the surrounding countryside, our first formal shore excursion of the cruise. Overall, I think we made good choices about which excursions we would take. When a port offered good local transportation, was fairly self-contained and did not offer any outlying attractions that piqued our interest, we found our own way about. When we wanted a quick overview of a larger city, access to special exhibits or sites or outlying regions, we chose a shore excursion that provided those features. Today’s trip allowed us to travel outside the urban center and into a lush, green countryside and along a lovely scenic shoreline up into the mountains. A few lessons learned quickly and early on:  1) If the route will involve lots of twists and turns, try to secure a seat towards the front, ask the driver to crank up the A.C., and take some Dramamine before heading out. 2) A good guide will provide interesting (but not constant!!) narration on both the past and the present, colored with his or her own experiences and observations. Perfect English is not required (although some of the crankier folks on our bus seemed to think so)–I appreciate some of the charming and unusual turns of phrase that crop up–but the ability to speak with volume is important. 3) One quickly tires of seeing the same kitschy souvenirs and “handcrafts” sold everywhere (imported from Asia, mostly), with only the name and perhaps a local view of the current place varying on the piece from place to place.   Some of my favorite images from our drive: olive groves everywhere (Corfu brags of having some 4 million olive trees spread over the island), many with black netting rolled up around the trunks after the last harvest and all covered in creamy yellow blooms foretelling of the harvest to come; tiny, ancient villages with lanes so narrow that the side mirrors of our bus nicked the walls on either side; views of Angelokastro, a 13th-century fort on a steep bubble of land thrusting into the sea; elderly yayas and papous walking along the steep roadways, pausing to wave as we curious tourists smiled and waved back. Later, back in town, I strolled about the Palea Poli (Old Town) and the Venetian Quarter, easily charmed by the narrow, vehicle-free cobbled lanes and wrought-iron balconies bright with tangled bougainvillea and lush pots of geraniums. Whenever I got too hot, I’d duck into a quiet church, where the thick walls blocked the hustle and noise of tourist crowds and enclosed a space instantly 15 degrees cooler than the outside air. (Major travel peeve: those who rudely ignore the signs and notices prohibiting flash photography and talk loudly as if they’re at a cocktail party instead of a place of worship.) Of course, indulging in a scoop of gelato when one grows warm and weary is also helpful!  As I made my way back to the ship at the end of the day, I came away with a few genuine souvenirs of Corfu: some beautifully turned olivewood cooking utensils, and mental postcards of my travels across pretty Kerkira. –Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader