Monday, May 12th - Wednesday, May 14th

On Monday after class, the group and I went to an old Byzantine church on the island. The church is longer in use, and is used just as a museum nowadays. It is actually usually closed on Mondays, but it opened up just for us to see inside. Inside was an enormous collection of Christian paintings in the style typical of that time period, with the golden background and abstract figures. We had our own personal tour guide who is a expert on Byzantine history, so he was able to share a lot of knowledge with us.

On Tuesday, we went to the St. Spyridon church in Corfu. He's the patron saint of Corfu and there are all sorts of miracles associated with him. We had an expert on the church give us a quick tour of the place, and it was just as beautiful as the Byzantine church. Inside The Church of St. Spyridon are his relics, which Greek Orthodox pilgrims come from all over just to pray over and kiss them.

On Wednesday, we went to the Mon Repos Palace. It is a villa built in Corfu in 1828 as a summer residence for English Commissioner Thomas Maitland. It was vacated soon after, but has served as the birthplace for important people such as Prince Philip and Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark. It was opened up to the public many years ago and is located on a large plot of land which is home for a tremendous diversity of plants. The trails are also used by runners and walkers alike.