San Stefanos Online ~ North West Corfu

We arrived home yesterday from our 2nd stay at Olga's and just had to post a note to offer info for any first timers going to SS shortly and to express thanks to all the regulars who kept us informed before we travelled earlier this month.

Our holiday was fantastic making the 3 of us v. happy that what was so good last year could be repeated again. Our 7 year old son had another terrific time.

We were amazed that all the restaurant staff at Zorba's, Little Prince, the ASPA supermarket owners, and Spiros and Donna on the loungers at the Havana steps remembered us from last year and to be honest we were a bit humbled at the reception we got.....

For the foodies amongst you, we can't see past Zorba's. We swore we would try more restaurants this year but Pavlos and his team won our hearts and tastebuds again 8 nights from 14. He is Mr Energy with his terrific dancing and we really hope he makes as much of a success with Mama Mia next door . Billy and Dimetria look after you very well....and look out for the family grandfather as he keeps an eye on Z's and The Little Prince. We were introduced to Mama who does all the cooking at closing one night and all I can say is she looked exhausted (5 hours on the stove!!) but absolutely proud that her son Pavlos was keeping the regulars returning.

The new places we did try were;
Nafsika which served wonderful tasty food, again the staff were terrific,
Mythica which for us was ok - lacked a little atmosphere,
Town Pizza - Ideal for that first night comfort meal following a long day travelling, and
Evinos for the sunset.
Warning on Evinos, notwithstanding a great menu it didn't have a lot on and although we enjoyed our food you would have been snookered if you did not like moussaka, meatballs or pasta. Not sure if this was a one-off but worth knowing. Still it served it's purpose and we got a stack of spectacular sun set photos.

The Little Prince continues to be great with Demetrius on top form as usual.

We managed to track down Yiannis, at his new cafe opposite Athens Bar and enjoyed a few gyros lunches with him. For those who don't know he has a rental on empty shop next door and if all goes according to plan he will be back with a bang next year - fingers crossed for him as he is a lovely gent.

However, however, however before we finish on the food........we put on a combined 19lbs between the two of us in a fortnight so it's back to the salads and light lunches shortly. But what the heck - as everybody knows there's always a price to pay for forcing yourself into 3 - coursers every night and insistng it be washed down with a local carafe and half-litre Mythos!!!!

One thing we did miss out on and it would be worth finding out about before you eat out at night is when the next Festival of Names is on at the back of the tennis court. We went along one night about 11.30 and were amazed at the numbers of spits on the go with the locals serving cheap food, soft drinks, wine and beers. It was like a local Gala/fete evening back home and would be good to go one night and take part in the festival. It really looked good but at that time of night we were stuffed and left after a short time.

At the beach - we pitched at the Havana end with Spiros and Donna making sure that everything was kept in good order in spite of few really windy days causing frequent relocation of the loungers. Again it must be the SS spirit -these guys have to be amongst the best at making sure your stay at the beach has everything you want. Their cheery nature, sense of fun and respect for you is first class and we sincerely hope the rent-masters don't mess them about next year.

Taxi's from and to the airport were €60 (pick up from the rank) on the way up and €40 on the way back - we shared on the return which was organised by Aristoula at Olga's. Both journeys were around 60 mins.

And finally,........ this has to be fitting testimony to Aristoula and her family at Olga's. When we arrived at the pool on our first morning (Sat 11th) virtually all the guests who were on the same fortnight as us last year were in the same loungers this year - talk about Groundhog Day!! Although we tend to keep ourselves to ourselves on holiday it was lovely to see the same faces as we knew that they had come back for the same reasons and that meant that you really trusted the people around you........important nowadays with a little one in tow.

We hope to return next year and if Yiannis is up and running I think a combination of him, Z's, the LP could help us break the the 20lb marker - let's hope so!

Thanks to all of you who keep posting and making newcomers like us informed.

best regards

ps. exchange rate was €1.14 in SS and working out at €112.5 for 100 sterling t/chqs after commission.