stunning views in Corfu

the house for more than a century. They started off selling olives, omelettes, fresh bread and village wine to hungry tourists. Now it's one of the most famous tavernas on the island — and well worth a visit.

We also spent a couple of mornings on the rocky beach in Kalami, where sunbeds and sunshades can be hired for a few euros and where there are lots of watersports. Steve and Rosie hired a pedalo and canoes, and we cooled off in the sea when it got too hot.

My favourite time of day was around 6pm, when it was still very hot and we sat around the pool with a glass of wine, some olives and pistachio nuts to chat or read. The villa had a good stash of paperbacks too! It didn't get dark until well after 8pm, when it was time to head down to one of Kalami's three tavernas or to the one around the corner in Kouloura.

It was a great holiday. The villa was in the best possible location and we enjoyed chilling out, eating too much and letting all the stress ooze out of our bodies. As always, by hiring a villa we had so much more freedom. I would definitely go back to Corfu. If you want simply to relax and get away from it all, it's perfect.