Blogs from Corsica, France, Europe - page 8

Le goût de voyager ne m'est pas venu d'hier. J'ai eu la chance précieuse d'avoir des parents qui l'avaient dans la peau et qui me l'ont transmis dès mon plus jeune âge. Et je peux me vanter d'avoir fait du chemin depuis mon enfance; d'avoir vu des pays aussi loin que le Japon, de m'être traîné les pieds en Europe de l'Est alors qu'elle était encore communiste, d'avoir traversé le Canada de l'Atlantique au Pacifique en goûtant la morue de Terre-Neuve et en escaladant les glaciers de la Colombie-Britannique; d'avoir vu le soleil se coucher de chaque côté du globe ou d'avoir tenté de compter les grains de sable assise sur les plages des Caraibes. Cette terre est remplie de cartes postales inimaginables qu'une vie ne suffit pas à classer! Puis, m'est venu le goût de ... read more

So it gets to the stage now when I am about to meet up with my mates from Geelong / Jan Juc and do the thing that started this trip off. I booked a central hotel room online from Milan and (despite the Cannes File Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix and the long weekend and the French train drivers' union action, managed to get from Milan to Marseille in 10 hours (usually 8). My mother advised me to tie one end of a piece of string to my wallet and the other end to my willy if I was going to stay in a place like that. She was pretty much right. Now I know where people go when others say: "get a room" - what a dive! Assuming Steph gets here from her Balkan ... read more

Corsica has been a real adventure!!! We've raced across the island in a rented turbocharged ralley car, rode a train into the heart of the island past deep ravines and seven-thousand foot tall mountains, and swam at three beaches and in a river. In the port town of Bastia we quickly realized that Corsican's take pride in the fact that Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Ajaccio on the south coast. We arrived near Rue Napoleon and then were informed at the tourist information office that we could choose between Hotel Napoleon or Hotel Bonaparte. (We chose Hotel Napoleon...much less formal sounding.) On our first night in Corsica in the port town of Bastia we dined at one of many many waterfront restaurants offering fixed price menus of three courses consisting of Corsican dishes and French favorites. ... read more

Bastia, Corsica 1 – 6 June 2011 Arrived in Bastia via ferry from Livorno Italy – very relaxing 4½ hour trip on the boat. Loads of motor bike riders on their mighty big BMW bikes; MTB cyclists, road cyclists plus folks heading for their campervan holiday in Corsica. We had 4 nights at Hotel l’Alvi, Bastia situated overlooking the beach. We wanted to relax after our Cinque Terre walking and be rested ahead of starting our 7day self-guided trekking adventure across Corsica. It was so lovely to chill out with some major sleep ins and afternoon snoozes. We even agreed we wouldn’t bother with a 7hr+ trail situated near where we were staying. Agreed it was time to really relax. Our first night in Bastia was interesting. Robbo experienced her first FDS situation = I had ... read more

Sunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn! Last chance to get some sun, sea and relaxation before the cold of winter sets in so when a friend asked me to join here and a few friends in Corsica, who was I to say no? Corsica has never been high on the list of places to go in my travels, but having been, it's a beautiful part of the world. A mountainous island in the middle of the meditteranean it combines blue/green water, white beaches, old villages and amazing mountains. Flying in a day after everyone else to Ajaccio I hired a car to make my own way across the island which gave me a great excuse for a detour to Filitosa via the scenic mountainous roads. Filitosa is a prehistoric site near Propriana scattered with menhirs (stones carved with human aspects!). I ... read more