Blogs from Corsica, France, Europe - page 10

Enchanting isles Head for the horizon and fall under the spell of that distant shoreline with Kathy Stott Islands have an allure that draws visitors like a magnet. Just one glimpse of that distant, hazy shoreline is enough to get you looking up the local ferry timetable. And you know that, in most cases, you won’t be disappointed with an island holiday . How satisfying it is to look back to the busy mainland from your sandy sheltered cove, as you bask in the sunshine, far from the madding crowd. The attraction lies in that other-worldliness of island existence. Like some adventurer of old, you set out for the horizon with a frisson of excitement as you know that, on your chosen destination, people go about things in a subtly d... read more

The sea was calm and the crossing to Corsica was uneventful, arriving in Bastia at around lunchtime. I headed west along the northern coast along the Gulf de St. Florent. Corsica is nothing but a huge mountain range jutting out of the Mediterranean. As you can imagine, this means there are some excellent, twisty two-lanes for two-wheeled entertainment. Northern European riders flood into Corsica in droves to enjoy the great twisties. Mostly Germans & Austrians with a smattering of Swiss & Dutch riders. In all my years of touring, I’ve never felt like a sheeple but that changed on Corsica. Where normally I might see 1 or 2 other touring riders in a day, on Corsica I saw maybe 30 to 40 riders a day! There were armadas of touring riders travelling in packs of up ... read more

The update from Marine Station Stareso in Calvi, Corsica: We left Vienna on the 18th of June, driving first through the vineyards south of Vienna, then winding through the Alps into Italy, straight across the breadth of Italy through fields of sunflowers and pinon trees, and to the coast. About nine hours after starting out, that delicious salty sea breeze hit us. We took an overnight ferry from Savona, Italy to Bastia, Corsica. We drove across the rough terrain of Corsica to Calvi, a terracotta-roofed town, and then off down a dirt road poking out onto a penninsula. The road got worse and worse, but now and again we would see blue spots painted on the rocks, which we followed, and after a fifteen or twenty minute drive we found Stareso. The station is nestled into ... read more