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| Paris In Sites Newsletter Direct From France Edited by Linda Thalman Travel & Leisure Articles |
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La Corse - Corsica France
September 2005 By Linda Thalman
Always have plan B.
Our ferry from Marseille to Porto Vecchio was lovely.
The boarding was typically chaotic, but once aboard, we had
a nice room - no view - but who needs it when all you do is sleep?
Dinner was just above OK. We lined up for about 40 minute and then had
to decide what we wanted and paid in advance. Very odd way of doing dinner.
We arrived only a bit late in Porto Vecchio due to a woman who fell overboard before departure.
The poor woman slipped off the gangplank for foot passengers and
floated around with her luggage for at least 15 minutes. Staff from
the boat were with her immediately but it sure took time to get her out of the water.
I do hope she got the presidential suite in compensation.
Coffee on the terrace of a café overlooking the port at Porto Vecchio in brilliant
sunshine in the morning was great.
We parked the car and rambled around the very pretty old town.
The guide books seem to give Porto Vecchio little notice... but it is
worth more than the visit!
Arriving - on time mind you - to our bungalow only to find that it
took two hours to get the front door open.
This was not a perfect beginning to a week-long stay.
The bungalow matched the description of the brochure, but we were
not overly excited by the broken door let me tell you.
The BBQ was there and in perfect order, but the charcoals bought
at a local superette were hopeless. We ended up grilling our steak on the stovetop.
Bonifacio is simply too lovely. There's the lower town by the port and the old
town on the top of the imposing plateau.
Take the little train if you're just visiting on foot or arrive early to get a
spot in the parking lots.
Explore the winding streets, shop a bit, stop for a coffee and don't forget the great
views of the port.
It was time to organize the rest of the week. We booked a 2-hour horse ride for Tuesday and
a day's rental of a boat for Thursday.
Thursday was a beautiful day, though just slightly too windy to make it all the way to Bonifacio
in our 'Zodiac'. So we stopped off for a picnic lunch at a deserted island and then headed
'home' to find a peaceful beach for a late afternoon siesta.
Travel tip: you do need a boat permit to rent many kinds of motorized or sailing boats in France. Bring proof of
your boating skills, license, experience in any language as you should be asked for your license.
On the next to the last day we stowed all our gear, bags, Corsican wine and cheese and headed
for the hills.
If you're a hiker, think Corsica - you'll not be disappointed!
We cheated and drove rather than hiked through the mountains on zig-zaging roads. It was up and down,
around and down, up and down for kilometers.
After a long day's drive we needed to find a place to stay for the night.
We had not booked in advance, not really knowing where we'd be by 18:00.
There weren't a lot of hotels or accommodations of any kind along the highway
and the few we came across were booked. Suddenly we fell upon a lovely inn.
What luck -- we got the last available room and dinner was served at 20:00.
The set meal was a pure Corsican delight. The room and dinner came to 100 euros for two.
Then the rain set in. But we wanted to take in the market in Ajaccio and find a
place to stay for our last night.
 Doing a market in the rain isn't the most fun in the world, but it had character and we found a more delicious cheeses and wines. We splurged by staying at the Sofitel with spa and massage and Pierre even had a swim in the warm rain in the heated pool. Our overnight boat back to Marseille was from Propriano and it was again a nice cabin. Dinner was ordered and served at our table rather than pre-paying as on the trip to Corsica. It was much nicer to be in a smaller dining room compared to the 196-place restaurant that had a bit too much of a feel of a 'factory'. Then it was Marseille, Millau and back to Boullay. What a trip. And we only managed to do the south of Corsica. The north is yet to come and I'm looking forward to it already.
Email – Linda@wfi.fr
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Copyright since 1995 by Linda Thalman - all rights reserved.
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We had a lovely trip by car to Corsica, passing through Clermont Ferrand
and having to cut cross county on the way down to avoid flooding in the south of France.
There are dozens and dozens of restaurants, shops, quaint corners and streets.
We loved it and came back again during our stay.
A lovely day at the beach with warm waters calmed our spirits and it did
feel like we were on vacation.
Horse riding in the maquis in Corsica was just so much fun. Katie encouraged
us to have our horses trot and it was amazing doing the up, down, up, down movement.
It was a tad hard on the backside, but what a thrill.
The Corscian mountains are so beautiful. The entire island is criss-crossed with
paths and trails - especially the famous GR20. The grande randonée being a hiker's
dream and challenge.
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