Exit from Corsica

 

 

We are big users of booking.com and it has worked well for us. But we were not too sure that we had overstepped the mark when heading for our Bastia hotel which we thought was just outside the city. In Corsica, this means mostly in the hills, as hills are the dominant feature here, going almost to the waterline

 



 

We eventually reached our Hotel de la Corniche (clue here in the name) perched high above the surrounding area with views almost to Italy. From the hotel balcony we could easily see the island of Elba where friend Nap had rested up for a few days before making his short lived comeback and, like Mick Malthouse, met his Waterloo. (Pity Carlton did not keep young Mick as he was doing so well!).

  

We had enjoyed our brief stay in Ajaccio and found it to be a pretty relaxed and friendly city. A brief walk around the old genoese town taking in the good city beaches with plenty of Corsicans enjoying the water. A walk along the port area to our waterfront lunch. A spot of shopping in the late afternoon including a visit to an art gallery. A quiet dinner with a few locals as Barcelona was winning the European club championship and then our time was up.

 

In the morning it was an easy escape from Ajaccio (Sunday morning-no trafffic) and then we were headed cross country on the one national standard road. We stopped mid way for a break and a short walk to take in the national park and then it was time to head for Bastia (150 kms from Ajaccio to Bastia, so not far).

At Hotel de la Corniche we enjoyed our balcony view and dinner high above Bastia. Then early next day we ventured into central Bastia for our city tour. It was a little hot and uncomfortable by the early afternoon and at that stage we think we had Bastia covered. Breakfast in the central square area facing the port. A walk through the old town and down to the old port area. Then a quiet lunch in the market area. And that was enough for us. Bastia looks to be the 'working area and port' for Corsica to us, with our limited time and knowledge.

 

Time to retire into the hills and the swimming pool for some relief from the heat.. It was Monday and of course our family hotel was essentially closed which is a much antiquated and out of step cultural French habit that can be annoying. This semi closure also meant bringing something light to eat from Bastia for our evening meal. To compliment that we walked down to the local hameau hotel/restaurant for a farewell drink and a few final moments in the early evening before our self imposed exile.

 

Up with the birds for our ferry back to Nice and then Corsica was all over. We had thoroughly enjoyed all of our short visit and we were very impressed by local pride, friendly people, low visibility of tourist traps and the great weather.

 

We might not make it back here, at least for quite a while, and now for a break in culture we are headed for Italy and our week or so there. Apparently some storms are gathering over France, a country struggling with economic, political and social changes but which nevertheless we still enjoy.