Corsica ...
... an island of beauty
Quote of the week
“On Corsica I was given life, and with that life I was also given a fierce love for this my ill-starred homeland and fierce desire for her independance. I too shall one day be a ‘Paoli’.” - Napoleon Bonaparte.
As I am sitting here on a rainy, autumn day, it is nice to think back to more warm and pleasant days in Sardinia and Corsica. I left you at the house of with Gribaldi in the northern part of Sardinia. From there it is only a short leap to Corsica. We left from Santa Teresa Gallura with the ferry to Bonifacio, arriving on the south western part of Corsica. You think two islands so close to each other should be rather similar, but this is not the case. Even nature wise they are different, although both beautiful in their own way.
Our tour in Corsica was rather more relaxed than our tour of Sardinia. We needed relaxation and found a wonderful camping on the east coast, on a hill - steep uphill to the toilette every time(!) - with a swimming pool and restaurant with magnificent views over the sea. A perfect place for doing nothing.
We continued over the mountains to the western side of the island. This is where all the beauty lies. Absolutely breathtaking. Ajaccio, is one of the two capitals of the island; this is the old one, and now it has to share the glory with Bastia on the north eastern part of the island. Ajaccio is probably mostly known for the fact that Napoleon was born here.
We arrived to the city, magnificently situated on the hills above a big bay. A very Mediterranean atmosphere, and I really liked the city from the first sight - not so much later when we did not find any restaurant open for lunch - and I was very excited about the museum.
Well, it was an interesting history about the family, but if you think it is a museum about Napoleon, you will be disappointed. Although we saw the room where he was born, and the Chambre de l'Alcôve - the room he - presumably - stayed in while visiting on the way back from Egypt. The history of the house is mostly connected to the family. One has to take into consideration that Napoleon left Corsica when he was only nine years old to enter a military school, Brienne-le-Château, outside Paris. Napoleon did return to Corsica a few times, his last visit being in 1799 on his return from Egypt.
From the museum we walked slowly back to the car through small alleys and fortresses along the sea.
Along the western coast
The drive along the middle, and north coast of Corsica is magnificent. We have seen a lot of natural beauty on our trips, but this stretch must be one of the most beautiful. You drive along a narrow road, almost hanging on the cliffs to the right, and bordering the sea to the left. The cliffs, the sea, the sun, and sunset, and all the colours that surround you is breathtaking. If you ever are in Corsica, you have to see this place. A good advice is to have a small car.
It took us almost the whole day to reach our destination, due to the narrow and curvy road. As we arrived, at the very northern peninsula, the camping was closed. We drove on into the small, picturesque village of Porto Centuri, and parked by the sea. A stroll around the village with its old houses and the waves of the see almost splashing up the stairs of the houses. We had dinner at one of the hotels and asked if it was fine to stay over night at the parking. It was. Although a wedding was going on in the village, with rather loud music, we slept very well, tired after our long drive.
The next day we continued over the very northern tip of Corsica, and headed south on the east coast. Our trip was nearing its end and we stayed four days, in a camping south of Bastia, to await our ferry which would take us back to mainland Italy.
We really enjoyed our visit to Corsica, and enjoyed its beauty. One could maybe see a little bit of political “turmoil”(?) in the northern, rural parts of the island. All village/city sign are written in two languages; French and Corsu (the local Corsican dialect) and the French names were crossed out. Some kind of silent protest? People are very friendly and we really enjoyed our stay.
This looks like a lovely spot to relax -- but you'd better bring your walking shoes! What a beautiful landscape and the museum sounds interesting, even if it doesn't focus all that much on Napoleon.