Plage de Saleccia, Corsica
Parler Paris Nouvellettre®
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 • Paris, France
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Dear Parler Paris Reader,
I write you from the café at Plage l'Arinella one kilometer south of Bastia -- the closest beach to our "Chambre d'Hôte" (bed and breakfast) that we managed to avoid for a full week -- thinking it would be the least agreeable of all. We have learned our instincts were wrong -- it's about as pleasant a beach as we've experienced.
Sitting at a table with an umbrella to shade my near-to-burned back, I can see the entire beach before me. Music plays from the snack stand that serves sandwiches, ice cream, drinks and coffee. There is an outdoor shower and tons of water games for kids. It's definitely a family beach with plenty of parking and about everything you might want...except the public toilet is currently out of order (thank goodness for the warmish sea!). The water isn't as blue as others and there is no dramatic scenery except for a view of Bastia on one side. There are lounge chairs and umbrellas to rent for 5€ a day -- not expensive.
Being a beach vacation, our goal is to discover all the nearby beaches, their advantages and disadvantages, always seeking the perfect beach. Like apartments in Paris, there is no such thing as the perfect beach, at least not for everyone. Each person has a different idea of the perfect beach, since we all want to have a slightly different experience. With three women, there are three very different ideas. The one thing we agree on is that the beach is an all day investment, as long as all the elements come together correctly.
Guide books don't tell you what you really want to know about a beach before you get there. We purchased a book of photos of all the beaches of Corsica, but the photos were taken from the sky when the beaches were empty, so it's very difficult to ascertain if the beach is more for looks than enjoyment. What a tough life -- we've had to visit each one on our own.
Very high on our list is a nice restaurant where you can dine in a civilized manner. The ability to stop midday, go to the bathroom (a respectable one), sit at a real table with a good menu and cool drinks makes the beach day close to perfect. Yesterday at the Marine de Farinole north of Saint-Florent, the restaurant there served enormous grilled shrimp with vegetables for 16€ for which I would make a special return trip. But the beach was so windy that I opted to give it up about 4 p.m. The water was blue enough, the scenery beautiful enough and the waves are considered the best for surfing, if that's what you like. At one point the beach control fellows made everyone get out of the water because of the strong undertow.
Personally, I hate the wind. At the Plage du Lodu, to which we had to take a boat from Saint-Florent that cost 17€ round-trip, the wind was so violent that we spent all day fighting the sand, the flying mats and the umbrella blowing away into the water. The sand was fine and white, the water crystal clear aqua and the scenery very dramatic, but there was not even a small stand at which we could buy drinks or sandwiches. In contrast, there was a young guy selling coffee on the beach, of all things! We agreed, it wasn't worth the price of admission.
The Plage de Saleccia is nearby and reachable by foot from Lodu, also with dazzling white sand against a turquoise sea and totally underdeveloped. Don't venture at either without an umbrella as the sun is merciless in both spots.
Many years ago undergoing bio-feedback treatment to relieve migraine headaches (it really worked!), I could totally stop the machines by dreaming of floating on a raft on a pool or in a calm ocean, so to this day, it's the most relaxing image I can have in my head. Upon arrival, we immediately purchased rafts and tried them out at Pietracorbara, one of the Cap's rare sandy beaches north of the beautiful little village Erbalunga. This beach ranked high in my personal idea of beach heaven because not only was the water very calm, shallow and perfect for flotation, but there were two restaurants to choose from and the food was quite good. I'd go back in a Corsican minute.
We tried two beaches along the strip of sand that borders the Etang de Biguglia south of Bastia including La Plage Marana. Both were pretty dull with little to offer except for a lot of yelling kids. Watching the children can be either a pleasure or a pain, depending on their behavior. The Italian families clearly make more commotion than their French counterparts. They talk loudly to one another, often talking at the same time and we discovered that they think nothing of parking themselves as close to you as they can get, even when there's lots of beach from which to choose a spot...but they have such gusto and life -- there is no doubt they are having a wonderful time.
As usual, the French are very civilized, even on the beach. Our first day here there was a French woman all alone of about 60-ish years old laying near us sunbathing in a bikini, lots of gold jewelry, hair perfectly coiffed and talking on her cell phone. She was exactly what I imagined when I designed the decor of "Le Saint-Tropez" (the studio apartment with the terrace -- http://www.adrianleeds.com/parlerparis/apartments/rentals/saint-tropez.html) -- that classy, elegant, yet sexy mature French woman all we women dream of being. I had a good chuckle to myself watching her and thinking how fitting she seemed there all brown and full of herself.
On the rocks at Lodu, there was a young girl of about three or four years old wearing just a bottom, as most of the French girls do until they start budding little breasts about 12 or so. She was so industrious and determined in her tasks that it was easy to imagine her 20 years from now ruling an empire. She moved big rocks from their resting places, filled buckets of water, built sand castles, all with no help from anyone. Her father was watching from a few meters away.
The beaches are amazingly uncrowded for this time of year. Either Corsica is not the hot destination this year or the economy has seriously affected the summer vacation for many people. Flights are easy to get, although not terribly inexpensive. There isn't much traffic on the roads and there's no problem finding parking places -- not like the Riviera at this time of year which is more like one big traffic jam. The only sign of the high summer season are the restaurants with terraces at which you don't get a table unless you have reserved in advance.
By Monday I'll be back in Paris and life at the beach will be in the past -- a memory to carry with me till next summer. There are times I don't want it to end and other times I think I've had enough for a while. How many hours can one while away doing nothing but contemplating one's own naval?
Guess that depends on how deep is one's naval!
A la prochaine...
Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
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P.S. Reminder to all writers!: This Friday, August 20th is the deadline to register for Writing from the Heart -- a writers' workshop in the heart of Champagne this coming October 12-18. Visit frenchproperty/conference/ or email janet.hulstrand
