Corsica
But, of Corse!
Your taste of life in Paris and France
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Monday, August 16, 2010 • Paris, France
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With five days under our belts of life on the French-Franco/Italian island of Corsica, we are relaxed, tan and learning a lot about the area around Bastia and Saint-Florent.
The vacation started last Wednesday, the beginnings of which you can read by visiting http://www.FrenchPropertyInsider.com (and if you are not already a subscriber and want to be, now's a good time to do that!...it's free). At that time, the "séjour" was only 24 hours old. By now we are much more experienced.
Our goal is to discover all the beaches within a one-hour drive or less and rate them, as well as to get to know the towns, villages and best scenery. All three of us are serious 'beach lizards' and can bake in the sun all day long, as long as we have a nice little bistrot at which we can have a civilized lunch with a cold glass of rosé wine. Not all the beaches are as well equipped, but usually that's a trade off for a less-crowded and more serene atmosphere.
So far we have not come across a single other American. Italians are prevalent as well as the French and every now and then, we have come across a few British, Germans and Eastern Europeans. The Corsicans seem to speak French, Italian and Corsican. Their French has a distinctively different accent and isn't all that easy for my Parisian French ear to grasp.
My friends are German (who speaks English and French) and French (who understands English better than speaks it) and between us we are learning more of each other's languages, so it's an educational vacation as well as perfectly relaxing. We've become accustomed to ducking under the beams in the apartment where the ceilings slope and getting the know the idiosyncrasies of the kitchen appliances. As I write this, my friends are making a barbecue using wood on an outdoor pit to grill a variety of meats and fish for dinner.
Last night we had the pleasure of dining in one of the area's best little restaurants -- "Le Vieux Chêne" -- on the "route supérieure de Cardo" in the village of "Cardo." Cardo is a beautiful little ancient village in the mountains outside of Bastia. A man and his wife, Nicole (the chef) greet each of the 22 nightly diners in the 'salon' of a totally stacked-stone house with an apéritif (offered free) and explain the evening's choices. It is there he takes the orders and gets to know his guests.
For 19€ we were served three magnificent courses. Fifty centiliters of wine was 5€ and coffees were 1.20€ each. Add it up -- a little more than 22€ a person for three courses, wine, coffee and apéritif, at a quality worth at least double that. My only complaint were lights that were too bright, but otherwise, it was a perfect dining experience, especially for so little expense. Other meals have been much less interesting and much more expensive in the town and village bistrots designed for tourists.
Le Vieux Chên
Route Supérieure de Cardo
20200 Bastia
Tel: 04.95.34.17.06 Or 06.16.58.43.44
Sunday we took a boat from Saint-Florent to the beach of Lodu (also seen as "Lotu." The sand is fine and white and the water is crystal clear aqua. Beautiful, yes, but lacking in amenities of any kind and windier than most. The real winners were the people in their boats moored off the coast enjoying the pleasures of their crafts while having the stunning views of the beach and water. There was more toplessness at Lotu than the others -- perhaps because the people there were younger, fewer families, and mostly Italian.
Corsica is an interesting and rather undiscovered island, particularly by Americans. It's still 'rough around the edges' as a tourist destination, but that's one of the things we like about it -- it hasn't yet suffered from typical tourist 'tackiness.' And it's still not very expensive -- as you can see by the fine dining one can have for under 20€.
I'll be here for the rest of the week, taking in more beaches and dramatic scenery in this area of the island. So, you ask, "Is it a good vacation destination to consider?"
Of Corse!
Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
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P.S. The Parler Parlor French-English Conversation Group will celebrate "La Rentrée" this coming September 4th with a FREE lunch of sandwiches and sweets to all who attend, plus memberships will be on special sale that day! Meanwhile, it's open all summer long, so you don't need to miss out until "La Rentrée." For more information, visit: www.parlerparlor.com
