From St Jean de Luz we drove across the edge of the Pyrenees
to Carcasonne a big drive following in
large part the route of the tour de France…..It was a beautiful drive mostly on
the Motorway, peppered with tolls, tight corners and some crazy fast cars hood
down going so much faster than already alotted 130kms an hour that it didn’t bare
thinking about!! We found Carcasonne easily enough but the hotel and the view
of the ancient walled city that I was pinning my hope on seemed to allude us…round
and round we went in ever winding circles of one way streets knowing that we
wanted to be in position A but not knowing just how we could get there……out cam my ever expanding
selection of French asking for direction words…and relieved we arrived at Trois
Corrones across from the walled city…the view of which did not
disappoint!! The sad, grey, city around
this ancient site however leaves a bit to be desired…
We decided to dine in the Ancient city and had a simple meal
of Herb Omelettes and salad followed by Tarte Pomme….. with a great big Jug (
literally) of cheap wine that went down perhaps toooo well!! We meandered back to our abode and swam away
our driving woes in the heated pool…which we had at that late hour all to ourselves
with the eerily lit walled city looming in the background!
The Next morning we had a testing and mammoth drive to Nice…one
we had to get right and make on time so as to catch the ferry to Corsica…we
were a little nervous……..we left early…at 5.30 am and the wonderful hotel staff
prepared Orange juice, croissants and hot coffee for our intrepid
adventure!! The town of Carcassonne was
more bearable at that early hour and when we got a little lost immediately and
took a turn down a one way alley the early morning light revealed about dozen
cats…the romantic Chats of French comics and children’s story books scattering
in every direction…it was actually quite sweet…….
The drive to Nice proved easier than we imagined and we
arrived in this bustling city with time to spare for a picnic lunch and the
inevitable winding, tiny road trip up to the top of the hill to catch some pics
and an amazing view…..
I was prepared this time with directions to the Port via the
trusty internet and it didn’t fail us!! Now why were we winging it all this
time before………
The ferry to Corsica was a mammoth affair, with on board
pool, three bars, four restaurants, games rooms, a place to lay our heads for a
weary hour or so and lounges everywhere….we rested up, drank expresso, some Chianti
with a pasta for dinner and wondered just where we were…the staff on board
spoke mostly Italian….and again my French was challenged with a do you speak Italian
or Spanish from most folk…….I really should be multi - multi lingual!!!!
Everyone was nice though and very helpful. It’s amazing what can be achieved
via a smile, no pride and a little amusing charades….( yes children, I would have embarrassed you no end!!!)
At 9.30 pm we arrived in Ajjaccio, birth place of Napoleon
Bonaparte….another little moment of culture readjustment…old old buildings of
magnificent former glory…a wild street party and rousing Corsican singings with
Gusto….people everywhere dancing and drinking copiously with wide grins and not
a car park in sight!!!! We could see the hotel but we couldn’t park anywhere
near it and eventually we did what all good French men and women it seems do…we
parked on the pavement in an alley way!! We felt like we had entered a city of
majestic splendour, now old and greying but still holding onto its joie de
vivre with fervour!! We organised parking across from the hotel in a public paid
car park and walked up musty stairs to a little musty room opening onto a very
suspect alley way!! Then we joined the locals and danced in the street, watched
the singers and walked hand in hand under the ever watchful eye of Bonaparte’s
statue…….we drank beer obtained from a vending machine to end our late, late
night!! Ah Corsica!!!
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