Sunday 14th July 2019 We arrived at the Gare de Monaco in Monte Carlo which, given that space it as a premium in the small principality, is underground. Monte Carlo has built itself a reputation as being a playground for the conspicuously rich, and wealth is flaunted everywhere from the world-renowned casino to the luxury high-performance cars roaring round the narrow streets as if they are taking part in the annual grand prix. The Casino in Monte Carlo is perhaps the most famous gambling establishment in the world, an Art Nouveau palace dedicated to gaming and chance. The city also has the ubiquitous tourist train to take foot-sore visitors to the various sights including . . . . . . the casino and the neighbouring Cafe de Paris which are both beautiful soaring monuments to indulgence. Inside the casino, in the grand atrium alongside shops selling exclusive Graf jewellery and Ferrari merchandise, with somewhat less class, you can pose with outsize betting chips and a roulette wheel. And around the streets you can see much evidence of the annual grand prix, which first took place 90 years ago in 1929, from the frequent statues to past champions and the exceptionally […]
2019 Corsica & Sardinia
13th July 2019 Genoa is the sixth largest city in Italy and is said to be the birthplace of pesto – that fantastic fusion of basil, pine nuts, garlic and hard Italian cheese which has become both a store cupboard staple and the basis of many delicious, impromptu meals in innumerable households across Europe and beyond. Matilda was therefore determined to eat pasta with fresh pesto alla Genovese in the city which gave it its name [see Dish of the Day]. Having deposited our luggage we strolled into the centre of the city to take in some sights. Genoa has a proud maritime tradition and as well as an historical sailing ship with an outsized figurehead [we assumed fake] . . . . . . there is also a submarine, now part of the Maritime Museum, moored in the harbour area. The town itself has many other attractions including an Art Nouveau public lift which Matilda had identified as a less sweaty means of ascending in extreme heat to see the views, but which we failed to find at ground level. We therefore climbed up a multitude of steps to the top and then took the lift down in an exact […]
Thursday 11th July 2019 We were misinformed about Olbia as the books and on-line travel guides we consulted all said there was little to see. Consequently we stayed at our hotel and enjoyed the pool and the sunshine in the morning savouring a welcome moment of relaxation. However, when we did head down to the town in preparation for our overnight ferry, we found that it was really a very pleasant city and we could have spent more time there. Despite Matilda’s stern expression, the ferry was very comfortable and. . . . . .the view as we left the harbour around sun set was beautiful. We have enjoyed spotting the Disney characters painted on the ships in various ports during this trip: they are a feature of the Moby Line and we assume that they are also used for Disney cruises. We arrived in Genoa early in the morning and although we were slightly delayed, entering the old port past pleasure cruisers, industrial vessels and the ancient lighthouse – the Lanterna di Genoa – was a treat. We had seen it before but the Batman artwork has been a particular favourite on this trip. And Wonder Woman always deserves […]
Tuesday 9th to Wednesday 10th July 2010 From Sassari we travelled south by train almost the length of Sardinia to its capital city, Cagliari. Even though we have had to use buses for some of our trip, Robert was pleased to be greeted at the station by the sight of a stream train. We found our hotel was closer to the airport than the centre and there are many hills and steep gradients in the city, but having taken a taxi to the hotel we found that, happily, they are not outrageously expensive. The hotel provided us with a map which included a walking route past many of the major sights. Despite the cloud cover it was still oppressively hot and we decided to take a taxi to the centre to get our bearings and after a stroll around, we found the Antico Caffe, with a fine view of the Bastione San Remy and tasty snacks to accompany our chilled beer. Whilst there, we experienced a little light rainfall. On Wednesday, having seen the topography of the city and the number of steps and steep streets as well as noting that three lifts had been installed around the Bastione San […]
Monday 8th July 2019 The day started with what should have been a train journey from Alghero to Sassari, but no, we had another bus replacement service. I seems as though the narrow gauge railway is closed so that they can replace it with a tram service. Sassari is the second city – or as some might say – Sardinia’s equivalent to Birmingham. On arriving in Sassari we walked in 36ºC heat [almost 97ºF] to our hotel. Google maps said it was a seven minute walk but it took significantly longer than that and was most definitely not “mostly flat” as claimed. Sassari was a stop-over for us rather than a destination in its own right on our itinerary but despite the heat, Matilda insisted on going out to see the Piazza Duomo and the cathedral which is dedicated to Saint Nicholas. We passed through Piazza d’Italia . . . . . . where the arched porticoes reminded us of an enjoyable trip to Turin and recreating scenes from the film The Italian Job. Then on to the cathedral. The cathedral appears bright in the sunshine with clean almost modernist lines from the direction we approached and looks as though […]
Saturday 6th to Sunday 7th July 2019 Although we could hear the Friday night revelling from our hotel room, it was not as loud as we had feared when the receptionist warned us and happily neither of us had recourse to the earplugs which had been provided. As we walked back along the marina to catch the ferry to Sardinia, staff on the more luxurious yachts were polishing the chrome and hosing down the decks whilst chefs were negotiating with local suppliers for fresh produce to be delivered. Unlikely as it is, if we ever have that sort of money we have promised ourselves we will return to Bonifacio on a luxury yacht. Regular ferries run between Bonifacio to Santa Teresa di Gallura on the northern tip of Sardinia and take about an hour. From here we were scheduled to catch a bus to Sassari and then a narrow gauge train to Alghero. Having taken the indirect route up to the bus station, a bus to Sassari was pulling out just as we arrived. The very accommodating driver allowed himself to be flagged down and accosted in pigeon Italian [unspoken ‘O’ level Latin] and agreed to let us put our […]
Friday 5th July 2019 The original plan for the journey to Bonifacio was for us to make a three hour journey by bus, changing at Scopetto. However, the time spent rehydrating around marinas on this trip had proved inspirational for Robert and he had discovered we could catch a tourist boat to Bonifacio. This revised route would only take an extra half hour and would include views of the city from the sea and take in various significant geological features on the way, which appealed to the geography graduate in him. Having bought the boat tickets on our first night in Ajaccio Robert did not inspect them until we were waiting on the quay to board the boat only to discover that the tickets had been issued for the day we arrived in Ajaccio two days earlier on 3 July. Fortunately the ticket office opened at about 07:30 and Robert was able to go and point out the error – the credit card receipt proved that we had in fact purchased our tickets long after the boat we were booked on had already sailed. Travelling by boat to Bonifacio was a real treat. The route hugs the coastline past successive […]
Thursday 4th July 2019 Matilda had read in the guide book about Filitosa: the most famous prehistoric site on Corsica with Neolithic anthropomorphic menhirs situated about 50 km/30miles from Ajaccio. She felt that this would make a change from citadels and it would be worth a visit to see these megalithic stones carved with ancient faces and weapons. However, after making several enquiries it became apparent that the site is best accessed by road so she has promised herself a return visit to this beautiful island in Alan the motorhome to see some of the places not readily served by public transport. Our walk through Ajaccio took us through the market in Piazza Foch, which smelt strongly of cheese and was selling all manner of Corsican produce and foodstuffs. We walked on past the harbour and the citadel, which is not open to the public as it remains under military command and where there were donkeys grazing in the old moat. Place d’Austerlitz, formerly and locally known as the Place du Casone, features a statue of Napoléon at the top of a stone pyramid flanked by two flights of steps and triumphant eagles to left and right. The statue is […]
Tuesday 2 and Wednesday 3 July 2019 As the Calvi area is known for six kilometres of long white sandy beaches we decided to delay breakfast and start the day with a stroll along the bay and a refreshing swim. The beach is indeed sandy and slopes gently down so is ideal for children. In some places there is a thin band of brown and white pieces of vegetation floating where the sea meets the land, looking like sections of ticker tape streamers which we assume came from the bark and the cones of the nearby pine trees. But in general the sea is clear and you can see shoals of small fish casting shadows in the shallows which panic and scatter as you walk along in the surf. The beach has many cafes with rows of loungers and parasols for rent. We noticed the prices at one: €30 for the front row with prices decreasing as your proximity to the sea recedes. We opted to put our clothes in a pile out of the sea’s reach and enjoyed a cooling dip in the clear turquoise Mediterranean before returning to our hotel to wash off the sand and salt. Having […]
Sunday 30th June – Monday 1st July 2019 Because of the tight corners needed to negotiate the gradient of the inland mountains, the Corsican trains run on narrow gauge track and they are some of the most scenic routes in Europe. In contrast to the Himalayan trains in India however, the rolling stock is modern and significantly more comfortable. The train from Bastia to Calvi travels southwards down the east coast then cuts across the central mountains to the west of the island. It then travels along the western coast past the beautiful beaches at L’Île Rousse, Corbara and Algajola. As we arrived on the train, Calvi Citadel is proudly visible at the far end of the bay. The Citadel here presents a more complete profile to the world than its equivalent in Bastia and impressive bastions overlook the sea on three sides. Like the Citadel at Bastia, it was also built by the Genoese as protection for the port and local trade. Quay Landry runs along the side of the marina and port and offers a wealth of waterside ice cream parlours, cafes and bars with parasols to provide shade and is the perfect spot to cool down and […]
Friday 28th – Saturday 29th June 2019 Our overnight ferry from Toulon, originally scheduled to depart at 21:00, was delayed by several hours. We had hoped for a picturesque departure at sunset but it was already dark when we finally boarded at close to 23:00. The concierge proudly informed us that our cabin had a window but it was not until the morning we realised we were right at the stern with views over the wake. Unfortunately, this also meant that we were above the engine room. Although we were safely tucked up in bed and dozing by the time all the cars, motorhomes and lorries had been loaded and the ship was ready to depart we were wide awake as soon as the captain and pilot revved up the engines to manoeuvre their way out of port. Everything in the cabin – the doors, the prefabricated shower and toilet unit, the aforementioned window, the bed and the metal ladder for the optional extra berth – seemed to rattle, shake or squeak in a discordant cacophony. Fortunately, as we braced ourselves for a sleepless night on board we must have reached open sea; the side thrusters were turned off […]
Wednesday 26 June 2019 Ironically, having revelled in the fact that we no longer need to go away during the school holidays and can therefore avoid higher prices, other people’s fractious children and the hottest months of the year, our trip to Corsica and Sardinia saw us heading for Paris in a positive heatwave. Temperatures in Paris hit 34 degrees on the day we arrived, schools have closed, national exams have been cancelled and vehicles are being restricted in the capital to combat pollution. As we arrived at our four star Holiday Inn, close to the Gare de Lyon [which features a picturesque and elegant clock tower] . . . . . . the neon sign on the building next door flashed the immortal words “Sex Shop”. Matilda felt she was stepping back in time to the period before retirement and before she had issued her minimum star requirement for hotels when Robert habitually booked those closest to the station for convenience. Curiously, the areas around the main line stations all across Europe seem to feature establishments which offer this service. Having checked in and applied sun protection we walked to Notre Dame to pay our respects to this iconic […]