Days 15 – 16 L’lle Rousse and Calvi

On Wednesday we had a pretty chill day. Pauline, Sarah and Hamish took Finn to the beach early, before it got too hot and we joined them later. There are some lovely little beaches nearby and they seem to be free. The one we went to had lots of shade (during the morning anyway) and the water was crystal clear and lovely to swim in.

There are camp grounds nearby and a lot of the people at the beach just walked down. We drove as it’s about 7 km from the little town where we are staying. There’s a good parking area that was absolutely worth the €3 price.

We went back to the village late morning and just enjoyed the pool and aircon.

There was a slightly stressful moment went Craig went down to empty the rubbish. The neighbourhood’s trash bins are kept under this shelter at the end of the road. On his way back, 2 large and aggressive dogs from next door went after him as their gate was open. Craig swore loudly and the owner thankfully whistled them back but not before Craig had ripped his toe on a stone or the road. It turned out to be not much more than a scratch but it bled profusely and gave him a hell of a fright! Their backyard looks like a junkyard and they are definitely junkyard dogs.

On Thursday Pauline, Craig and JenY, Jen, Mike and I all drove into town and caught the 9am train to Calvi. There are trains that go right along the coast, stopping at various beaches (including the one we visited on Wednesday) and villages.

It was packed but definitely easier than driving and then trying to find a park.

This flash new train was stopped just up from the little beach we went to on Wednesday. It’s not the one that took us to and from Calvi.

This is the rattle tattle one we caught.

Calvi is a lovely town with a fortified castle thing at the end of the cliff. Apparently there was a siege of Calvi during the Napoleonic wars and it’s where Nelson was injured by some debris.

There are statues and references to Christopher Columbus everywhere also and the locals consider he was born there when Corsica was part of Genoa.

It’s a very chic and photogenic place with a marina and some excellent shops and restaurants.

It was pretty hot by the time we got back so there was pool time before an at home meal and the football World Cup viewing. Such a relaxing holiday.