Corsica August 21-26, 2016
August 21, 2016: Parking Car in Genoa is not fun
AlteCocker is writing this sitting on the Moby Ferry to Corsica—which leaves at 10:00am and arrives at 8:00am the next day. With all the difficulty she had parking the car today, she would have been better off taking it to Corsica. What is done is done—including a nice dent in the bumper which AlteCocker will have to pay for. Basically, she had information on reserved parking but couldn't print out a reservation so she thought she would wing it. It was not a good idea.
She left the house near Lake Como about noon and headed for the Galata Maritime Museum in Genoa which it was her intention to see. She did find parking at the museum (free on Sunday). The museum tells the history of Genoa and the sea. The exhibit tells the story of Genoa across the ages. There is a recreated galley from the Middle Ages where prisoners did the rowing; you can go on the galley and see it from a lot of levels. There are also a lot of things for kids to touch, so it would be a good visit for families as well as AlteCockers. The story goes into modern times with a good piece on Italian immigration to the US as well. You get to walk through mock ups of steerage cabins. Then you can go to the top fl
oor and get a good panoramic look at Genoa. That part of the day was fine.
Then the search began for parking. AlteCocker had tried to make an advance parking reservation but could not get it to print out and canceled it. First mistake. Then she went out to the Genoa Airport to price that (75 euros in long term parking for 5 nights). Backing up because she thought that was too expensive, she put a nice dent in the home exchangers' car bumper. She also noticed that, when she hit the tire earlier, she might have put a scrape on the side of the bumper as well—or it could have happened today. She will be leaving some money. If it doesn't cover the damage, she will pay more later. Such is life but it wasn't a very good day. Then she tried to find the the parking she originally reserved. That led through multiple passes through Telepass gates (like EZPass—and you pay each time) and went nowhere. Fortunately, AlteCocker had left a lot of time for these shenanigans. She never found a satisfactory underground lot in the city of Genoa and ended up back at the airport. For 6 euros you can get a bus to take you to the train station (but not to the ferry) and then, using the same ticket, you get a bus to drop you off near the ferry terminal. If it were not for a nice Italian woman who pointed her in the right direction at the end, AlteCocker might still be wandering around Genoa because the passenger dock is very disorganized. Again, it was not a very good day and she would never drive into Genoa again—or advise anyone else to do so. The whole business is a mess and, heaven forbid, they should have parking where the ferry is that you could just pay for without all the gymnastics, but that is not the case.
Finally, of course, AlteCocker arrived where she needed to be—at the ferry—and located her correct seat (she thinks). To find the seat, of course, you have to go through all the shops with the kids kvetching for toys. There is an entertainment area for the little over tired darlings that includes one of the ball rooms. One disadvantage of not getting a cabin is that people sit where they want and spread out into other people's places creating a huge mess. One of the ship's crew had to straighten out the seating mess. AlteCocker presumes that the same shenanigans go on every night.
Next time AlteCocker will get a cabin. Next time she will bring the car. It would be a hell of a lot easier than looking for secure parking in Genoa—and ending in a dented bumper.
Some days of a trip just do not go well. Today was the day from hell.
After eating a piece of cake and a coffee ice cream thingy, AlteCocker tried to get some sleep. She got about 3 hours between the sprawling and snoring neighbors in the seats and the TV in the bar on the ship—which stayed on all night despite the fact that no one was in the bar. It's main reason seemed to be to amuse the night bartender. Those in seats near the bar did not appreciate the noise. Thank goodness AlteCocker bought earplugs. They helped but one of her neighbors indulged in world class snoring. So everyone was a bit bedraggled in the morning.
She left the house near Lake Como about noon and headed for the Galata Maritime Museum in Genoa which it was her intention to see. She did find parking at the museum (free on Sunday). The museum tells the history of Genoa and the sea. The exhibit tells the story of Genoa across the ages. There is a recreated galley from the Middle Ages where prisoners did the rowing; you can go on the galley and see it from a lot of levels. There are also a lot of things for kids to touch, so it would be a good visit for families as well as AlteCockers. The story goes into modern times with a good piece on Italian immigration to the US as well. You get to walk through mock ups of steerage cabins. Then you can go to the top fl
oor and get a good panoramic look at Genoa. That part of the day was fine.
Then the search began for parking. AlteCocker had tried to make an advance parking reservation but could not get it to print out and canceled it. First mistake. Then she went out to the Genoa Airport to price that (75 euros in long term parking for 5 nights). Backing up because she thought that was too expensive, she put a nice dent in the home exchangers' car bumper. She also noticed that, when she hit the tire earlier, she might have put a scrape on the side of the bumper as well—or it could have happened today. She will be leaving some money. If it doesn't cover the damage, she will pay more later. Such is life but it wasn't a very good day. Then she tried to find the the parking she originally reserved. That led through multiple passes through Telepass gates (like EZPass—and you pay each time) and went nowhere. Fortunately, AlteCocker had left a lot of time for these shenanigans. She never found a satisfactory underground lot in the city of Genoa and ended up back at the airport. For 6 euros you can get a bus to take you to the train station (but not to the ferry) and then, using the same ticket, you get a bus to drop you off near the ferry terminal. If it were not for a nice Italian woman who pointed her in the right direction at the end, AlteCocker might still be wandering around Genoa because the passenger dock is very disorganized. Again, it was not a very good day and she would never drive into Genoa again—or advise anyone else to do so. The whole business is a mess and, heaven forbid, they should have parking where the ferry is that you could just pay for without all the gymnastics, but that is not the case.
Finally, of course, AlteCocker arrived where she needed to be—at the ferry—and located her correct seat (she thinks). To find the seat, of course, you have to go through all the shops with the kids kvetching for toys. There is an entertainment area for the little over tired darlings that includes one of the ball rooms. One disadvantage of not getting a cabin is that people sit where they want and spread out into other people's places creating a huge mess. One of the ship's crew had to straighten out the seating mess. AlteCocker presumes that the same shenanigans go on every night.
Next time AlteCocker will get a cabin. Next time she will bring the car. It would be a hell of a lot easier than looking for secure parking in Genoa—and ending in a dented bumper.
Some days of a trip just do not go well. Today was the day from hell.
After eating a piece of cake and a coffee ice cream thingy, AlteCocker tried to get some sleep. She got about 3 hours between the sprawling and snoring neighbors in the seats and the TV in the bar on the ship—which stayed on all night despite the fact that no one was in the bar. It's main reason seemed to be to amuse the night bartender. Those in seats near the bar did not appreciate the noise. Thank goodness AlteCocker bought earplugs. They helped but one of her neighbors indulged in world class snoring. So everyone was a bit bedraggled in the morning.
August 22, 2016: Arrival in Bastia
The ferry gets in on time, but, as was true with entry into Genoa port, exit from Bastia port ain't so easy either. You have to take a shuttle bus to the terminal building. When AlteCocker arrives sporting her "I [heart] TW" t-shirt, her ride is not there. Well her ride was there but it took awhile for her to hook up with her friend Suzanne. It was a question of Suzanne standing in one place and AlteCocker in another. Finally, AlteCocker took another stroll to the place where the turnstile was to exit from the ferry port and there was Suzanne. Relief.
Suzanne and AlteCocker had never met before but knew each other from genealogical research on AlteCocker's exhusband's family.
Suzanne's husband waited by the car--with a cute King Charles' spaniel in tow. We quickly became friends after the dog figured out that AlteCocker was another potential petter. A tour of the north end of the island commenced with a lot of beautiful scenery--both beach and mountainous. We stopped St. Florent for coffees and then it was another scenic route to a wonderful house they had built for themselves in retirement.
Lunch was endless as AlteCocker was treated to all sorts of food for their extensive garden. AlteCocker cannot remember the last time she had such a large meal of so much healthy food. She ate fresh--as opposed to dried--figs and some smelly goat cheese. She is going to be very spoiled for the next few days--no driving (and denting bumpers) and nothing to do but eat and relax by their pool. Paradise.
After lunch she hooked up her computer equipment and began to play blog catch up. 4 days in paradise will be good. No doubt she will get a good night's sleep to make up for the lack of the same last night.
Suzanne and AlteCocker had never met before but knew each other from genealogical research on AlteCocker's exhusband's family.
Suzanne's husband waited by the car--with a cute King Charles' spaniel in tow. We quickly became friends after the dog figured out that AlteCocker was another potential petter. A tour of the north end of the island commenced with a lot of beautiful scenery--both beach and mountainous. We stopped St. Florent for coffees and then it was another scenic route to a wonderful house they had built for themselves in retirement.
Lunch was endless as AlteCocker was treated to all sorts of food for their extensive garden. AlteCocker cannot remember the last time she had such a large meal of so much healthy food. She ate fresh--as opposed to dried--figs and some smelly goat cheese. She is going to be very spoiled for the next few days--no driving (and denting bumpers) and nothing to do but eat and relax by their pool. Paradise.
After lunch she hooked up her computer equipment and began to play blog catch up. 4 days in paradise will be good. No doubt she will get a good night's sleep to make up for the lack of the same last night.
August 23, 2016: ile Rousse
This is a restful piece of vacation as opposed to running around knocking herself out in Italy. She did get a good night's sleep as opposed to the night on the ferry.
It is hot here and sleeping in is not a bad thing. In the morning Suzanne and AlteCocker go over to Monticello (no not Jefferson's house) where Suzanne and her husband own an apartment. It was their first residence in Corsica before they had their current home built for them. The house is now used primarily by their children and grandchildren when they come for visits. There is a dramatic walk along the rocks adjacent to the beach. AlteCocker, of course, left her stick in the car. She never has it when she needs it. At the end of the day (see below), she does not have it at all. She does survive the walk sans stick.
After surviving the rock walk, it is back to the house for lunch and a siesta (It's a hard life but AlteCocker could get used to it). Post siesta Suzanne and AlteCocker go into Isle Rousse to check out the town--which is a tourist hub in summer, but does have a life after the tourists leave. It is the nearest good size town to Belgodere where her hosts' home is. AlteCocker gets some cash out of an ATM, buys a t-shirt and fridge magnet and then succeeds in accidentally smashing a souvenir clock in the t-shirt shop. She pays for it, of course, but the clock is trash (It was not so good before it got smashed costing 8.50 euros). We then walk down to the harbor; we watch some guys playing petanque--that French game played with metal balls. Remember that walking stick? Yes, it is just a memory. She left it somewhere. She does have a track record with walking poles. They disappear into buses restaurants and downtown Isle Rousse. Fortunately she has 2 more in her bag in Garbanate Monasterio. She brings them on trips in bunches because they disappear. The mate for today's pole was left on a bus in Taipei. Maybe they will get together again in hiking pool heaven.
It is hot here and sleeping in is not a bad thing. In the morning Suzanne and AlteCocker go over to Monticello (no not Jefferson's house) where Suzanne and her husband own an apartment. It was their first residence in Corsica before they had their current home built for them. The house is now used primarily by their children and grandchildren when they come for visits. There is a dramatic walk along the rocks adjacent to the beach. AlteCocker, of course, left her stick in the car. She never has it when she needs it. At the end of the day (see below), she does not have it at all. She does survive the walk sans stick.
After surviving the rock walk, it is back to the house for lunch and a siesta (It's a hard life but AlteCocker could get used to it). Post siesta Suzanne and AlteCocker go into Isle Rousse to check out the town--which is a tourist hub in summer, but does have a life after the tourists leave. It is the nearest good size town to Belgodere where her hosts' home is. AlteCocker gets some cash out of an ATM, buys a t-shirt and fridge magnet and then succeeds in accidentally smashing a souvenir clock in the t-shirt shop. She pays for it, of course, but the clock is trash (It was not so good before it got smashed costing 8.50 euros). We then walk down to the harbor; we watch some guys playing petanque--that French game played with metal balls. Remember that walking stick? Yes, it is just a memory. She left it somewhere. She does have a track record with walking poles. They disappear into buses restaurants and downtown Isle Rousse. Fortunately she has 2 more in her bag in Garbanate Monasterio. She brings them on trips in bunches because they disappear. The mate for today's pole was left on a bus in Taipei. Maybe they will get together again in hiking pool heaven.
August 24, 2015: Monticello Corsica Style
Today's arduous excursion was a trip to the nearby town of Monticello. No, Thomas Jefferson never saw it. The Monticello in the US is named after a similar town in Italy (Monticello means something like "beautiful hill" in English), not Corsica. Thomas Jefferson never went to Corsica but was enamored by Palladian architecture and got his inspiration for his house from that.
Enough of the US diversion, many towns in Europe have a hill town where the inhabitants live (the old part) and then a part down below. The down below bit is devoted to the beach in Monticello. Uphill you can see lots of views of the harbor and mountains. Suzanne schleps AlteCocker to all the viewpoints and photos get taken. Then we return to the house for lunch (always almost entirely from the garden as her husband Yvonn has become a formidable gardener in retirment). The size of some of the vegetables is huge. After lunch, which included chicken, the bones are left for the local red kite hawks who nest in the area called "milan" in French. They dive down for their snack of bones and presumably take it back to their nest. When they see us outside, they perch on a nearby electricity pole waiting to get their "petit snack". Recycling can be easy in the countryside.
Enough of the US diversion, many towns in Europe have a hill town where the inhabitants live (the old part) and then a part down below. The down below bit is devoted to the beach in Monticello. Uphill you can see lots of views of the harbor and mountains. Suzanne schleps AlteCocker to all the viewpoints and photos get taken. Then we return to the house for lunch (always almost entirely from the garden as her husband Yvonn has become a formidable gardener in retirment). The size of some of the vegetables is huge. After lunch, which included chicken, the bones are left for the local red kite hawks who nest in the area called "milan" in French. They dive down for their snack of bones and presumably take it back to their nest. When they see us outside, they perch on a nearby electricity pole waiting to get their "petit snack". Recycling can be easy in the countryside.
August 25, 2016: Relaxing and a look at the Local Beach
Today was AlteCocker's last full day in beautiful Corsica. It was a day for just relaxing. The house is up on a hill so it is cooler here than on the beach where it is frying hot. Not wanting to burn myself to a crisp, we go down to the beach at 5:00pm. It is still hot. AlteCocker walks a short distance, takes a few photos and dips her toes in the Mediterranean. That's it. She also read several chapters of her current book, which is the first of the Elana Ferrante Naples novels, "My Brilliant Friend". She also read a few pages of a book about Hannibal--a bit heavier going.
And so this leg of the trip ends. Tomorrow AlteCocker will take the bus from Isle Rousse into Bastia to pick up the 11:00am boat to Genoa. The boat arrives at 5:30pm. Then she will make her way to the airport to pick up the car and return to Garbanante Monasterio.
Corsica has been a few days in paradise.
And so this leg of the trip ends. Tomorrow AlteCocker will take the bus from Isle Rousse into Bastia to pick up the 11:00am boat to Genoa. The boat arrives at 5:30pm. Then she will make her way to the airport to pick up the car and return to Garbanante Monasterio.
Corsica has been a few days in paradise.
August 26, 2016: Traveling back to Base
It was time for AlteCocker to pack up and leave. Suzanne had discovered a bus that goes from Calvi via St. Florent to Bastia with the last stop at the port. It leaves at, groan, 7:30am, but realistically, if Suzanne were to drive AlteCocker, she wouldn't leave much later. The bus ends up working perfectly. Had AlteCocker known the distance from Bastia to her hosts' home, she would have simply taken her car. Corsica is bigger than it looks and there are no fast roads. It is all slow roads and it is not the kilometers you drive, it is how long it takes.
So, AlteCocker packs up before going to bed the night before and we are off early to be sure to catch the bus. There is one last piece of Suzanne's spouse's to die for homemade bread (with raisins and nuts) and a Corsican lemon cookie and it is off to the bus stop. The bus arrives right on time and it takes about 1 1/2 hours to arrive at the port. The only glitch is that the bus stops at Terminal South and Terminal North is the one you want. There is a sign on Terminal South telling you how to get to Terminal North (AlteCocker is fairly fluent in French). The terminals are about 300 meters apart. When she gets to Terminal North, AlteCocker has learned her lesson. She books a cabin. It was only 20 euros during the day because most do not want them during the day. Boarding the boat, AlteCocker is delighted to be out of the maelstrom. After snapping some photos of Bastia on the way out, she lays down for a couple of hours. Then she finally finishes the first of the Elana Ferrante Neapolitan Novels she has been reading and listens to podcasts. She does buy a couple of snacks, but spends most of the time in her cabin. The crossing during the day is faster than the one at night. They slow the night crossing down so that people have more time to just sleep. The boat was absolutely packed with both people and cars. Some French people are forced to go home from their Corsican vacations via Genoa because the ferries to France are packed too. The August vacation month is crazy in Europe with everyone moving at the beginning and the end of the month.
The ferry arrives about 20 minutes late just before 6:00pm. Then AlteCocker hops on a bus that goes near the train station but not exactly to the right place. She has to sort that out and pick up the Vola Bus to the airport where her exchange car is parked. That done, AlteCocker has to figure out how to pay for the parking (you take your parking ticket inside the airport and pay in a machine there not outside). Once that is done, AlteCocker is on her way home. That is accomplished and all the laundry is immediately placed in the wash. AlteCocker does have clean clothes for the morning but that is it, so getting the wash done and hung up is urgent. The wash will get hung up in the morning as it is late and it dries more quickly in the sun anyway (no rain is predicted and AlteCocker has already had one round of wet clothing--which she does not care to repeat.
Then it is time to do the blog and send a thank you note to Suzanne. She and her husband were delightful hosts and have a standing invitation to visit AlteCocker in the US.
The trip blog will continue in Lake Como.
So, AlteCocker packs up before going to bed the night before and we are off early to be sure to catch the bus. There is one last piece of Suzanne's spouse's to die for homemade bread (with raisins and nuts) and a Corsican lemon cookie and it is off to the bus stop. The bus arrives right on time and it takes about 1 1/2 hours to arrive at the port. The only glitch is that the bus stops at Terminal South and Terminal North is the one you want. There is a sign on Terminal South telling you how to get to Terminal North (AlteCocker is fairly fluent in French). The terminals are about 300 meters apart. When she gets to Terminal North, AlteCocker has learned her lesson. She books a cabin. It was only 20 euros during the day because most do not want them during the day. Boarding the boat, AlteCocker is delighted to be out of the maelstrom. After snapping some photos of Bastia on the way out, she lays down for a couple of hours. Then she finally finishes the first of the Elana Ferrante Neapolitan Novels she has been reading and listens to podcasts. She does buy a couple of snacks, but spends most of the time in her cabin. The crossing during the day is faster than the one at night. They slow the night crossing down so that people have more time to just sleep. The boat was absolutely packed with both people and cars. Some French people are forced to go home from their Corsican vacations via Genoa because the ferries to France are packed too. The August vacation month is crazy in Europe with everyone moving at the beginning and the end of the month.
The ferry arrives about 20 minutes late just before 6:00pm. Then AlteCocker hops on a bus that goes near the train station but not exactly to the right place. She has to sort that out and pick up the Vola Bus to the airport where her exchange car is parked. That done, AlteCocker has to figure out how to pay for the parking (you take your parking ticket inside the airport and pay in a machine there not outside). Once that is done, AlteCocker is on her way home. That is accomplished and all the laundry is immediately placed in the wash. AlteCocker does have clean clothes for the morning but that is it, so getting the wash done and hung up is urgent. The wash will get hung up in the morning as it is late and it dries more quickly in the sun anyway (no rain is predicted and AlteCocker has already had one round of wet clothing--which she does not care to repeat.
Then it is time to do the blog and send a thank you note to Suzanne. She and her husband were delightful hosts and have a standing invitation to visit AlteCocker in the US.
The trip blog will continue in Lake Como.