July 20, 2022
Having crossed back into Sardinia, we drove down to Bosa. It’s a quaint little town with colorful buildings and a hilltop castle. We started with an espresso at one of the local cafes before setting out to explore the narrow streets of the old town.
July 20, 2022
With a couple of hours to spare before catching the ferry back to Sardinia, we once again took to the streets of Bonifacio. It was much earlier, much less crowded and much more pleasant than the day before.
July 19, 2022
We drove down to Bonifacio to explore its old town that sits high above a sheltered harbor. The old town is built within a fortress that clings to the cliffs, part of which dates back to the year 828 when it was founded by Boniface II of Tuscany. By the time we arrived at midday the town was already packed with tourists and the sun was scorching. We took a little train up to the city and roamed its shady and narrow streets for an hour before beating a hasty retreat back to the car and heading to the beach for one last Corsican swim.
July 16, 2022
Another day, another beach. This time we made our way to Plage de Palombaggia, a more open beach than the others that we have visited, but no less beautiful. On such a sunny day, le lait protecteur (sunscreen) was essential. Les sauveteurs en mer (lifeguards), not so much, with shallow waters and not a wave in sight.
In the evening, we made our way to Porto Vecchio for dinner in the lively old town. We loved the fact that even late at night everyone was still out and about, from families with small children, to roaming groups of teenagers, to older couples. From what we could tell, most were French. We didn’t notice any of the Americans, Chinese, English or Germans that you often come across in Greece and Spain and other European tourist destinations.
July 15, 2022
We took a two hour drive across the island to the hillside town of Sartene. It dates back to medieval times and granite buildings from the early 1500s still line some of its streets. Apparently, the town was a frequent target for pirates. One of the most infamous attacks happened in 1583 when pirates from Algiers took aways 400 of the town’s citizens. Today it is a sleepy town and on a hot day there was not much going on in its ancient streets.
After lunch in the town square and a mandatory gelato from a little mobile mint green gelato stand, we started to explore its narrow streets. However, it wasn’t long before our group decided that on such a scorching day, a better course of action would be to head to the beach. So we drove down the stunning coastline and headed toward Plage de Rondinara.
Arriving in the late afternoon, we found Rondinara to be the most beautiful beach that we had come across so far in Corsica. It is a perfect horseshoe shape with only a narrow gap to the open ocean. Like all of the Corsican beaches that we visited, it also had a great beachside restaurant, so as the sun went down we enjoyed a beautiful meal and a couple of drinks before setting out on the winding road back to our AirBnB.
July 15, 2022
Named after one of Corsica’s patron saints, Santa Giulia, this beach set in a horseshoe bay, is one of Corsica’s most popular. As such, it was very crowded when we were there. Unfortunately, it also attracted more than its fair share of seaweed.
July 14, 2022
We spent the morning hanging around our beautiful AirBnB. The house was built in the 1970s but looks much older, having been constructed with hand carved stone.
In the afternoon, we drove to nearby Saint Cyprien for our first swim in Corsican waters. The beach was beautiful and not too crowded and the water was clear and warm. There was also a restaurant and bar right on the beach that sold excellent fresh food and refreshing drinks. It was a far cry from the fast food and supersize sodas you commonly find at American beaches.
July 13, 2022
We had a look around Santa Teresa di Gallura while we were waiting for our ferry to Corsica. The town’s small crescent shaped beach was very crowded so we walked up the headlands overlooking the beach for some spectacular views.
Then it was on to the ferry for the short ride across to Corsica.
Time to show off our new tattoos (temporary).
After a short ferry ride we pulled into Bonafacio, the home of several massive oligarch yachts and a centuries old fort.
July 12-13, 2022
We drove north, arriving in Olbia in the late afternoon. Olbia is a pretty seaside town. It is much smaller than Cagliari with about 60,000 inhabitants and also has much less graffiti.
At the market the locals were engaging in a lively discussion. Unfortunately, our lack of Italian meant that we weren’t able to participate or even determine what was being debated.
From Olbia we drove to nearby Sant’Antonio di Gallura where we spent the night at the Hotel Stazzo Lu Ciaccaru, which was set in idyllic countryside.
July 11-12, 2022
With close to half a million inhabitants, Cagliari is Sardinia’s largest city and also its capital. Arriving in the late afternoon, we checked into our hotel and walked to the nearby city center to get a late dinner. Well, we say late, but by Italian standards it was still early with most of the restaurants not filling up until after ten. One thing we like about European cities and towns is that they almost inevitably have a part of the town that is closed to cars and are lined with restaurants with outdoor seating. Cagliari was no exception.
On the next morning we went for a walk through the town and up to the old walled city with beautiful views over the city. Apart from Melbourne, Australia, we have never come across a city with such an affinity for graffiti.
Mal and Lauren