Living in an Inside Cabin

Napoleon lived here and Christopher Columbus was born here.  Mind you, there were a few centuries between these two events but I was impressed.  Corsica is one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean and belongs to France now.  Calvi is a very picturesque town on the coast and provided a lovely day ashore.  The old town is to the right of where we landed and looks quite

Old Calvi

imposing with its fortress and walls high above the coast.  The area is still residential although the fortress is not open to the public since the military offices are in there.  There are churches, cafes and shops dotting the streets but the main souvenir places are down at sea level in the new town.  Walking these streets is for historical information and photographers.  Magnets, postcards and wifi are not here.  You can do a self guided audio tour for 4 euros and it is certainly worth it.  Two hours later I found myself finally leaving the old town and heading down to the beach area.

Columbus was born here

Noordam in Calvi

After being in Italy and Greece for weeks, French prices came as a shock.  To use my favorite purchase, gelato, what I got for 1.5 euros in Greece and Italy was now 3.5 or more.  Granted, it is a tourist town but I could see some price gouging in place.  However the waterfront cafes were beautiful and the shopping streets provided a grand variety of options.  The beach stretched out for a very long way and looked very inviting.  Next time there, I’m thinking that a towel and book will accompany me off the ship so I can take advantage of a last Mediterranean dip in the sea

Morning mist in Calvi harbor

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