September 20

September 20:  Bonifacio

Our last full day in Corsica - already!  What a wonderful location our little apartment is in!  A balcony overlooking the port (and directly above the citadel wall) and another window opening up onto Rues Longue - one of the major thoroughfares in the medieval era.  Very narrow by today's standards though.  That's my window with the shutters no quite closed tight on the top floor in the middle.  There is a second floor in the apartment where the boys slept and there is another balcony above my room.  

These are the steps we have to go up and down each time we enter or leave the apartment.  I thought they would never end when I first hauled my luggage up on my back; ugh!  

The first thing we did this morning was visit the Visitor Centre and pick up a map and a headset for an audio tour of the old town.  What a lot of history there is here!!  It seems Napoleon was here for a few months in 1793.  

And Emperor Charles V was across the street in 1541.

Back to the Bastion and its main gate.  

Little restaurants and cafes everywhere.

One of the ferries making its way back from Sardinia.  

Beautiful light and clouds along the shoreline.

These, apparently, are gutters that were used in earlier times to collect and funnel rainwater so that residents would have a source of fresh water during sieges.

Inside a couple of the many churches.

These are some shots along one of the main shopping streets - Rue Doria.

Another church - Eglise Saint-Dominique.  There was a service in progress so we did not go in.  Apparently it has excellent acoustics and many music events are held here.  There was one last evening that I would have like to go to, but my bed was calling.

Not sure what this ruin is.  

Then to the Marine Cemetery.  Apparently it only dates from 1823.  It's huge!  Every family has there own little "building".  I always find cemeteries around the world to be fascinating places to wander through.  

The cemetery is very close to the south-west end of the peninsula.  Close to it was the Le Gouvernail, which looked like it previously would have housed huge cannons to blast anyone out of the water who might even think of invading.  The location sure had good views out to the sea and the strait.  

In that area there were also good views back to the bottom walkway of the King of Aragon steps (that we did yesterday).  Note the little bodies on the side of the rock.  

Good views back to the town as well.  

We then walked back to town along the port side.  We also saw a ferry in dock which is similar to the one we'll be on tomorrow.

Last stop on the walking audio tour.  La Place de L'Europe.  "Here stands a monument brought back by the foreign legion in 1963 to commenmorate the battle of Saida."  The memorial was originally erected in Algeria.  

Lunch (peach and ham salad) followed by a stroll through the shopping areas and then down to the port.  Apparently some of the big yachts currently in town are for hire.  For example, this one (Bella) is available for only 210,000E per week.  Four estate rooms, eight people, 5 crew.  What a deal!  If only I had friends who would chip in............

Back UP to the apartment.  By then my foot was too sore to go back out for dinner.  Gary and Kerr report that they just about the best meal yet.  So - here I sit on the balcony typing up today's notes.  A view out to the sunset and a look back into our apartment.  All in all - a great place to stay and a really interesting town to explore!

Too bad about the lack of pictures (sigh).........

Bonifacio:  AI.... "Bonifacio is a stunning medieval fortress town perched high on white limestone cliffs at the southern tip of Corsica, France.  Key highlights include: the citadel, the King of Aragon's staircase, the marina, the marine cemetery."  Interesting fact - it lies closer to the capital cities of 20 other countries in Europe and Africa than its own (Paris).  It is separated from Sardinia by the Strait of Bonifacio.  Population is about 3,500.