Corsica

Corsica is a French island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is only 5 to 6 hours on the ferry from Nice to Calvi.

 I was so fortunate to stay the night in Nice with my new American friends, S. and B. The evening preceded my travel across the water to Calvi. We had a great evening together, wine and cheese tasting. Afterwards, S. and B.  produced a book that had a chapter about Corsica. It informed me that Corsica is for beach lovers, culture buffs, hikers, divers and families. It combines vast stretches of shoreline with the beauty of the mountains along with a rich history. My appetite was whet with superlatives from everyone and anyone who can talk. 

I took a "selfie" as I waited dockside for the ferry to pull up. I think I look like the cat that just ate the cream. There is a silent euphoria going on inside my head as I anticipate the next three weeks of travel.

The ferry was immense. It arrived with much pomp and ceremony as if it was a long distance ocean liner.

The back of the ferry lowered it's massive "derrière" for the large amounts of vehicles that made the voyage. I entered the ferry as a foot passenger. The voyage across was non-eventful, so I settled in to a solid 5 hours of reading and knitting.

After disembarking, I only had about 2 kilometres to walk to the camping ground. However, the lethargy of being stationary for the most of the day, and carrying heavy bags meant that I walked at a slothful pace to find my digs for the next week. I was rather charmed by these sign posts. I think they depict what goes on in these parts.

The pine trees gracefully extended towards the sky with lots of panâche.

A motorcyclist and pillion passenger timed their "drive by" with impeccable precision as I snapped the shutter. I took this shot to show you where I stayed. It was 200 meters from the beach. Try Google Earthing it.

Near the entrance of the camping ground was a collection of flags. The white flag in the foreground is the Corsican flag. It sorts a Corsican person wearing a black bandana. I love it. What a shame that I was unable to capture the image with the flag in view.

The camp shop sported all the needs for having fun at the beach. 

I was transported from the office to my cabin in the world's most cutest golf cart. It was somewhat weird being delivered with regal importance....... what with my backpack and hand luggage, I felt like a tramp.

The green scene was the view from my cabin for the next 5 days. The scent of the eucalyptus trees always reminded me of a sweet marijuana perfume.

I settled in, and with all my might tried to see the benefits of having an idyllic week-long beach holiday ...... alone. I decided to use this as an opportunity to indulge in spiritual and personal introspection; a luxury that eludes me in the hustle and bustle of the life of a school teacher.

Joyeux Anniversaire

16 April, 1958. A most auspicious date when I entered this beautiful world.

Finding this little fluffy feather outside my sliding door on the morning of my birthday, felt like a gift from nature.

 I was ecstatic to be able to spend my 56th birthday in France with a bunch of very, very cool people.

B. and J. picked me up and we zoomed up the slopes of the mountain, Charance, to Éve's lovely house. The late afternoon sun was shining and the happiness in my heart felt like a balloon ready to burst.

Éve and a sweet little 10 year old girl, R., had decorated the front gate with a welcome sign and magnetic letters expressing goodwill. The late afternoon sun created a sharp glare that ensured I couldn't see what I was taking a photo of. Unfortunately, the photo of the welcome on the gate turned out to be a closeup, with little to show.

Éve had gone to a lot of trouble to set the garden out for the guests. It looked great.

Éve characteristically chuckled as she explained that the colourful "Joyeux Anniversaire" sign hanging on the hedge hadn't been brought out for a long time, since her son was small. To me it seemed to be smiling!!!!

J.-M. looked extremely dapper in his white hat and light blue striped shirt. B. wore a very smart white dress, giving a light summer feel to the occasion. J. and D. were casual chic in their white tops and jeans. É. with the loving, nurturing energy of a mother, brought out extra chairs and poured iced drinks whilst the rest of us socialised.

Éve giggled as she asked me if I wanted a single candle or a representative 5 candles for the cake. I opted for the easier single candle version. As it turned out, it took ages for the candle to be lit.  The gentle zephyr that played in the leaves of the trees, decided that it would mischievously play with the resistant candle flame. 

As you can see, Éve's handiwork with decorating the cake was very touching. 

My heart swelled with love as the small group of french friends sang an endearing version of "Joyeux Anniversaire" to me. When the song had finished we all laughed with embarrassment at their somewhat "unsteady" singing voices. The breeze had already taken care of the flame extinguishing ritual.

The cake tasted delicious!!!!!! It went down nicely with two glasses of delicious French champagne.

Éve offered everyone a taste of this liqueur. We roared with laughter as they explained to me that this drink makes the male extremely virile with the ladies. The picture of the flower has a somewhat metaphoric message.

Never one to be shy of a public speech opportunity, I dug into my handbag and pulled out a pre-prepared thank you speech written in french. I commenced with a few "French" jokes and then expressed sincere thanks to each and each one of them. It was received well, to my relief. I think that there weren't too many errors.

R. , who had a most endearing Marseilles accent, left on his Suzuki Bandit motorcycle.

D. rushed off to pick up his kids from day care. The rest of us sat around talking and laughing until the sun and wind made it unpleasant to remain outdoors.

I gathered up my affairs to return back to the reality of my apartment. The swelling of love for France and my small eclectic collection of new friends continued to make me feel the strong emotion pumping through my veins.  

( .... Or was that the Champagne communicating to me?) 

The group had contributed together to present me with a most DIVINE bottle of french perfume... "Manifesto"... YSL.

I will really treasure this picture of Éve and I.

xxxxx