Dressed in pink made by Gaga Marg

Barbie doll given to Cleo by the Priest

Beautiful Demi  Big day today as its Demi’s Christening and the ceremony starts at 10.30 in Carrara, about 40 mins away. So all up early including Caleb, Bertie’s friend from Australia. All dressed and ready, Fabio in his summer weight suit; Bertie in a lovely blue dress; and little Princess Cleo in a gorgeous dress made by Grandma Marg (otherwise know as Gaga). Baby Demi was in a pretty dress (also made by Marg) made from a fabric from a favourite shirt of Grandma Betty. Steve and I went with Massimo and Patrizia, who live in a gorgeous house nearby. It was a “short 40 min” drive to the church. We all assembled at the church in Carrara, and Fabio’s sister Antonella and husband Fredrico and son Dmitri arrived all smiles as they were to be the Godparents. Several other friends arrived and the Priest came out ready to start. He was also the media manager as he kept telling where the photographers (Dmitri and Massimo) should stand to get the best shots. He also gave Cleo a Barbie doll, a great surprise and something I’ve never seen in an Australian church. That kept her completely occupied. Parents and Godparents sat up near the altar and away we went. Demi was perfect as usual, she’s a really lovely easy friendly baby. We got all the photos and then moved outside for more photos and chats. We were moving onto to a restaurant near by – well not so nearby. We drove for nearly an hour, out of Liguria and into Lucca and up several mountains untill we arrived at La Cerratola. It was like a mountain get away. Lunch was delightful, beautiful traditional antipasti followed by 3 pasta dishes followed by a meat platter with 4 different types of meat and salad then the cake and gelato for dessert. Just as we were finished bad news arrived. The whole way up Massimo and Patrizia had been a little distracted as their friend Oscar was very ill in hospital in Genoa. They then got a call saying he had passed away. There were many tears and a fairly quick end to the lunch, we moved outside and discovered Massimo and Patrizia had left and we were without a lift home. Well, in lovely italian style it took 15 mins to arrange cars, count people distribute between cars etc…… to save Steve and I being left on the hill. Eventually we went with Stempy and Veronica and their daughter Greta. Over an hour later of winding corners we arrived back in Lerici and everyone was exhausted. Gorgeous party to welcome little Demi. Thank you Fabio and Roberta. Had a peaceful night and planned an early morning departure for Cotignac and the last week of our holidays.

Roberta with Demi

You may remember I was in Lerici last year with my friend Pat. We had an apartment near the castle and enjoyed a week of summer fun.
Our niece Roberta (Berti) and husband Fabio live here but were away when I was her last years. This time we are staying with them. We arrived at their house to find them fresh out of the shower after an afternoon on their boat. We settled in then went shopping where Steve got to play Grandpa, pushing the stroller and looking after Cleo. We gathered a few things then went home to prepare dinner.
The two little girls (Cleo 2 and a half and Demi 3 months) are just yummy. Cleo took straight to me and I was having a lot of fun talking, reading, playing, dancing and cuddling her.
We slept in the “cave” downstairs and enjoyed a great night.
The next morning after breakfast Steve and Fabio left on the scooter and we all followed

We joined the throngs of people on boats and set off for Palmaria a small island in the Gulf de Poeti. We stopped at our own beach and went onto the blackish sand and spent some time swimming and collecting shells before heading off for lunch in a lovely casual restaurant on the island.
There was the usual mix of young old, big and small but all were brown. We had a great lunch then boarded the boat, whizzed past Portovenere towards the Cinque Terre, and stopped at the red caves for a swim
We retuned home around 6 exhausted. What a day!

Corte was the capital and is placed in the centre surrounded by mountains, running rivers and lots of greenery. It’s very popular with walkers. All along the roads there are cars parked where the owners have scrambled down the river for a swim. If you get a look over, the river has bodies splashing and lying around on rocks.

W decided  to take the little tourist train! I know it’s very naff but we had limited time to see the sights and it came along so we jumped on. It appeared we had joined a group of bus travelling tourists and before we knew it we had driven out of the town towards a car park where a big bus was waiting! Trust us, on our first train,  to choose one that was a “special”. We had to wait for a real train to come along to get us back into the town.

Just then we heard rumbles and before long it started to rain. The first rain we’ve had over 3 weeks and 4 islands. I think in Corte it captures any rain going around.

We continued on to Bastia, where the Tour started and spent the afternoon wandering around the streets, before choosing a cafe for our aperitif and then dinner.
Back to our cave sized room and an early night for the early departure of our boat to Italy .
Off to see Bertie, Fabio, Cleo and 3 month old Demi.

Our last morning swim in Ill Rousse was lovely. Refreshing and alone. It was so peaceful, something the surf doesn’t give us in Australia. It crashes and threatens , mostly with sharks! It’s a very different way of swimming and playing in the water.

Breakfast at the hotel was ordinary and I always question why the French hotels charge for breakfast.
On the way out of town we stopped so I could buy a basket. We needed something we could carry our few more fragile purchases and I thought it should be something I would use. So I’m now the owner of a brightly coloured striped bag- a type of market bag. Steve looks great carrying it!

Woke to a very warm day after. A lovely dinner last night on the beach. Usually restaurants on the beachfront are a little bit of a rip off but this one had great reports on various websites so we gave it a go.
It was just lovely. We choose a table just on the edge of the decking – not the sand for us! It was a lovely night and we had such a lovely meal. The fish here is great. ……..

On the deck

relaxing dinner

This morning we went for walk and Steve found a rather steep walk down to the water for a swim. I had thongs on so was too scared to venture down . He set off and I thought he would never stop swimming. Almost disappeared! and attracted a crowd of interested spectators.

SO i left him to it and walked back towards the hotel and found a more sedate rocky cove to enter the water. It was quiet and I was the only one swimming. Its funny…..I would never do this in Australia. with sharks and rips etc. Here my greatest fear is the STINGER! by the way my face has almost recovered. Mind you the sea urchin spikes in my knee haven’t all fallen out just yet!

After breakfast we took the road behind ill Rousse and discovered the Artisans trail. It’s a little like visiting a French style Maleny. Several hill towns with people working away in their little houses – caves really. We did our bit for the economy and bought a few little things. Music boxes, folk music CD, pottery jug, and a lovely lunch with a view back towards the coast. Steve would loved to have been driving his MG but it was hair raising enough on the narrow roads for me.

Just a little squeeze. No traffic people. Just you and the digger!

One little place Pigna has at least 10 craft “shops” to visit.     Perfect!

Music boxes from Pigna

We drove back to town and headed for the hotel. After a little rest time ( we are getting used to siesta) i decided another swim would be good and I took off to people watch on the long sandy beach .
I TOOK MY GOGGLES AND HAD A SWIM AND IM SURE THE LIFESAVER WAS HOPING I WOULDN’T GET INTO TROUBLE (oohs capitals!)
the lifesaver was walking up and down the busy beach carrying large fins. I guess if someone got into trouble he could don the fins and swim to them faster.

I wandered back and we prepared for our aperitif . I have developed a slight addiction to strawberry mojitos! The strange girl at our hotel bar came with it and after a few sips I decided it was sans alcohol ! I went in and said it wasn’t very good (not like the night before) and so her friend took many slurps and said “its ok! ” and handed it back. At this stage I almost laughed out loud and said I’d like a fresh one. I got it and I really hope she didn’t spit in it!. AND it was definitely with alcohol the second time.

Dinner tonight was at a place highly recommended and the fish was so fresh it was jumping. We had the choice of fresh fish  – escorted to our table by the owner and we found it hard to choose. The cute pink one? the slightly shy looking pale grey one? the sturdy looking one with multiple fins or the grand one for two!

What a fish. Delicious. with a beautiful caper sauce.

And so to bed………

Me enjoying the fresh fish…..and the wine

Today we were up and off to the beach not far from our hotel.
Lovely white sand and a really nice place to spend some time.
After a swim a little petit dejeuner – cafe, baguette and orange juice. I’ll have to get my fruit intake later!

Then it was off to the Citadel and with an audio guide we found out about Nelson losing his eye, Christopher Colombus being born and then dying in Calvi (after he discovered America), and other stories about how the French won everything they ever went in!

Then it was down the road 22km to Algajola where our friend has an apartment. Its a gorgeous little beachside village. Not pretentious, just quiet and charming and would be a great place for a holiday. Almost wish we were staying here with Inky (aka Ian) and Ali so its a pity he couldn’t come from London and host us. The wind had whipped up a little so no swim – we just had to move on to a lovely lunch at one of the beachside cafes. When in France have a salad Nicoise and or Moules – mussels which we did with a fresh Rose.

Of course Steve had to check out the life saving arrangements at the beach – and I think the lifesavers (the Sappeurs Pompiers)  thought it was a spot inspection by the French lifesaving movement!

There were lots of camping areas to stay and a great set of cabins just on the beach which kind of looked like “Binna Burra by the sea”

We continued into the next village where are staying for 2 nights and are right on the water and it sounds just like Caloundra. We roamed the shops before checking in and Steve once again “won” the shopping. He bought two shirts and a pair of shorts. I managed just one cotton dress.

Now is afternoon siesta time and catch up with the blog and emails before we walk along the promenade into the Ville for dinner.

This is the life!

Lovely evening dinner by the beach

Amazing views from the water

Boat harbour at Bonafacio

Had a great nights sleep and nice breakfast (for 15 euros – why we have to pay in France I don’t know)
Then a taxi to the airport to pick up our hire car and away we went.
Oh boy , what dramatic scenery along the way. Winding roads, sheer cliffs, breath taking views. We really enjoyed the travel and hopefully Steve enjoyed the driving! He’s having a few beers now to recover.
We had morning tea at Propriano, a lovely little very French boating village, and lunch at the much larger Ajaccio which reminded us a little of Nice. Lots of boats, shops, cafes and gelato.

Propriano

We moved on through the coastal route to Porto and it was so dramatic climbing hills and dropping down to the coastal towns. Some really lovely sandy beaches. Corsica is proving to be a well kept secret. It’s really lovely.

We arrived in Porto at 4.30 and our hotel is well located on the little harbour. We booked a boat tour tomorrow to explore the coast by sea and will head up to Girolata where there is a National Park and the Sandola Gulf. Hope we can get a little swim in. I am missing our time on the boat and even miss the swims!

Porto – mountains meet the sea

Just completed a survey from Swim trek. All good comments from us!

Saw the results of the Lions Wallaby game. Dismal result and Robbie Deans could be out of a job !

Had a beautiful dinner at La Mer -right on the front of the harbour with the most beautiful view. Steve had duck and I had just had the first meat meal since I left. Pork ! And very nice it was too.