Summer - UK & France
Summer started early for us - We love "La Corse" - Corsica to you English philistines - we hadn't visited the North West Coast and hadn't been up the Northern "pan handle" so we decided this was the year to do it. We always go to Corsica in late May early June - before the tourist season - when everyone is fresh and pleased to see you! We have tried various methods of getting to Corsica. The over night ferries from Marseille are excellent, but we decided that getting up early to disembark was not our scene so we decided to take the fast ferry from Nice to Bastia for our outward journey and return from Calvi to Nice coming home. Bastia is not the most attractive part of Corsica but it is the gateway to the pan handle.
We had enjoyed our brief stay in Avignon in April so decided to return for another short stay on the way to Corsica. This time having been caught out in the one way system once. It was not going to happen again! It did! - We chose a hotel, with parking, as close to the centre as one can get - The Clarion Cloitre Saint Louis. I found it with my GPS - no bother - dropped Jill off - and continued to the car park - however to get to the car park which had to be approached from the rear of the hotel took me 3 circuits because of the one way system and the narrow streets. I eventually made it. The hotel was a converted monastry or convent (everything is in Avignon - it's since the Pope left!). The first rooms they gave us were in a new (naff) wing - we objected and they soon found us a far better room in the old part overlooking a courtyard. It turned out to be a very pleasant hotel with excellent food. However, its greatest advantage, considering Jill's inability to walk more than about 50 yards, was that a little bus (I mean little) passed the reception on a circuit of the centre of the town. Costing €1, it drove along pedestrian alleyways, main roads, through restaurants, across squares and dropped you wherever you decided you wanted it to stop! Just what Jill needed to see the bits of Avignon that she had missed on our previous circuitous visit! Our stay was again short but sweet before we headed down to Nice to catch the afternoon fast ferry to Bastia.
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Perfect - a quiet room in the centre of town - overlooking the monks qudrangle |
Perfect - the local bus stops outside.... |
Perfect - it takes you down narrow alley ways ... |
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Through restaurants ... |
Down even narrower alleys... |
Through festive squares... |
To the Pope's summer place! |
On to La Corse...
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After our quick overnight stop we drove on down to Nice - giving it as much of it a miss as we could - before boarding the ferry for Bastia. We arrived late so over nighted in Bastia before spending a day driving up and down the "pan handle". This turned out to be one of the driving experiences of my life. The first part, up the east coast road, was your normal very narrow winding Corsican roads with amazing views of the sea and mountains. We got bored with this around lunchtime and decided to head across to the west coast stopping for lunch on the way. Now remember lunch in France is strictly 12.00 to 14.00. (You know it's getting near 12 by the speed and quality of the driving - everyone is on a mission! - I blame their breakfast [or lack of it]). I drove, and drove and drove. We passed through a few small villages - non large enough to have a shop let alone a restaurant and then the road got narrower and narrower and narrower. Somehow or other my GPS seemed to have lost all roads. (I blame the Corsican Bandits and their ECM!! ). Not only were the roads getting narrower, but the cliffs on either side were getting steeper (one side going up, and the other side going down!). Furthermore they were getting more windy. Bearing in mind that I was driving a Grand Espace (Or the bus as we call it!) which is not the slimmest of cars, there was no way even a pedestrian could have passed us. We figured that we must be on a cycle path since the French in their wisdom had painted white lines down the middle of the road!!! Luckily we never met another vehicle, person or animal, so no collisions!
Right - Jill on the Meths in Avignon?
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A cross section of the Corsican panhandle - we cut across north of Pietracorbara at about 12.00 Hrs expecting to find a restaurant!!! We eventually found one at 14.30 Hrs at Canari - in theory just 12Km away!
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The East side of our "short" drive |
Some of our route (marked in red) |
| For about an hour we drove along this road at an average speed of not much more than 15 Km/Hr. Needless to say it was baking hot (thank goodness for aircon), we were thirsty and we were hungry - by 14.00 hrs we figured that if we did ever get off this road and find a town - everything would be closed. Then suddenly the road widened, a farm house appeared, more houses, then a village and a sign for a restaurant. We followed the sign, more in hope than expectancy, but EUREKA - a restaurant with people sat outside eating and a fantastic view over the sea - and like all good Corsicans, once they found that, despite the French car, we weren't French, we were English - they fed and watered (well beered) us.... |
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Jill gets the drink she had been craving for the previous 2 hours |
A handy map for those who were lost |
A helicopter flies past - no doubt searching for other lost souls? |
After an excellent Corsican lunch washed down with several local beers we set off down the coast. The scenery in Corsica both in the mountains and on the coast is magnificent. The road was still incredibly windy, but at least it was a "D" road which was wide enough for two cars to pass without reversing! The beaches in Corsica change almost by the metre, you can go from rocky outcrops, shingle beaches, black sand, grey sand, to soft sandy sand in less than a few kilometres. This was especially true of this coast. We were heading to Saint-Florent, the St Tropez of La Corse (supposedly). However enroute down the coast we passed a beautiful beach with an attractive beachside restaurant and bar. The temptation was too much. It was now around 16.00 hrs, but was still baking hot so we stopped for a few beers and a few hours sunbathing before dropping down to Saint-Florent for a wander around. It really was pleasant place. It was just like St Tropez as we remember it in the late '60's. We would like to have stayed longer, but I had booked 3 nights in a very special Chateau Hotel that I had found on the internet. It was to be a surprise for Jill. 3 romantic nights in an exclusive hotel "Hotel Casa Theodora" in the Corsican mountains. I had tried to book a suite, but because I had booked only a few weeks before they said the suite was not available but they had an exclusive "Chambre Supérieure" - I had booked it, so we had to find our way back up some Corsican mountains to our spectacular Chateau Hotel....
| This is what "Historic Hotels of Europe
" says about Casa Theodora ...
"This is a fine 16th century palazzo, nestling in a quaint Corsican village located between Calvi, Ile Rousse and the Regino Valley. The Genoese style architecture and interiors featuring a trompe l'oeil style or embellished with Baroque frescoes will delight guests seeking out authenticity and sophistication. Intimate lounges, indoor swimming pool, rooms with a timeless charm named after major figures of Italian and Corsican history : Camera Reale, Napoléon, Primavera...A thousand details, paintings, gilding, beautiful hexagonal floor-tiles, shelf upon shelf of old books all make up the soul of this superb establishment." |
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These are the pictures from their website -The Lounge Left - The Grand Entrance Hall Right - Our room - "Chambre Supérieure Les Faunes" |
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The reviewers can not have visited this hotel, or, being dyslexic. had I misread the web page - was it "Hysteric Hotels of Europe"?....
As I have said this was to be a surprise for Jill - IT WAS !. The photographs and advertising showed that it had style. It didn't - firstly the "quiant Corsican village" was a dump! Secondly we drove past the Hotel and its "Genoese Style Architecture" 3 times not recognising it for what it was. We had to ask a local (and there weren't many) where it was? They pointed it out this run down building. There were just a few small signs on a dilapidated wall proclaiming it as a Hotel of distinction. The outside was "seedy" and blended perfectly with the other "run down" buildings surrounding it. It was no wonder that we had missed it!
When we entered we were welcomed by the owners like long lost friends, not the formal reception that we expected! The entrance hall was not the great reception hall portrayed in the photographs, but a dinghy over elaborately hand painted domestic hallway. We were shown our superior room off this hallway - "Chambre Supérieure Les Faunes" - the bath room lacked a proper shower, the wardrobes were DIY white melamine with curtains, the bed was soft, low, small and we suspect of poor quality. Everything was hand painted like a temporary stage set for a Shakespeare Production. There was no quality anywhere.
When we asked about dinner - they said that there wasn't any we would have to drive 10 miles to the nearest restaurant "which might not be open at this time". However, they did offer us some cold meats, bread and wine which we reluctantly had to accept.
That night we did not get much sleep because the bed was so small and uncomfortable so we decided that this would be the first and last night of our romantic stay. When we announced this after breakfast, the owners, especially the wife, turned nasty and said that we would have to pay for 3 nights. I refused on the basis that we had been mislead by their advertising. After some argument I agreed to pay for the night we stayed plus for the food (cold sliced sausage & ham) and wine despite this being extortionate at over €100.
We quickly left. I had already booked 4 nights in Calvi's best hotel, the Hotel Corsica so checking in for an additional 2 nights was not a problem. The rest of the holiday proved to be excellent. The weather was good, Calvi, the headquarters of the Foreign Legion, was excellent and offered a very wide choice of good restaurants. Along the coast we found some superb quiet beaches which also featured some good restaurants. We shall definitely return to Calvi, but definitely not to Casa Theodora!
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Early morning view of the pool from our hotel balcony |
The Citadelle, home of the French Foreign Legion, viewed from our balcony |
Jill relaxes by the hotel pool |
High Summer
Jill spent most of the summer in France whilst I commuted between France & the UK. This year our village elders in Monleon Magnoac (actually they are all relatively young) had decided not to hold the annual Samba fesitival because of the high work load and lack of volunteers. There were other activities, but nothing on the scale of Samba so it was quite a laid back summer with few visitors except for the family. Jill's increasing incapacity meant that we were not up to entertaining.
| One of the village events was a Pyrénéen
Folk singing festival which was held in the upper part of the village in
the old Castle used to stand. There were a variety of folk groups from all
over the Pyrenees and from Basque country. As usual there was a large open
air meal with lots of wine and lots of singing both organised and
disorganised!
Right - One of the groups preparing to entertain us. Far right - Their leader from the basque country gets the crowds singing. |
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| Chris and girl friend Catherine
came out for a long weekend in early July.
Chris stayed on to work and meet up with some of his old school chums and monks who were on the annual Ampleforth pilgrimage to Lourdes. Chris, Catherine, Jill and myself drove up to Lourdes one evening to see the torchlight parade and meet the monks and Chris's old friends. We ended up in a bar with monks, parents, boys and girls (they now have girls at Ampleforth!) drinking until 2 in the morning! Father Hugh (Chris's old House Master) explained that they work hard in the day time looking after the sick and wounded and then party all night! No wonder Chris kept volunteering as a helper when he was at school and later at University! We thought he was doing it purely for charity! |
Catherine & Chris heading out on a bike ride during their short stay - both had punctures!. |
Lourdes at night after the torchlight parade which we missed! |
| Sudden change of weather!
Shortly after they had gone Jill and I were sitting quietly in the summer kitchen having dinner when one of our cu-nimbs arrived. (Storm clouds for those not in the know!) We are used to quick changes of weather in the summer near the Pyrénnées, but this was amazing. Hail stones the size of golf balls started falling and kept falling - After a while I dashed into the house to take some photographs and film (via the sheltered walkway otherwise I would have been dead!). I suddenly realised that these hail stones were doing serious damage, They punctured the plastic gutters on the outbuildings, holed the plastic tables and chairs around the pool, completely wrecked the rear windscreen on the Cabriolet and put dints in all our cars! We got off lightly. We had a phone call from Mark & Fedelma who live the other side of the village asking did I have any spare roof tiles. (Which luckily I did). Their roof had been trashed. They had old roof tiles and the hailstones had broken or smashed through over 100 of them. Worse still the hail was followed by heavy rain which had then flooded their house. For them it was a disaster for they were in the final throws of organising their daughters wedding which was to be held in their house and outbuildings a few weeks later. Luckily my spare tiles matched theirs so I was able to give them 100 or so tiles to make good their roof in time for the wedding in August. The damage done in the local area amounted to € millions. Right - The view from our balcony "aprés le deluge" Below - Not a golf driving range, some of the offending hail stones (melted) |
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One of the holes that the hail stones punched in our guttering. (We had to replace virtually all our outside building guttering - luckily the guttering on the main house is metal and survived.) |
Back to the UK
Later in July we headed back to the UK for the wedding of Paul & Mary's eldest daughter, Vicky. Whilst driving down I was suddenly overcome with some sort of virus and had to stop driving. Jill, who was really not in a fit state to drive any distance, had to take over. I then spent the first night in the Hotel bathed in a cold sweat and ended up so wet with sweat that I had to try to sleep in the hotels towelling robe with another towel underneath me! Not a good start to wedding celebrations. It lasted a day and then I recovered miraculously! This gave us the opportunity of re-visiting our first house and some of our old haunts in Wiltshire and Somerset. We tried to find the Tax office where Jill used to work, an old nissen hut in Frome, but couldn't. It had disappeared - sadly the tax hasn't!
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Mary & Jill outside the church at Vicky's wedding - Mary the optimist expecting fine weather whilst Jill was kitted out for a British summer! |
On the Sunday, the groom invited us to tea at the manor house in Castle Coombe - the Golfers soon had us on the putting green. |
Jill and Chrissi looked on in amusement as I managed to make a fool of myself! |
We returned to France in early August to join Danielle, Laurent and India who had been their for the previous week with some 9 friends from Belgium and Luxembourg. Judging by the number of champagne, wine and spirit bottles (full, part full and empty) they had had a good time. Even John Slattery reported that he couldn't keep up with the Belgians, and that is some admission from an Irishman! Chris joined us part way through the week so we then had a quiet family holiday. Except for a few days attending Monleon's first formal English wedding. Caroline, Mark & Fedelma's daughter got married in the local church. The locals looked on in amazement at all the Englishmen walking through he streets in Morning Suits - I think they thought the Queen had arrived! Mark & Fedelma had the reception and lunch the next day at their house on a hill just outside the village. The weather turned a bit wet, but despite that a great time was had by all.
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Our own little family holiday camp - I don't know why we bother going anywhere else? |
Dani, Laurent & India on holiday |
A quiet time was had around the pool |
Sadly it was a short family holiday for after 10 days Dani, Laurent and India had to head back to Luxembourg whilst Chris returned to London.
Back to France with a Back problem
Meanwhile, back in London, Chris had developed a back problem and was struggling to walk. He went to his GP who gave him some pills and said it would be about 4 to 5 months before he could see a back specialist never mind get an MRI scan so that they could see what was up!. He was in such pain that he decided that he would give the French Health Service a try whilst he could still walk and get a plane. He jumped a plane to Toulouse on Tuesday and went to see our local GP Wednesday. Our GP immediately organised X -rays for the next day (Thursday) in Tarbes. These were then collected on Friday with the radiographers report. On the Monday after reviewing the X-rays and report our GP organised an MRI scan for the Wednesday and a meeting with a back specialist in Pau, the following week. The Specialist saw Chris on the Tuesday and recommended a simple operation to move the disc that was pressing on the spinal cord and causing the problem. Chris accepted the diagnosis and the operation was organised for that Thursday. Chris checked in to the Hospital the following day, had the operation and was home on the Saturday. All done in 3 weeks, whereas he would still have been waiting for the GP's letter to have arrived with the specialist in England! Something is horribly wrong with the NHS!
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Chris's "Band stand" office |
Chris then spent 6 weeks recovering in
France, returning to England in late September. He was on his back
for about a month before and after the operation, but, in true Quigley
fashion, this didn't stop him working and running his businesses, he
simply set up office wherever he lay, by the swimming pool, in the
"band stand", in the TV room, and eventually in his Monleon
office.
The internet and Skype certainly proved their worth. At one stage he was observed lying on his back being interviewed for over an hour by a Yorkshire Post reporter about his "A" map business. A full page article subsequently appeared in the newspaper (Photo on right). You can read it and see some of it by clicking - http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/features?articleid=5642770 |
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When he was fully recovered and shortly before he went home he decided that it was time that he tested his Dad's flying skills. He always promised to buy me a Spitfire when he made his millions. He hasn't yet made them, but as a compromise he had bought me a radio controlled model Spitfire for my birthday in 2008. I had never found time to assemble it. We both decided to take a break from work, make the Spitfire and take it down to the airfield to fly it. I had never flown a radio controlled aircraft before, but figured that it would be easier than flying the real thing so off we went....... |
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Chris making some final adjustments watched by "Monsieur Bleriot", our nickname for the pilot who started the Aeroclub at Castelnau Magnoac. He's now over 80. |
The Mk 2 Spitfire takes to the air... |
but not with a very good driver ... |
It soon came down to earth with a bump after about 10 seconds flying - mind it was fast! This was its 1st & last flight!
Chris reckoned it was the most expensive Spitfire flight ever - estimated at around £500 per minute - £30,000 per hour!
An ignominious end to an enjoyable summer!