Farewell, Corsica!

On our last night at Casella, on Easter Monday, we  enjoyed dinner with the Poggios. We were joined by a Dutch couple, Suzanne and Jerome, who arrived unexpectedly at the last moment. They had been driving around looking for accommodations. It was amusing to hear that Suzanne and Jerome had planned to do a lot of cycling in Corsica but didn't realize how big the hills were, especially compared with the hills in the Netherlands.

The meal consisted of several Corsican courses including a combination of a crepe and omelette and veal stew. Cathy also served a diabolical local cheese which Jean-Marc described as an "atomic bomb". He went on to describe it - "she's a cheese who lives alone". None of us ever had a cheese like it before. It did have a sort of initial shockwave like an atomic explosion, followed by aftershocks of garlic. I could still taste it the next morning - which is not necessarily a good thing. Sadly, the cheese has no official recognition and has no name - only a smell.

Yesterday we bid a fond farewell to the Poggios and made our way to the Bastia airport. It's always a relief to return a car to the rental agency without a scratch. Sharon negotiated many tight spots in Corsica like a native. But I drove us back to the airport as Sharon pulled a muscle in her back last night and was in a lot of discomfort.

Our flight to Paris was full of families who had gone home to Corsica for the long Easter holiday. There were a lot of children and grandchildren on board. And we saw a lot of packages of what looked like cheeses and meats sticking out of people's carry-on luggage.

In Paris we were delighted to be greeted with gorgeous weather. Our hotel, the Mahler (actually the "Grand Hôtel Malher"), was located a few blocks from the one we stayed at a few weeks ago, right in the epicentre of the historic and famous sites of Paris.

We went for a walk in the nearby Place des Vosges, a square surrounded by gorgeous apartments built in the early 1600s. They reminded me of the restoration of Louisbourg in Cape Breton. From there we wandered to the monument of the Bastille which was a focus of the French Revolution. Then we did what everyone else was doing and went to a sidewalk bar for a beer. Sharon took a peek at the book she just bought, "Asterix en Corse", which Cathy recommended.

The Malher is in the old Jewish quarter of Paris, Les Marais. Of course the early Jews were forced to live in what was a swamp centuries ago. Now it's one of the hottest addresses in Paris. For supper we bought two falafels at a take-out window of a busy Yiddish restaurant. There was  a huge line-up so we knew it would be good - a guide book was not required to tell us that.

This morning we had the last continental breakfast of our vacation (croissants and coffee) in the restored cellar of the hotel before going out onto Rue Rivoli to buy the last few gifts. Then we lugged and prodded our luggage through the Paris subway system and onto the train to Charles de Gaulle airport. I didn't let Sharon lift anything to avoid antagonizing her pulled back which is healing well so far.

I said good-bye to Sharon before she entered the security maze of Terminal 2 Departures. I thanked her as best I could for planning an excellent trip that exceeded both of our expectations by far. We would love to go back to Corsica someday and I believe that we will.