{"id":16626,"date":"2017-08-08T21:01:18","date_gmt":"2017-08-08T21:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=16626"},"modified":"2017-08-08T21:04:06","modified_gmt":"2017-08-08T21:04:06","slug":"bonifacio-breakfast-corsica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/bonifacio-breakfast-corsica\/","title":{"rendered":"Bonifacio for Breakfast – Corsica"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bonifacio\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I think we should go to Bonifacio tomorrow…<\/p>\n

We’ll set out super early to get there before anyone else, so we won’t have to deal with the snaking traffic that can back up along the road leading down to the harbour – if you leave a minute too late. \u00a0No, don’t worry about something to eat before you set out, I am promising you one of the nicest breakfasts you will have during your time in Corsica – a freshly baked almond croissant from the little artisan boulangerie (Noel Faby & Fils) just opposite the natural harbour, still promisingly warm and heavenly scented…<\/p>\n

\"almond<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s your choice next whether to eat it whilst admiring the gargantuan yachts bobbing about in the marina in front of you (including Vertigo, perhaps the biggest luxury sail yacht I have ever seen. \u00a0You can charter it for a bargainous 245,000 Euros per week if you are looking for a last-minute break!!), or you can feel like you have truly earned such a sweet start to the day by climbing the steep incline of Montee Rastello, and then on to the steps up to the citadel some 70 metres above the harbour (there’s a little train to do the hard work in the height of the season apparently!)…<\/p>\n

\"bonifacio<\/a><\/p>\n

We chose the latter during our Bonifacio explorations (Corsica’s oldest and most southerly commune), stopping off to stuff our faces with otherworldly pastries, whilst overlooking the bluest of seas (and what might have been a pirate ship), with Sardinia (we will get to you one day!) serving as a hazy backdrop.<\/p>\n

\"bonifacio<\/a><\/p>\n

Afterwards we finished the climb up to the magnificent 9th century Citadel, and the Haute Ville by passing through the original ancient gateway and city wall, whereupon we were immediately transported back into a kind of time capsule, with a warren of medieval buildings (reminding me of Venice<\/a> and Rovinj<\/a> at the same time) ahead.<\/p>\n

\"bonifacio<\/a><\/p>\n

\"bonifacio<\/a><\/p>\n

\"bonifacio\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The narrow streets are filled with statuesque buildings some 6\/7 stories high, but typically only one room wide. \u00a0Apparently many of them didn’t have doors at street level originally, with residents then preferring to hoist up ladders after themselves out of fear of intruders – which could have made for awkwardness on moving in day (although we once had to get a sofa in through our second floor London flat window with the help of a few friends and a rope, so I can kind of imagine!), but the doors that are on show nowadays are quite special for those of you who have a bit of a thing about them (like me!)…<\/p>\n

\"bonafacio<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"bonifacio<\/a><\/p>\n

Take your time to wander (you can explore the old town intensively in a couple of hours, a few more if you have a photographer with you, and\/or stop off for a leisurely lunch), or you could miss some real gems such as tiny chapels that you might otherwise mistake for houses and walk straight past, and the Rue Des Empereurs home to Charles V for a while and to Napoleon’s ancestral home (obviously a couple of hundred years apart!). \u00a0There are a couple of plaques marking out both, so make sure you look up. \u00a0You should absolutely make a point of looking up anyway whilst in Bonifiacio or you might miss things like this anyway…<\/p>\n

\"bonifacio\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There are so many architectural influences from Bonifacio’s various rulers and caretakers over the centuries, including the Tuscans, Pisans, Genoese and ultimately the French. \u00a0It’s easy to wonder where you are exactly when you turn a corner…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Citadel is divided between the old town, and a few ancient military fortifications towards the end of the peninsula, which are worth exploring too. \u00a0Walk past the covered market place (there’s a gorgeous shady courtyard to the back of here if you are in need!), through the archway with the sky blue door, and out past the huge abandoned barracks (quite eerie, and home to the French Foreign Legion once upon a time) and the Church of St Dominique. \u00a0Follow the road through the car park, and you will be rewarded with some spectacular views back across the old town, and down to Bonifacio Harbour…<\/p>\n

\"bonifacio<\/a><\/p>\n

Keep walking and you can look down upon plenty of secluded coves with turquoise waters and white sands (which you can hire snorkelling boats to from the Marina), and will eventually lead you to the picturesque Cemeterie Marin and plenty of bird watching and hiking trails beyond…<\/p>\n

\"bonifacio<\/a><\/p>\n

We didn’t make it as far down to the trails and the cemetery this visit, and we decided against a trip down the\u00a0Staircase of the King of Aragon<\/a>\u00a0too (which rates very highly on Bonifacio’s list of things to do) – \u00a0I am not good descending steep thin steps at the best of times, but when there are 189 of them, and you have to climb back up with<\/em> a pushchair and<\/em> a toddler who’s intent on chucking a shoe as far as he can every few seconds, forget it\u00a0(apparently the steps down to Le Gouvernail de la Course are a little easier, and the view is just as spectacular anyway)…<\/p>\n

\"bonifacio<\/a><\/p>\n

\"shoe<\/a>
All types of foot prints…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"bonifacio<\/a>
exploring Bonifacio with the shoe flinger…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Instead we spent a memorable few hours wandering the shady streets (taking around 50,000 pictures) as the place woke up for the day, watching as restaurateurs chalked up their boards with their day’s enticing offerings, and as bakers piled up windows with tiny hot fresh beignets (we did have to stop and sample a couple, together with some good coffee – you know I can’t resist a cake recommendation, and we had been informed that you haven’t really visited Corsica unless you’ve had a beignet!), revelling in the slight smugness of feeling like we had seen the best of the place just as it started to get really hot and busy. \u00a0Plus, after a leisurely lunch (we liked the tiny Cantina Doria for a quick refuel), we had the rest of the day for the beach!!<\/p>\n

\"Corsican<\/a><\/p>\n

\"bonifacio\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"bonifacio\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Anyway, trust me, whichever part of the Citadel you are visiting, the earlier you make it to Bonifacio the better, as you will have all those wonderful streets to yourself (and if you are lucky, bathed in the most beautiful light) before the hoards arrive, which they will (especially in July and August!!), but you can’t really blame anyone for wanting to see this town in the sky now can you?<\/p>\n

\"bonifacio\"<\/a>
on our way back down to the harbour<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thanks to school summer hols and the toddler who is pretty full on at the moment in that hilarious nearly two kind of way, it’s taken me a while to get the Corsican posts up and running (and editing all those 50,000 pictures!), but I do have a couple more in the pipeline!<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Share me:<\/h3>