Sunday 29 August 2010

Porto Vecchio harbour
Green with matching helicopter Squeezy helipad This guy has his own sailing coach
Hi from Clare, Elba to Corsica August 28, 2010 RISKY BUSINESS We stayed in Portoferraio, Elba for eight days. I think this would be the longest we have stayed in one place this season. It’s great going into the various harbours to do some land travel but swimming is a bit risky there. Quite often the water is oily and muddy due to the ferry traffic and some boats at anchor don’t have holding tanks; would you swim here? After eight days we were itching to escape. DON’T YOU LOVE IT WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER Sunday 22nd August as planned, we left Portoferraio Elba at 2am and traveled 80 miles to Porto Vecchio on the east coast of Corsica. We estimate our ETA by planning on 5 knots. This allows for both fast and slow sailing and if there is no wind we also motor at five knots. So for 80 miles we expected to arrive around 6pm in time for a swim and a cold drink before dinner. Our 2am start was perfect timing and with the forecast northerly winds behind us we did as much as 8.8 knots arriving at 3pm. The wind dropped out mid afternoon and we motored for the last five miles. The sailing conditions were very pleasant and we lay in the sun reading and enjoying the day. We saw a green power boat with a matching helicopter. We were close enough to get an appreciation for the amount of room available and degree of difficulty in landing a helicopter on the boat. (Photos 1&2) TIME TO OURSELVES We anchored in a bay 6 miles north of Porto Vecchio to swim in clean 28 degree water. The next two days was spent reading (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – fantastic), watching DVD’s, catching up on emails and relaxing in the sun. This year, our two additional solar panels have made it possible to stay at anchor indefinitely without having to start the engine to charge batteries or make water. This is very pleasing but without the engine running we can’t get hot water. At times it would be nice to have a hot shower and boiling the kettle to wash the dishes is a pain. Throughout the season I have been looking for a camp shower (the black plastic bag) without any luck. But much to my delight I found one in a ship chandlery in Porto Azzuro, Elba. It is currently on deck full of lovely hot water ready for our evening shower. I wonder if I could throw the dishes in the bottom of the shower recess; just joking. BACK TO THE LAND Tuesday 24th we sailed into Porto Vecchio (Photo 3) to do some shopping in one of those huge French supermarkets about the size of a Bunning’s store. Once again I stood there thinking “Where the heck do I start”? I tried to buy the things exclusive to Corsica, even then the selection was huge. For example I believe there were 70-100 types of cheese. I ended up buying the ones I knew - not very adventurous hey! Andrew was happy as he found the beer he was looking for almost straight away. FRIENDS ON BOARD The following night we invited fellow cruises Janine and Terry from ‘Cristata’ over to ‘Eye Candy’ for drinks and a chat. Janine and Terry have been cruising for twenty years and so have a wealth of experience to share. We had a very pleasant and informative few hours which continued the following morning with the guys getting together to discuss HF radios. AU REVOIR CORSICA Thursday 26th we escaped Porto Vecchio Corsica around lunchtime and sailed 7 miles south to another clear water bay (Golfe De Porto Novo) for the rest of the day. Strong wind was forecast for Saturday and we wanted to get down to Sardinia. So Friday morning we left to sail 25 miles to Porto Cevo in the north east corner of Sardinia. We sailed on a beam reach doing a maximum of 8.4 knots. There was no reading on this trip, but the guys sailing next to us had some fun with one in the dinghy skiing behind the boat. (Photo 4) BON JOURNO SARDINIA Saturday 28th and we are now in the big bay next to the entrance to Porto Cervo Sardinia. Last time we were here we shared the bay with lots of huge power boats. This time there is only a handful of cruising yachts. I think the large power boats have gone home and it is too windy for the smaller weekend boats. The forecast strong wind has arrived and we have seen a gust of 35 knots. We are comfortable and Andrew swam out and checked our anchor. It is well and truly buried in the sand so all is well. SO WHAT NOW We will stay here until the weather settles. We are due to pick Matthew and Mim and Sarah and Brad up in Oblia next Friday for a week or so. Olbia is only 25 miles away so we will have plenty of time to wait for the right weather pattern to sail. The most immediate ‘so what now’ is – shower time - woo hoo! Love Candy xx

Sunday 22 August 2010

Happy Birthday with Sam and Bill
Napoleon's House and garden Inside his house
Napoleon's Summer Villa
Inside the Summer Villa
View from Marciana Villiage in the hills
Marciana Street
Medieval Church
Andrew, Maurice and Heather
Hi from Clare, Elba and Bonaparte 21ST August 2010 HAPPY BIRTHDAY On Sunday 15th August we had lunch in town to celebrate Andrew’s birthday. We chose a formal restaurant situated in a cool breezeway and thoroughly enjoyed the fine food and being waited on in style. In the evening we had Drinks on “Eye Candy” with Sam and Bill from “Blue Banana” and toasted Andrew’s good health with chilled Champagne (photo1) before heading into town for a music concert. At midnight there were fireworks for Assumption Day. By this time we were back on the boat and had a front row view of the fireworks. Had I thought of it, I could have organized the fireworks for Andrew’s birthday, oh well maybe next year. BONAPARTE AND MORE BONAPARTE We toured Napoleon Bonaparte’s house in Portoferraio where he lived when exiled in Elba (photos 2 & 3). It is situated high on a hill in the old walled town with a fabulous view of the ocean and harbour. The following day we took the bus to Villa Napoleonica in San Martino. This was his summer residence in the country, once again a prime location high up a valley surrounded by forests with a distant view of the sea (photos 4&5). Napoleon was exiled in Elba for only 300 days before he escaped. After seeing both his residences, we decided that banishment wouldn’t be too bad. By this time we have just about had enough of Napoleon. However the souvenir shops must love him as his name and face is plastered on just about every tacky nick knack imaginable. If Napoleon knew, I think he would be horrified! MORE PLAYMATES The New Zealand yacht “Baracca” came into our anchorage at Portoferraio. We first meet Heather and Maurice in 2008 when we did the EMYR rally. Since then we have meet up with them a few times at Yacht Marina in Turkey. It was lovely to see them and we had drinks on their boat that evening along with Sam and Bill from “Blue Banana” The conversation always flows easily when you put a few cruising folk together. We had a great night and planned to do some touring the next day. EASY TRAVEL We took the bus with Heather and Maurice the following morning and visited a number of towns on the island. We purchased a daily bus ticket which enabled us to get off at each town and spend an hour looking around before catching the next bus. It worked really well as an hour is enough time to explore the town. We also covered about 150 kilometres giving us the opportunity to sit in air conditioned comfort and see the island without the hassle of having to do the driving. AWAY FROM THE MADDING CROWD Elba is a very popular holiday destination and we have been amazed at the number of ferries coming and going each day. Each sea side town is crowded with tourists and the beaches are wall to wall umbrellas and sun lounges. On our bus trip we left the tourists behind on the beach and traveled high into the mountains and visited the unspoiled town of Marciana. It is perched on the hillside with a fabulous view of the ocean (photo 6). The old town has been well set out. There are a large number of stairs that are well spaced, thus making it an easy climb to the fort overlooking the town. Most of the houses had lovely flowering plants which softened the otherwise harsh appearance of cement and bluestone. The town had a peaceful feel to it and I was a little sorry to leave. (photos 7,8&9) SO WHAT NOW Well this afternoon the wind turned to the north and so it is time for us to head south. We left Portoferraio and had a fast sail (doing 8.6 knots at times) to the eastern end of the island. Early tomorrow (about 2am) we will set off to travel 80 miles down the east coast of Corsica to Porto Vecchio. We need to be in Oblia Sardinia by 3rd September when Andrew’s off springs (can’t call them children anymore) will join us. Love Candy xx

Sunday 15 August 2010

Hi from Clare Calvi Corsica to Italian Island of Elba 14th August 2010 Photos to be posted soon POWER BOAT HEAVEN We left Calvi Saturday morning to travel 35 miles north to Saint Florent. We motored for the first couple of hours but then sailed, arriving late afternoon. We anchored away from town to escape the wash made by numerous power boats coming and going from the marina. The marina has a river estuary at the end of it. This is a safe haven for literally hundreds of small power boats. I think just about everyone in town must own a boat. With perfect weather they were out in full. DON’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE TWICE Sunday morning after washing the boat and making her look beautiful, we moved closer to town and took the dinghy ashore. We intended taking the 2pm bus to the large town of Bastia on the eastern side of the island. However, we quickly discovered that the bus doesn’t run on Sunday. We felt pretty proud of ourselves because a week ago we couldn’t read that much French. Woo Hoo there’s hope for us yet. BOOM CRASH OPERA So with the Bastia trip postponed we spent the afternoon having a look around the busy town of Saint Florent. They were setting up for a music concert that evening which might explain why the place was crowded. It was difficult to walk through town and almost impossible to get served in the shops. It was all a bit overpowering and so we had a quick look around and headed back to the boat. That night the concert filled the air till 3am and ended with a fireworks display. The music wasn’t too loud and we managed to sleep but the fireworks woke us with the first boom. In my disgruntled state I remember thinking “What sort of place has no public transport on Sunday but fireworks at 3am in the morning.” We had the alarm set for 5.30am so we could catch the early morning bus to Bastia. FANGIO The trip to Bastia is supposed to take one hour. The winding road goes up over the mountains and down into Bastia. We had Fangio at the wheel and the trip took 35 hair-raising minutes. Fangio came into corners fast, hit the brakes hard, jerked the wheel a lot and ran off the bitumen twice. Oh, I nearly forgot, much to Andrew’s alarm, he also managed to lock up the front wheels going into one corner heavily under brakes. The scenery from up high was spectacular, beautiful valleys, steep rock faces and great ocean views. I thought about our little boat down in the bay and wondered if I would ever step foot on it again. We arrived in Bastia feeling ill and it took an hour or so to fully recover. THE BIG SMOKE The town of Bastia is the largest in Corsica and has three ports: the commercial and ferry harbour, the modern yacht harbour and the picturesque old fishing harbour (Photo 1) surrounded by the old town and citadel. The modern part of town is a hubbub of activity and dominated by the large commercial and ferry port. It has excellent facilities, smart shops, a pretty town square (Photo 2) and lots of traffic. For us, the old town dating back to early 15th century was more appealing. We went on a tourist walk taking in the old fishing harbour, winding streets, houses, (Photo 3) to churches and up to the citadel. We only had a few hours as we planned a return trip to Saint Florent in the late morning. Fangio drove a little more sedately on the way back taking the full hour to complete the trip. There was a lot more traffic which slowed him down. However we could still hear passengers sucking air through gritted teeth as he approached corners. PEACE AT SEA So after a very busy morning in Bastia we set off and sailed 30 miles to Macinaggio on the north east tip of Corsica. It was very peaceful on the water and after a stressful morning we both had a nap along the way. RENEWED FRIENDSHIPS Wednesday morning we set off to travel 37 miles to the Italian Island of Elba. There was little wind and although we did manage a bit of a spinnaker run we motored for most of the trip. We arrived in Marina di Campo on the southern side of the island in the late afternoon. We had been in radio contact with American friends Sam and Bill on “Blue Banana”. Two years ago we spent eleven great days with Sam and Bill in Milos. We have crossed paths a few times this year but on each occasion we have been in the company of other people. We had drinks on “Eye Candy” that evening and happily planned a week of traveling together. I COULD LIVE HERE Elba is a very pretty and mountainous island with numerous attractive harbours and anchorages. The slopes are terraced and the island is always green even in the middle of summer. Palms, eucalyptus, cedars and pine grow everywhere and olives and vines are cultivated. We decided to slowly circumnavigate the island stopping off at the main tourist towns. Our next destination was Porto Azzurro at the eastern end of the island. The town has a lovely citadel built by the Spanish in the middle of the 16th century. We had a look at the town and the beaches before spending a quiet night onboard. On Friday morning we headed around to Portoferraio on the northern side of the island. This is the main ferry port for the island and an amazing number of ferries (Photo 4) come here daily from various neighboring European countries. We went into town (photo5) and bought a sim card for our dongle. So once again we have access to Internet and Skype. In the evening we spent a very enjoyable few hours on “Blue Banana”. HOW SAFE IS SAFE? Portoferraio is reported to be one of the safest anchorages in the Mediterranean as it has good protection from almost all wind directions. We came here because strong south and south east winds were forecast for Saturday. By Saturday, the harbour near town was very crowded and so we decided to move over to the less crowded south east corner of the bay and await the wind. The Italian boat in front of us was dragging and almost hit “Eye Candy” before he took action and re anchored. That was fine until the wind kicked in and the rain started. The next thing we knew he was on top of us again. His boat was lying across our bow and he managed to get “Eye Candy’s” anchor chain wrapped around his propeller. Both boats launched their dinghies and second anchors while the mess was sorted out. The thunder storm hit with the vengeance, thunder, lightening and torrential rain. It was a complete white out. No damage was done to “Eye Candy” but our bow roller bent and broke one of the Italian’s stanchions, severely mangled one of his life lines and crunched his carbon-fibre spinnaker pole which was lashed to the life lines. After the Italian re anchored he dragged out of sight heading towards a much larger yacht which fortunately also dragged in anticipation before any damage was done – wise move! Well it is now late Saturday and our Italian friend has just come over with an apology and a chilled bottle of champagne. We will save it for tomorrow – Andrew’s birthday. SO WHERE TO NOW We will be in Elba for the next week doing some land travel and exploring the island. love Candy

Monday 9 August 2010

1. Ancient Cemetery from the sea
2. A street of family tombs 3."The Evening" in the Art Museum
4. Bonaparte's house
5. Galeria villiage
6. Calvi Citadel
7. Karen and Steve on Threshold
Hi from Clare, Corsica -Ajaccio to Calvi, 8th August 2010 We sadly said goodbye to Kathryn on Saturday 31st July. We very much enjoyed her company and we hope she feels relaxed after spending a week on “Eye Candy” away from her busy schedule. Saturday was spent doing boat chores, the newsletter, Andrew went to the Laundromat and I went to the supermarket. With everything up to date, we set out Sunday for some sight seeing. FORGET, TILL DEATH DO US PART Our first stop was the ancient cemetery. This might sound a bit morbid but the family tombs are like little houses and viewing it through binoculars from the sea, the cemetery looks like a miniature village (photo 1). We haven’t seen anything like this before so the cemetery was added to the sight seeing list. We waited 90 minutes for the bus, unfortunately, not knowing the French word for weekend we failed to read the timetable correctly (that will teach us). We just about gave up but I’m glad patience won out. The family tombs (photo 2) went back for a few hundred years. It certainly has an impact and as Andrew said “Wouldn’t you feel different about family if there was a place with generations of your relations all together”. I said to Andrew “so what happens when a girl marries, which family is she laid to rest with? He thought about it for a moment then grinned and said “Clare, let’s get out of here” All too hard I guess! SOOTHING TO THE EYE So after that experience we decided on something uplifting and went to The Fine Arts Museum which holds a collection of works of art from the 14th to the 19th century. The museum boasts France’s most important Italian collection outside the Louvre. There were also separate departments with Napoleonic and Corsican paintings (Photo 3). We spent a few enjoyable hours looking at the art works over four floors of the building. On the ground floor there was also a temporary exhibition of marble busts. These were of the Bonaparte family and other significant people from the same era. By the time we got to this section, we had seen so many paintings of the Bonaparte’s we could recognize and put a name to most of the busts. Not a bad quick history lesson! GOING BACK IN TIME We went on to Bonaparte House National museum. Napoleon was born there on 15th August (Andrew’s birthday) 1769. The collection includes furniture belonging to the Bonaparte family dating from the end of the 18th century: memorabilia, portraits, weapons and documents relating to Napoleon and his family. The thing I remember mostly about my visit is that when Napoleon’s dad died at age 39 he left his 35 year old wife with eight children. Thankfully he also left her a large four story house with plenty of bedrooms (photo 4). BACK AT SEA We enjoyed our time in Ajaccio; a very interesting and vibrant city. However it was time to move on and so we sailed 35 miles north to Girolata. This is listed in the cruising guide as a superb anchorage in a beautiful setting, dangerously crowded in July and August and advises yachtsmen not to use it. Well that assessment turned out to be 100 percent accurate. We anchored away from the area up against a cliff and spent a very comfortable night. The following morning the wind was increasing and many yachts left the anchorage. We poked our nose in but backed out and decided not to stay as there were still too many boats with fenders out and in close proximity of each other. We sailed 10 miles further north to Galeria and although windy it was a wide deep gulf with very few boats at anchor. This is a beach holiday destination for French people. The waterfront had many restaurants and holiday apartments. We walked to a lovely little village up the hill to buy another crusty fresh bagel. It is a very peaceful and pretty little place (photo5). NEW NEIGHBOURS We have noticed that the majority of boats (power and sailing) around Corsica are privately owned with French or Italian flags. There are a few Aussie and New Zealand boats and the occasional American. After five seasons in the Med we saw our first Japanese flag and yes, the occupants were Japanese. . We haven’t seen any privately owned German or Scandinavian boats here. We have left the large fleets of charter boats in the Eastern Med. So no more hire boats with ten naked German men on board having a holiday. Perhaps they enjoy the warmer Eastern Med climate and don’t mind having to motor everywhere. The breeze in the Western Med has been a lot more consistent and we have happily sailed a great deal. BACK WHERE WE STARTED On Wednesday the 4th August we sailed ten miles to Calvi. When we first took delivery of “Eye Candy” in 2005, our first big trip was 180 miles from Menorca to Calvi. We got a bit of a beating then in heavy seas and strong wind. Well nothing much has changed. Our first night in Calvi was relatively calm. We had a very enjoyable evening with friends Karen and Steve on their American yacht “Threshold.” The following morning the wind gathered and we spent a very wild day at anchor in a rolling sea. To travel upwind into town as planned, we would have got drenched. Had we gone down wind we could have ridden the breakers right onto the beach. Andrew and Steve kept in touch on VHF radio giving a running commentary on boats dragging and dinghies afloat. One poor girl tried to row her dinghy to the beach in 30 knots of wind. She drifted down through the anchorage until a chap with an outboard came to her rescue. By dinner time the boat was still rolling violently. Our plates were sliding from one side of the table to the other. The sausages rolled across the table but we managed to stab them with our forks before they fell to the floor. We slept very poorly that night – oh happy days! THINGS ARE LOOKING UP Friday morning the wind dropped and so we went into Calvi to go up to the Citadel which was built in 1268 by the Genoese (Photo 6). I don’t know why we didn’t visit the Citadel back in 2005. Maybe we were just glad to have survived our first passage and weren’t feeling very adventurous Other points of interest about Calvi are: Lord Nelson lost his eye in battle here, it is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus and Napoleon took refuge in the Citadelle when he was obliged to flee from Ajaccio. Since 1963 the French Foreign Legion has occupied the barracks in the Citadel. They have a good display of the Legion’s training and activities in various hit spots around the world. All I can say is that the men look extremely fit (and not bad looking either). We moved to another anchorage away from town for the night. We were out of the swell and well protected up against a cliff. Now with little fear of spilling drinks down the front of ourselves, we invited Karen and Steve from “Threshold” to join us on “Eye Candy” for happy hour (photo 7). Another enjoyable evening was had sharing stories and information. “Threshold” has traveled as far as 80 degrees north and has spent a number of seasons in cold climates. They now have their first sun tan in five years. That kind of sailing is not for us! SO WHERE TO NOW We will continue north to St Florent in Corsica and then on to the Italian island of Elba which is about 35 miles east of the northern end of Corsica. With a bit of luck we will get our Italian sim card working and be back on the internet and Skype. Love Candy xx

Monday 2 August 2010

Kathryn's visit to Corsica

Up Close with Ajaccio
Kathryn the fish Campomoro holiday town Sundowners on the beach A Slam Dunk into the Rubbish Bin The Street Entertainment
Hi from Clare, Kathryn’s Visit to Corsica Saturday 31st July YOU SAY GOODBYE, I SAY HELLO After our farewell dinner with Annie and Liam (“Gone with the Wind”) and Amanda and Mark (“Balvenie”) we said goodbye to our cruising buddies and returned to Ajaccio to pick up our Aussie friend Kathryn on Tuesday morning. Kathryn flew in from her busy work environment in Manila for some peace and quiet on “Eye Candy”. Unfortunately she can only stay till Saturday so we have to make the most of our time together. WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD So late Monday we washed the boat, cleaned below and prepared the aft cabin and bathroom in readiness. With the job finished Andrew and I decided to sit on the bow, enjoy a cool drink and take in a magnificent sunset silhouetting the city skyline. Close by the cars were leaving the city area to go home (Photo 1) and it struck me how much we take all this for granted. I remember a few years back we were anchored in the capital of Lesbos and we were very excited about being so close to the action. Now we are just metres away from the capital city of Corsica watching the busy world go and it is “just another anchorage”. My thoughts were focused on what I needed to buy at the supermarket. Shame on me! So after a reality check I took the time to appreciate the spectacular mountains, the city skyline, the old town and the citadel, what a wonderful sight. I’LL HAVE TO BE QUICK Tuesday morning we embarked on a quick trip to the supermarket. Well you can forget “quick”. The supermarket was huge and totally overwhelming. I stopped just inside the door and thought “Where the heck do I start” What an amazing place, it went on forever and had everything you could possibly hope for and then any amount of items never seen before. This coupled with the French labels; I realized that “quick” was not possible. The variety of pre packed and pre cooked food was staggering. Clearly, if cost wasn’t a consideration, and you wanted instant dinner, this was the place to shop. It took me about ninety hurried minutes to cover the store and select what I needed for the coming week. The next time I shop here, I will make sure I have plenty of time (and a cut lunch). FRENCH CHAMPAGNE - WHY NOT? Kathryn arrived around lunchtime with a big smile and a bottle of Verve Clicquot Champagne to celebrate the occasion. She is a natural on the boat and even enjoys the rolling and the swell. It’s just as well as we anchored across the bay for the first night along with a number of other yachts and did our fair share of rolling. Kathryn was in and out of the water enjoying every minute. She exclaimed “and you do this every day?” (Photo 2) Wednesday morning we sailed twenty miles to Campomoro which is a popular anchorage in a large bay surrounded by trees and scrub-covered hills with a long sandy beach. There is a lovely old fort and tower on the headland and a very pretty holiday village along the foreshore. We spent the day there enjoying the clean water for swimming and soaking up the sun’s rays. We ate dinner on the boat and enjoyed our champagne followed by Limoncello Liqueur. CHOCOLATE INDULGENCE Thursday morning we took the dinghy ashore and explored the holiday village (Photo 3) we weakened and bought the local chocolate filled donuts for morning tea, and enjoyed every mouthful. We decided to sail back to our original anchorage across from Ajaccio. The morning was a little overcast and stronger winds were forecast for the following day. Kathryn was starting to glow bright pink from sun exposure so a four hour sail in the shade of the bimini was a good plan. Later in the day the sun appeared in time for drinks on the beach at sunset (Photo 4). We then had dinner in the cockpit followed by candlelit drinks and stimulating conversation until midnight. PAY BACK Friday morning, feeling a bit shabby, we escaped the roll of the boat and spent a few hours on terra firma snoozing on the beach and enjoying the clean 27 degree water. Sadly this would be our last swim before returning to the not so clean Ajaccio harbour. SLAM DUNK Before leaving the anchorage we had the opportunity of throwing our rubbish bags into the floating bins provided. We had seen these bins, shaped like cup and sauce, in another anchorage and wondered what they were. It wasn’t until we saw someone drop rubbish off that the penny dropped. So the plan was: Andrew would motor the boat as close as possible to the bin, Kathryn would throw the rubbish and I would take photos. So Kathryn was perched on the side deck with the rubbish. Andrew’s last minute advice was “don’t throw the rubbish unless you are sure you can get it in” Kathryn was looking very pensive and I was ready with the camera. The only problem was Kathryn was so quick “slam dunking” that in went two bags of rubbish and one wine bottle so fast that I missed the bags in full flight. I did however capture Kathryn (Photo 5) jumping up and down grinning from ear to ear and clapping her own achievement. Well done Kathryn, darn good effort I say. DINNER OUT Arriving back in Ajaccio, we went into the city, browsed through the shops, and toured some of the old city. In the evening Kathryn treated us to dinner. We ate a delicious meal in one of the many outdoor restaurants in the old city. Our restaurant was situated in a quiet leafy cobblestone street not far from la Maison Bonaparte. We were surrounded by “well to do” early 18th century four story houses with shutters on every window. Three hundred years on, they are still very appealing. TOTAL CHAOS The side streets were closed to traffic but back on the boulevard the traffic was almost at a standstill. It would be a nightmare trying to drive, parking would even be worse. We noticed that cars were parked two and three deep. I wondered if perhaps you just sleep in the car until you can get out. BUYER BEWARE Friday night is known as Shopping Night and in July and August the Tourist Office and Chamber of Commerce put on lots of musical and theatre shows. There is free entertainment in many streets (Photo 6) and a large night market on the foreshore. It was a lovely warm night so we strolled through the market on the way home and found dresses that were half price compared to the shops. Good thing we didn’t buy anything earlier in the day. WAKE UP CALL So all too soon it was Saturday morning with the alarm ringing at 5.15am for Kathryn to make tracks. All three of us enjoyed our time together and we hope it won’t be too long before Kathryn can return for some more happy days on Eye Candy. SO WHAT’S NEXT We want to spend a day or so exploring the city and then we will travel north to the top of Corsica. Love Candy xx