Bonifacio, Corsica

We visited several places in South Corsica.... Bonifacio being one of our favorites.........

 It is an amazing sight from the sea......... houses perched up on top of limestone cliffs!

 and there were  lots of signs of erosion!!

We did the typical tourist thing and took a boat ride.....
first going in to one of the grottos en route........just enough room for the boat to turn around!

Then we went along the coast to admire the beautiful clarity and color of the water......

Then a ride back to fully appreciate the perched homes and to view the staircase leading down to the sea......

 yes, there are people there!

And, no, we were not even tempted!

One definitely needs to take a boat ride in order to fully appreciate the fantastic cliffs....

The old town was quite forbidding looking up at the Citadel from the land side......

and while charming, was quite small ........

 but with fantastic views.....

I'm not sure we would want to spend a long holiday there, but it would be certainly interesting for a few days......

Domaine de Murtoli, Corsica.........continued...

While we were staying at the Domaine de Murtoli we obviously had to try both their restaurants!

One was on their private beach....

 the other was in a Grotto...

Both were fabulous...
The beach restaurant was formed on different levels so it felt very private...

Appetizers to start.........

followed by fish.........

Superb presentation........

The beach itself is also very nice....

With lots of interesting sculpted driftwood furniture...........

And then the Grotto....... this was absolutely fantastic! We entered into the cave which was rather dark and had a low rocky overhead so one had to watch out not to bump it.... 

And were led through to an outside terrace for an apero...

Afterwards it was back inside for a typical Corsican meal.....

served by candlelight.......

and accompanied by Corsican music....

Domaine de Murtoli, Corsica

The Domaine de Murtoli was the highlight of our trip to Corsica!

Our Bergerie, A Filetta was fantastic!

This was the sign, at the last junction of dirt roads, to find it.... apparently they do have people getting lost, not surprisingly!
The red door was very welcoming...

and the interior no less so...

The bedroom was small, quite simple but very comfortable..

and the bathroom was charming..

We were totally happy....... and this was before we checked the outside area...
Pool with a sea view... in the distance ( they own all of that property in between!)

Nice sitting area...

And a totally equipped outdoor kitchen, duplicating all that was in the interior kitchen, even down to the Nespresso coffee makers!

And there was even a laundry room...

We would return in a heartbeat.....
Its amazing what they have achieved by restoring original sheepfolds....

It was all rather idyllic........ being lost on a mountain...... but being looked after on a daily basis.......
closest bergerie.......1 to 2 kms
closest neighbors............ lots of boars, just beside us! And of course, beautiful lizards.......

On to Porto, Corsica

From Murato we took the quickest way to Ile Rousse....over a few mountain passes. We had thought it looked easy!

Stopped in Ile Rousse for lunch at A Quadrera.....

This was ranked # 6 on TripAdvisor but # 5 which was just opposite had less people.........

then on to Calvi...
From Calvi we started on the coast road ...
This will give you an idea of the road.......

but as it was very slow and percipitous  we decided to turn around and take the 1 hr quicker route, inland. No less twisty but at least the sea wasn't 500 meters down below......

Porto was a great place to stay... these were the views from our hotel room!

And, of course, our evening meal did have to be fish...

We can recommend the La Mer restaurant.... unfortunately we did have to eat inside as it started to rain.. but it does have a fantastic view....

And the hotel, Les Flots Bleu, while basic, had superb views....

Our destination, Porto, had been chosen because it is a Unesco site http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/258/, Scandola and the Calanque de Piana   Unfortunately by the time we arrived in Porto the weather wasn't co-operating and we were not able to go out in a boat.

The view below is when we left in the morning, looking back at Porto.... we did not at that point know what the road ahead was like!

We continued on to  drive through the Piana calanques!  Watch this YouTube video to see what the road looked like...

We were actually going in the opposite direction, i.e. the coast side ! With the steep drop off!
Just before we arrived in the village of Piana we met 3 tour buses....fortunately not in the parts with the steep drop off!! And no room to pass another vehicle! This is the main road from the capital of Corsica, Ajacchio to Porto!

We stopped in Ajacchio for lunch at a small little restaurant near the market. Few photos taken because it was raining heavily.

And we decided to try the Calamar l'Ajaccienne.....

It was OK...but......we don't feel the need to recommend!
And then we arrived at our home for the following 7 nights, the Domaine de Murtoli.

This was a fantastic choice, 6kms from the reception area and over a couple of hills, all on the 2000 hectare privately owned property! And the roads,of course, were a little difficult! Not exactly disclosed beforehand, but they did suggest 4x4 cars...... I think it should have been mandatory!!