WELCOME TO FARNSNIENTE

Our last day in Paris, sob! First thing in the morning we go shopping for the “usual suspects”, groceries we try to bring home from France each visit. Then something new - a boat ride on the Canal St. Martin, through several locks and a long underground tunnel to the Seine and on to the Musée d’Orsay. Drinks at a favorite bar, Au Sauvignon, and dinner at my very favorite restaurant, Le Récamier, for a last (2) soufflé!

A day of our favorites! Breakfast at Café de Paris on the Rue de Buci, several hours at the Parc du Bagatelle in the Bois de Boulogne and dinner of cheese fondue at old haunt Le Châlet in Neuilly. In between, we visited the Worth exhibit at the Petit Palais (“Charles Frederick Worth was an English fashion designer who founded the House of Worth, one of the foremost fashion houses of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He is considered by many fashion historians to be the fathe

Another great lunch at Bouillon Pigalle which has become a big favorite of ours. As today was La Fête de la Musique we assumed there would be music all day long as there had been on past visits. But, we looked all over the city during the day and found very little. Maybe because it was SO HOT! The evening was a whole different story. Still hot as heck but there was music everywhere. A big difference from previous times we’d attended was that a lot of it was by DJs (techno) as

Left our lovely Calvi rental for a rather awful Paris apartment while Tom and Cindy headed for their nearby hotel. Went for drinks then met back up for dinner at a good place T & C had enjoyed on a previous visit, Au 35. Went to an underground club called Caveau des Oubliettes and listened to a very good but Very Loud group who among others, covered Austin’s own Stevie Ray Vaughan.

After an enormous egg, ham and veggie scramble at our rental we hopped back in the car and drove up into the mountains. It was another really hot day so I scaled back on the plans to allow for pool time in the afternoon. First stop was Sant’ Antonino, a very old hilltop town and another of France’s “Most Beautiful Villages”. From there we drove down to sea level and the beach resort of L’Île Rousse. A bit of walking, a quick lunch and we were ready to call it a day. Did I men

Spent part of the day exploring the town of Calvi - the Citadel and Old Town. It was really hot so we did some grocery shopping and had downtime in our well air conditioned room. Spent some time at the pool then a great dinner in the Old Town.

A day of “if I see any more beauty my head will explode”! We started with a walk around the quaint city of Corte. Afterwards we took one of the most breathtaking drives I’ve ever been on from Corte to Piana on the west coast and on to Calvi in the northwest. Narrow roads, hairpin turn after hairpin turn, blind curve after blind curve we wended our way through the mountains to the sea. Sharing the road with us on the aforementioned blind curves were, at some frequency, other c

Beautiful drive transitioning from Bonifacio to Corte, called the “beating heart of Corsica”. We went the long way, meaning through Ajaccio, the capital city and birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte. We arrived in time for a great lunch at l’Instant (super creative salads) and spent some time walking around the old town. Then, off to the mountains in the center of the country. The drive was really beautiful with lots of twists and turns on the road, each one offering a great view

Another day of dolce far niente. I had a full day of driving, sightseeing and hiking planned but after all the stair climbing and medical drama yesterday, we all agreed it was time for some R & R. Our beautiful rental house and its lovely swimming pool were just what the doctor ordered. Other than throwing together a few meals we just relaxed and let the day go by

Nice breakfast at home then headed in to beautiful Bonifacio for the day. Our exploration involved many, many stairs - ancient, worn and unevenly sized (my watch gave me credit for 30 flights). Long walk along the city wall with many, many pictures taken. Late in the morning Tom ran afoul of a cement ledge - few things as alarming as turning around and seeing your friend with blood running down his face! After he was cleaned up and temporarily patched we continued on with our

Transitioned from the Italian island of Sardinia to the French island of Corsica by almost empty plane. Got our rental car and checked in to our lovely, secluded villa a short ways out of Bonifacio. LOTS of info from our hostess all in French - we were pleased to understand pretty much all of it. (Questionable how much we’ll remember!) Did some grocery shopping and had some pool time. Dinner, al fresco as is our preference, at Chez l’Oncle where they specialize in rotisserie

A day of mind boggling beauty! Rented a zodiac boat to cruise the Gulf of Orosei with birthday boy Tom serving as captain. Stunning coastline with many beautiful beaches in front of enormous cliffs. Lots of opportunities to anchor for a swim and picnic lunch. Very brisk, super clear water to swim in. Excellent dinner at Duepi

Visited the river source of Sorgente Su Gologone on a nice little hike. Grocery shopped and did laundry. Happy hour at the highly rated nearby restaurant/gas station/carwash. Dinner at Snoopy on the waterfront

In Palau we explored the outside of the Fortezza di Monte Altura where the rock formations are mind boggling, very other-worldly. Drove out to Capo Testa, the northernmost point in Sardinia for lunch with an amazing view. Back to Palau for a 4-hour boat ride through La Maddalena National Park and the island of Spargi, Budelli, Razzoli and Santa Maria. The water was gorgeous, the most amazing shades of blue and turquoise and crystal clear. Then a two hour drive to Cala

Drove towards Palau where we were to spend the night. Stopped on the way in Castelsardo, a very picturesque old hill town with narrow, winding streets. Got re-routed due to a closed highway and had a long drive through the mountains on narrow, winding roads. Beautiful scenery with amazing, jagged peaks all around. Happy hour at our B&B outside of town then beat the crowds for an al fresco dinner accompanied by frequent ringing from the church bells just above us

Very scenic drive south to the town of Bosa with good lunch at Boca Bistro. Dinner at our agroturismo place.

Homemade sheeps’ yogurt, cakes and cookies on the buffet. Dessert for breakfast! Drove into Alghero to get on the ferry to Neptune’s Grotto, a 40-minute ride away. Beautiful scenery along the coast, tall cliffs, sandy beaches, caves worn into the rocks by the sea. We didn’t pay the extra to enter the grotto but most others did. We arrived back in time for lunch which we had at Le Ninfe on Ninfe Beach. The beach was very crowded so we opted for a smaller, equally crowded, beac

Off to Alghero, Sardinia (Italy). Airport adventures that I’m sure Scott will share. Austin friends of 40 some years, Tom and Cindy, picked us up at the airport and drove us to our nearby agroturismo farm lodging outside the town of Fertilia. Back into town for lunch (at Quattro Punto Sei, i.e. "four point six") then chill time on the farm. Great dinner Al fresco at Sottoprua on the Calich Lagoon with a view to the

Travel day. Said a sad goodbye to Ron and Nancy in Vila Real and headed to the Porto airport for our flight to Barcelona. Late dinner there and off to bed

A total “dolce farniente”(sweet doing nothing) day. In paradise! I loved this place SO much. We spent the day lazing around, taking a dip in the pool and hot tub, having a lovely salad lunch on our terrace. More lazing around, reading, wine and another delicious dinner. Heavenly!