Quiet, pool-side day - June 15, 2025

SUMMARY 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. - Karen

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DETAIL Beware the ides of June! It’s the 15th of the month (the Ides) and if you’re a Roman this might be inauspicious, so you need to be wary, especially if your name is Julius Caesar, or some such story. We’re wary after our excitement of yesterday. We use that excuse, plus having a lovely, warm pool and blue sky, to decide on a day at home.

I dash out and get some freshly baked French breakfast breads. Ideally this would have included croissants, but they were out. What?? So we made do with pain au chocolat and pain raisin (with almonds and powdered sugar), you know, a healthy breakfast. This was all combined with fruit, yogurt and lots of coffee.

The productive part of the day (besides overdosing on Vitamin D from the sun by the pool) was the laundry that someone did. Certainly not Tom or Scott. The machine, despite being rusty on the outside, worked great. The “dryer” is the same dryer most French people out in the countryside have (i.e. a folding plastic rack).

The biggest exertion of our day is either going back and forth to the house for meals (between pool time), and shifting the chaise longs to ensure we avoided the sun, as much as possible.

For lunch we made sandwiches (well the girls made sandwiches). I did get the fresh artesianal baguette earlier in the day. Lunch was great.

At dinner time Tom and I head back to Chez L’Oncle (“my uncle’s house”) for more rotisserie chicken. We’d been on our first night and thought it was great. We arrive just after 6:30 (when we thought they opened) but apparently those hours are only during the week. They let us in and let us know that they open at 7 on Sunday’s, but don’t sweat it. We order one rotisserie chicken, some fries and vegetable sides. The impressive rotisserie before us is shiny, cold and clean. How will the chicken get cooked?? How long will it take?? Ah, not to worry. It’s all already cooked (minus the fries, which will be quick). Just sit tight.

We chat with the young, friendly waitress (same one we had the other day). Tom explains that today’s Father’s day. This is a foreign concept to her, as it’s not Father’s Day, or whatever, here. Apparently another American also mentioned this earlier, that explains things, she says. Tom toys with the idea of us getting shots of tequila. The waitress encourages us to each have a shot of tequila, on the house, for father’s day, of course. Such nice people here.

Dinner is good. More time around the pool and then watching the sun to ensure it sets properly. Eventually off to bed, after our exhausting (wink) day.

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Photos

Good breakfast. I ran out to buy breakfast breads while everyone else was cutting up fruit. That, plus coffee and yogurt makes for a great first meal of the day.

In the back, the rusty but trusty washing machine. In the front, the standard French clothes dryer. Together we ended up with a lot of very clean, very dry clothes. Yay!

Between meals and household duties we jump in (or more likely, just lie next to) the pool. It’s a great water temperature. And the sun and breeze, when you get out, cool you down, but not too much.

Lunch time. A French country baguette, divided into four sections and cut in half. Add butter, a bit of mayonnaise, ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato. Yum! Lays is a good American brand for potato chips, but over here they’re quick to point out that these chips are made from 100% French potatoes and sunflower oil. Are we having wine with lunch? I don’t recall (wink).

Eating done. Household chores done. Back to the pool! The hillsides off in the distance are all around us and quite striking. Not really built up at all.

One last meal of the day. Salad, sautéed red peppers, fries, one rotisserie chicken, zucchini dauphinoise. And yes, good local Corsican wine. Is it as good as the wine from Bordeaux or the Loire or Burgundy? No, but it’s not bad. It’s certainly drinkable. And we didn’t really seek out the good stuff. We’re not here for that.

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