Zonza, Corsica — Someone out there has to be asking why a blog about walking in Europe is spending so much time talking about road conditions. Here’s the scoop. Somewhere down the road (excuse the pun), we hope to distill the essence of Corsica into a week of tranquil walking, spectacular scenery, pungent cheeses and personal […]
Central Corsica, France — There’s that old country western tune, “40 Miles of Bad Road,” and just in case you wondered where it was located, it’s right here in Central Corsica. And, it’s more like 60. Our guidebook recommends bringing detailed maps and a lot of patience to a Corsican journey. They don’t need to tell you […]
L’Ile Rousse, Corsica — There are two types of settlements in northern Corsica: the sun bleached, hard to get to kind and the sun drenched, colorful coastal kind. Sun bleached and hard to get to are the hilltop villages of the Balagne. From a distance they are hard to spot. They blend into their rocky surroundings […]
Chiavenna, Italy — My apologies. As you may have noticed, nothing’s been posted for the last couple of weeks. It is not that there was nothing of interest to note. In fact, quite the opposite. Traveling the hidden corners of Corsica and Sardinia, it swiftly became apparent that wireless Internet access is a mainland phenomenon. One […]
Foret de Calenzana, Corsica — After roaming for a few days in northern Corsica, one thing seems very clear: Corsicans have difficulty understanding the term “forest.” According to our map, we are immersed in the middle a forest at the trailhead of one of France’s most famous hiking trails, the Grande Route 20. According to my optical […]
Savona, Italy — So here we are at 10:00 p.m., standing under the harsh lights of the port of Savona along with a few hundred other confused travelers. No one really has a clue as to what is going on and it takes an hour before we realize that our ferry hasn’t even shown up yet. […]
Nice, France — Finishing up a week of walking in Provence is always a melancholy experience. First, we’re saying goodbye to a great group of friends and travelers. Also, we are leaving France and returning home to Italy. This means facing a nine hour drive, 60% of which is comprised of Mad Max style highway, popping […]
Alpe Grande, Italy — It is the quintessential Italian Sunday outing. Everyone piles into three cars and promptly becomes separated. This is only a problem because only one car knows where we’re going. We drive for an hour surrounded by hordes of dueling motorcyclists and stop at a cafe for an espresso and to phone our […]
Capitan’s Blog, Camogli, Italy — I’m very happy to report that little has changed here in this charming fishing village just south of Genoa. There are no chain stores or luxury boutiques and the cafes and restaurants remain firmly in local hands. In the late afternoons, I like to stroll down to the port cafes and […]
The Chiavenna Economic Forum (CEF) — “Italy is broken,” says Giuseppe Balzeretti, a respected architect here. “It is financially, politically and morally bankrupt. And, in its present state, it is an embarrassment to the great civilizations that have preceded it.” I am paraphrasing here, leaving out a lot of profanity, shortening it by about 12 paragraphs […]