Calvi

Having been to Calvi so many times, and lived there for a while, it was great to go back with friends who were new to the area and see it through fresh eyes.

Our first excursion was in the evening when we headed out to eat. I was amazed at how many people there were in the narrow cobbled streets because normally by this time of year where we are in the Valinco, it has calmed down considerably, but Calvi seemed to still be buzzing.

The other thing that surprised me was how much things have changed since I visited last. New restaurants and bars seem to have sprung up, and there were lots of people picking over tapas style snacks with their aperitifs.

We finally chose ‘Le Nautique’ on the port as they had a reasonable variety of dishes. They seem to specialise in mussels here where they are sold by the kilo(!), but after stuffing myself on fresh bread and jam earlier in the day, I decided to opt for the Corsica Salad which was all different cured meats and local cheese – yum.

After a delicious dessert of Tarte Tatin – my favourite – and huge profiteroles for the others, we decided to wander along the port and have a good look at the huge yachts. One boat, the Albacora, was lit from below lending the water an eerie glow. Sam was slightly freaked out and convinced that a creature from the deep was going to leap out onto the quay, but fortunately we all escaped without incident!

I was so pleased that I’d brought the big camera out with me. OK, so it does weigh just over a kilo which is a not insignificant weight in your handbag, but it does take fab night shots and I still can’t get over the range of the zoom...

We were so lucky with the weather that it was hard to drag ourselves away from the pool during the day, but eventually we decided that we really ought to do a spot of souvenir shopping in the town.

It wasn’t long though before we found ourselves down on the port, distracted by all the pretty flowers and fabulous photo opportunities.

So after a spot of shopping and some scrummy ice creams (it would have been rude not to!), we decided to head back via the beach before taking on the more serious task of stocking up on the ‘English’ products from the Super U that we just can’t get in Propriano like proper cheddar and McVities digestives!

The water was as flat as a mill pond and I really wasn’t sure the colours would come out as well as we could see them in real life, but I needn’t have worried...