#31 - Final European stops in Corsica and Chamonix, France

After our travels in Italy, we hopped on the 45-minute ferry from Sardegna to southern Corsica and spent two days there.  Then another overnight ferry from Corsica to Genoa led us to a day’s drive through Monaco up to Chamonix, France where we stayed in a fantastic Airbnb in a valley village of Vallorcine to visit our friends the Inamdars.  The mountains and valleys and glaciers of the Chamonix and Mont Blanc area were simply stunning and great way to finish our European tour.

Highlights:

1. Corsica is a Beautiful place
2. Mountain lake of Bavella
3. Hilltop village with Airbnb and incredible views
4. Cap du Corse and black stone beach
5. Drive to Monaco
6. Incredible Vallorcine Airbnb chalet
7. Fun activities with our friends the Inamdars

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Highlights:

1. Corsica is a Beautiful place – Corsica is rock island full of superlatives.  There are gorgeous crystal-clear waters and beaches, soaring mountains and pine forests, big coastal cities, and tiny mountain hamlets.  Everywhere you drive, there is something exciting to see.  We only spent two days here, but of all the places we visited in Europe in the past few months, Corsica is the place I would be most excited to return to.
2. Mountain lake of Bavella – We drove from the port city of Bonafacio (itself a very cool fortress city) along the east coast and turned up to drive into the mountains.  In just a few miles, we were greeted by pine forests and granite mountains, and spectacular views out to the ocean. With all the mountain scenery, I felt like I was in Yosemite.  We came to a small lake and pulled over to dip our feet and do some rock skipping and scrambling and bouldering.
3. Hilltop village with Airbnb and incredible views – We chose an Airbnb in the middle part of the island, not really fully understanding where the place was (as we often do).  It turned out to be an incredibly charming 3rd story apt in a tiny mountain village, Casanova, amongst a trio of tiny towns.  The hostess spoke no English, and we spoke no French, but thankfully the Corsican dialect is close enough to Italian that we could understand each other. Once we settled in, Tera and I walked around the neighborhood and then ordered pizza and ate our post-9pm dinner (becoming quite the norm) as we watched the sunset glow light up the surrounding hilltop villages and steeples.
   
4. Cap du Corse and black stone beach – Our second day, we continued our drive north to reach our departure point from which we would take the ferry to Genoa later that evening.  But for the day, we continued our scenic drive through the northern mountains and coastline.  We decided to drive around the Cap du Corse, a tiny road that hugs the coastline and cliffs.  We stopped at the village of Nonza to walk around, get some ice cream, and walk down the tiny paths and stairways to see the view over the sea.  We saw a long expanse of black beach many hundreds of feet below us, and decided to drive down to the beach entrance and splash a bit.  The black beach turned out to be a black pebble beach, no sand in sight.  Each pebble was about the size of a small bar of soap, and the beach stretched for at least a kilometer.  The water level dropped right off from the water’s edge, and while we initially planned to stay for just a few minutes, we decided to head back to the car to get our swimming suits and stay there for a swimming afternoon. It ended up being one of our favorite beach days! While we then had to shorten our scenic drive, it made a great cobblestone beach memory.
   
5. Drive to Monaco – We took the overnight ferry to Genoa, and once on the mainland, we decided to take a detour. Rather than drive straight north into Switzerland, we drove west along the coast to see a bit of Monaco before heading north.  The freeway along the coast was an absolute marvel of engineering (speaking with a civil engineer’s eye) with tunnel after soaring bridge after mountain after valley.  Monaco itself wasn’t much more than a glitzy casino city built into the steep cliffs and mountains.  We didn’t spend much time there, as it was packed full with crowds.  We did drive into a casino approach, full of Lamborghini’s, Ferrari’s, Maserati’s and other supercars - which defined our Monaco experience.
   
6. Incredible Vallorcine Airbnb chalet – Rather than take the freeway back to Genoa, we took a shortcut through the mountains up to Torino, which was a beautiful mountain drive. We arrived in the mountains of Chamonix, passing through the 20km Mt Blanc tunnel, and were greeted with a stunning vista of mountains, glaciers and green valleys.  Our Airbnb, which turned out to be rather difficult to find due to bad Airbnb directions, was an amazing Swiss chalet with two floors, beds for 7 people, and wonderful furniture and amenities.  We felt very lucky to find it for the cost.
   
7. Fun activities with our friends the Inamdars – We knew the Inamdar family in Wassenaar, both Anna and Tyler had been good friends with their children Kai and Jess.  There also happened to be another of Tyler’s friends staying with them that week, Lucy.  It was a happy reunion, and we felt very fortunate to be in the hands of local experts.  They took us to a fun and adventurous high ropes course and on a mountain hike to a hidden lake, where we all jumped into the almost freezing water. Refreshing!  We had fondue together, and grilled duck breast, and they even took the kids climbing on the Granite walls of Vallorcine, a pretty famous rock climbing wall about a 10-minute walk from their cabin.  It was a wonderful weekend involving one of our favorite activities, seeing friends in their local homes and vacation spots.