Around Cap Corse

The church bells were our alarm clock the first three mornings in Corsica, ringing at exactly 7 am each day. It was still a bit dark out at that time so we got up and caught the beautiful colours of the sunrise.

Sunrise on the buildings near our hotel.

Silhouette of a photographer with tripod also getting some sunrise photos.

There are many Genoese towers located around the island, some in better repair than others. They were built by the Republic of Genoa between 1530 - 1620 as coastal defences against attacks from the Barbary pirates. (Source: Wikipedia) This one was near our hotel in Erbalunga.

In addition to watching sunrises, I went running in the mornings but it was challenging to get any distance in safely. Our hotel was right beside a main road (all of which are narrow!). The sidewalks don't go far in either direction and are used for other purposes. 

Sidewalk or car park?

I got onto some side streets but they just went up the hill, around some apartment buildings, and back down again. However, I did manage to find a very short (~1/2 km) loop trail with exercise stations so I took advantage of those. Not the greatest workout but better than nothing!

The first day, we drove around Cap Corse, the peninsula on the north end of the island. The roads were very narrow (i.e. one lane/one direction in spots), very winding, and often had very sharp drop offs. I'm the designated driver on this trip. After a couple days I'm much more comfortable with it.

There are several areas of Corsica that are known for their wine so of course we stopped at one of or two of them each day. They ranged from friendly family-owned vineyards to very large commercial operations. We liked the family owned ones with colourful characters/owners. 

The rock really is as green as it looks! 

An interesting mix of the old and the new! Genoese towers and wind turbines. 

Mountains on the mainland in the distance.

You can see the coastal road on the opposite bank. Doesn't look as dramatic as when driving it!

We didn't have time to stop at all the places we wanted so the next day we headed back to St. Florent. Each time we came across the bottom of the Cap we took a different driving route. Again, with various types of widths of roads. The day was cloudy so not great distant views over the water but we  enjoyed the various villages and sites along the way.

Looking down on the Bastia port.

Paraglider (barely visible) soaring over the ridge and landing on a small strip of beach.

Humorous door knocker.

McKinlay Family Vacation Begins!

Waterfront in Nice, France

For the next phase of our Europe trip, Andrew and I flew from Vienna to Nice to meet up with Andrew's sisters, Penny and Clare. We had a day there before taking the ferry over to the French island of Corsica.

Unfortunately, it rained most of the time so we didn't a chance to do much. After getting rather wet just going out for breakfast, we sat in the hotel lobby for a while to wait out the absolute deluge that was pouring down outside.

The siblings -- waiting for the rain to at least slow down a bit.

We eventually headed out despite the heavy rain and by mid-afternoon the sun came out and we walked a linear park with some very cool wooden playground equipment that my 5-year old great nephew would have loved! It was all made out of wood and was in the shapes of various sea creatures. This whale was especially impressive.

Whale playground structure with slide at the front, a climbing wall on the side . . . 

. . . and various things inside to crawl and climb on. Lots of fun to be had!

We stopped in a shopping mall to dry off during the morning and figured this advertisement banner that encouraged women to get breast exams for early detection of cancer was probably a bit more risqué than what we might see at home.

The police presence was quite high. A memorial for the people killed last July during the Bastille Day attack was scheduled but postponed to the following day due to the rain.

I was very impressive with the backing up skills of this ferry captain. A relatively small space for a very large boat!

View of the Nice coastline from the ferry. Corsica, here we come!

Salzburg

We started and finished the paragliding part of our trip in Salzburg, Austria. We arrived a day ahead of meeting the group and spent the first afternoon simply wandering in the area of the Salzach River that runs through the city. One of the most notable features was all the "love locks" on the pedestrian bridge.

The Hohensalzburg Castle is a significant landmark and, sitting high on a hill, can be seen from every direction.

These gardens were past their prime but still beautiful.

Part of a large bronze sculpture called "Caldera" and located in one of the parks near the river.

A display of photographs from Dieter Huber's book called "Waste." A very powerful message when you're standing on crushed plastic water bottles a foot deep. A sign on the door said "Enter at your own risk!" 

Clock/Church tower with Salzburg Castle in the background.

Gherkin statues. Supposedly the inspiration for the band name "Red Hot Chili Peppers."

Our hotel was just steps from this tunnel that led to the "old town" of Salzburg. Great location!

The next day we went to see the Castle. We unintentionally took a "scenic" route (aka got lost)
and ended up on the opposite side of the Castle from where we started. 

Lovely house at the base of the hill with Castle on top.

Large ceramic stove used as a furnace.

Various levels within the Castle.

View of Salzburg from the Castle.

We also had an overnight and half day in Salzburg when we got back but it was rainy and cold and I didn't take a single photo! We visited the Science Centre and aquarium which was very close to our hotel. Then it was back to Vienna and a flight to Nice, France, to meet up with Andrew's sisters. The next phase of our journey begins!

More Croatia and Slovenia

Makarska, Croatia

After flying and while waiting for the weather to get better, we had some time to wander around the town of Makarska and to hike along some of the oceanside trails. I can definitely see us coming back here to fly and hike and go to some of the parks and nature preserves.

The fisherman.

The inner harbour, looking towards the ridge where the launch area is.

View from one of the oceanside hiking trails. 

A boat heading into the harbour just before dark.

Entry arch to churchyard part way along a hiking trail. 

Lighthouse at the end of the harbour peninsula.

Question of the day . . . why is there a polar bear on the Croatian 5 Kuna coin? Answer: I have no clue.

Next to the fruit and vegetable stand, you can also pick up a supply of milk (your choice of goat or cow).

Zadar, Croatia

Late in the day we left Makarska and headed to Zadar, a couple hours drive north. The next morning we had time to wander in the rain. Zadar is also by the ocean and we enjoyed what I called The Ocean Symphony -- sounds made by the water pushing up agains various holes in the walkway. 

Piano key design in the benches by The Ocean Symphony

Contrasts -- old Roman ruins on display near the considerably newer Museum of Archeology building and the glass and steel of restaurants and shops.

A row of old water wells.

A small harbour area.

 Radovljica, Slovenia

The following evening we stopped in Radovljica, Slovenia. The hotel we stayed at had a definite Austrian feeling to it. Again, we had time to wander for a bit in the morning before moving on.

My flower boxes at home never look this nice. Oh, right. You're supposed to water them! :-) 

Trying to find the start of a hiking trail took us through the train stop. 

We found a dirt road leading to the river. We weren't sure if this was supposed to be part of the hiking trail or not.

Found it! 

Beautiful scenery on by the riverside.

Lovely bonsai outside the church.

The street our hotel was on. Mostly closed off to vehicles which was nice.

With the weather actually looking better near the flying site of Lijack, we backtracked but although the sky was mostly clear when we got there it was very windy! Definitely too windy for paragliding. It's actually amazing it was clear at all as we'd encountered a lot of rain before then and more rain and snow as we got closer to Salzburg. This was the end of the paragliding part of the trip. Such great flying!