July 2010

Logistics: a place to stay in Corsica

When my friend and I spontaneously booked our trip to the Île de Beauté, lured by rock-bottom ferry prices, we quickly skimmed the Corsica chapter in my budget guidebook. It said something along the lines of “the only budget option in Corsica is camping.” Still on the high that comes from plunking down your credit [...]

July 30, 2010 Continue reading…

Tastes of Corsica

Corsica certainly isn’t a foodie destination, and it’s not known for haute cuisine. However, freshness and quality reign supreme on the island, and good food isn’t hard to find. Wild boar: I ordered sanglier because I knew it was a Corsican specialty and I was curious about it. I didn’t really expect to like it—I [...]

July 29, 2010 Continue reading…

“French” things that aren’t really French

I’m always amused by American stereotypes of the French, and the things they expect to find on a first visit to France. Visions of berets and baguettes, expectations of pastries and poodles. While you can count on straightforward (read: rude) French waiters and a strike to ruin your travel plans, there are plenty of things [...]

July 28, 2010 Continue reading…

Logistics: the ferry from Nice to Corsica

What encourages spontaneity more than rock-bottom prices? When conversation turned to Corsica, the only option for how to get there (in our minds) was Corsica Ferries. We’d watched the big yellow and blue boats, emblazoned with the Corsican national symbol, coming and going from the Nice port every day. And we were shocked when we [...]

July 26, 2010 Continue reading…

Snapshots of the island of beauty

I still can’t stop raving about Corsica. Maybe it’s because I’m back to uncomfortable, rocky beaches and a heavy humidity that rivals visiting my grandparents in Florida. The fact that I worked all weekend–and had to act as a police translator when someone tried to steal a laptop from the pub!–certainly is contributing to my [...]

July 25, 2010 Continue reading…

Modern art, feminism and theme parks in Paris

Ever since a high school philosophy class field trip to the SFMOMA, I’ve been intrigued by modern art. Our class visited the SFMOMA and the Legion of Honor museum with one task: find the most beautiful and least beautiful pieces in both. Yet beauty is obviously in the eye of the beholder, and defending why [...]

July 23, 2010 Continue reading…

Zucchini flowers aren’t just for decoration

I remember being confused by all the bright yellow zucchini flowers on the market stands when I arrived in Nice. My family had a few zucchini harvests in our suburban garden, but as far as I could remember, we chucked the flowers and sauteed the slices. I was intrigued when I saw fleurs de courgettes [...]