During our day-trip in Ajaccio, I had what was possibly the most charming encounter with a stranger that I’ve ever experienced.

A couple of us were eating lunch on the terrace of a small Italian joint in the old town, and I was sketching the small church just across from us, when an older gentleman came up and, in French, complimented me on the drawing. He proceeded to tell me that I should make sure to get the bell tower in the sketch, and I assured him I would as soon as I finished filling in the details of the face of the building. He wished us a good day and went on his way.

As we paid our bill and were getting ready to leave, the same gentleman came by and asked to see the finished sketch. After looking at it and complimenting me on a job well done, he asked if he could draw as well, to which I responded, bien sûr!

He spent about five minutes drawing the little church for us, during which time I learned that he’s been living in Ajaccio, and in fact on the same little street as this church, since he was a little boy.

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Posted in: life, travel | Tags: ajaccio, charming, charming encounter, church, corsica, elderly man, meeting strangers, sketch, strangers, travel | 19 COMMENTS

During our trip to Corsica, we took a day-trip to Ajaccio, birthplace of one Napoleon Bonaparte. Perhaps  you’ve heard of him.

The ancestral Bonaparte home, Casa Buonaparte, is still intact, having been continually owned by members of the family until 1923. It is now a national museum housing relics of the Emperor and his family.

I did this weird thing where I was completely uninterested in the historically significant pieces inside the museum, but fixated on the windows and what you could see of of them instead.

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Posted in: travel | Tags: ajaccio, casa buonaparte, casa buonaparte ajaccio, corsica, napoleon bonaparte, napoleon bonaparte's home, napoleon bonaparte's house, napoleon bonaparte's windows, orange trees, photography, south of france, tourism in ajaccio, travel, windows | 3 COMMENTS

Like English muffins, good towns should be filled with nooks and crannies.

Tempting little buggers, aren’t they?

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Posted in: travel | Tags: alley, alleys of bastia, alleyway, alleyways, bastia, corsica, france, french town, photo essay, photography, south of france, streets of bastia, travel | 8 COMMENTS

There are some restaurants that do just one thing, and do it so well that every person who visits the town it graces is compelled to visit.

You see that plate of langoustines? €22. For serious. And they were head-sucking, finger-licking good. Simply grilled with some mystery herbs and seasonings, served with a big pile of hot fries.

I mean, there are other things on the menu. These mussels were good, too. But every single person in that fully-booked restaurant was there for one thing.

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Posted in: dining out | Tags: bastia, bastia restaurant, corsica, dinner, food, france, langoustine, langoustine restaurant bastia, langoustines, restaurant recommendations bastia, seafood, shelllfish, travel | 17 COMMENTS