Day 15 - L'lle-Rousse, Corsica, France to Nice, France

Today was our last day in Corsica and our first on the mainland of France. We had a mere 25km to ride from L'Ile Rousse to Calvi (the town with our ferry) and not much in the way of elevation at that, so it was almost like a day off. After another round of croissants and hot chocolates for breakfast, we took off at about 10:30, also having stocked up on food for our long ferry ride. As for the scenery, not much to write home about today.

Calvi is a charming little coastal village with long, winding streets and plenteous shops and cafés. We had ample time to eat, window shop, and relax before the 5.5 hour ferry. On the boat, we did our usual: 8 person hearts (good way to kill two hours, there), reading, eating, napping. A highlight was spotting from the deck some French unicyclists at the port in Nice who had come to greet us and lead us to our hotel. Thanks, Patrick, Antoine, Marielle, Michel and uni kids.

Nice is a magnificent city, and frankly we had far too little time to appreciate it fully, or even halfly. Still, we enjoyed a ride at night down its bustling boulevards, looking at its great fountain and sculptures, and taking a swim on the pebble beach. One group found the ultimate gelato stand, and we were held there, fixated for several rounds of the delicacy, sampling one another's ambrosia. Beau had seven scoops, and others were not far behind. And poor Rob has practically become addicted, and will be suffering major gelato withdrawal upon return to Minnesota.

Quotes of the Day
"I'd describe this lemon gelato, but it would be NC-17."
-John, cognizant of the minors in his gelato party.

Rider of the Day: Tim
1. What was your best day so far?
They've all been good. But I really liked riding across the countryside in Italy, especially to Siena and Volterra.

2. What was your worst day/moment?
The first day, because my knee was bothering me and we had to leave Ljubljana.

3. Why did you decide to go on the tour?
I saw the pictures from the Alps tour, I had a Coker, and I thought, Man this will be a lot of fun!

4. Favorite gelato flavor(s)?
Ooh, the lemon, some limoncello one night, and tiramisu too.

5. Are there any items in your CamelBak you haven't touched or used this tour?
So far, I've got stuff for my contacts, but haven't had to use them luckily.

6. Are you collecting anything?
Stickers, and I'm getting quite a collection.

7. What was your favorite bathroom/lodging this tour?
For bathroom, Zadar, but the cells in Ljubljana were pretty cool.

8. If you could change anything about your uni, what would it be?
Should make the whole thing lighter.

9. What were your favorite two or three films of the last 10 years?
Shrek, Saving Private Ryan, but I haven't been to a lot of movies in a while. I guess Pirates of the Caribbean: I go with the kids.

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Created: Wednesday, July 04, 2007 16:39