Yesterday I arrived back in London after a beautiful 11 day trip to France during which time I spent five days in Corsica – the other Emerald Isle, in my opinion anyway.
I spent most of my time in the little town of L’ile Rousse. These were my favourite finds.
For a cute buy
Shop for cool quirky stuff and sip on goooood smoothies.
Soi 3 is one of the quirkiest little stores I’ve ever seen. One-of-a-kind stationary sets (black with neon multi-coloured polka dots), frogs in a jar that once you add water turn to dashing young princes. There are also those ever expected photo frames – but seriously cool ones, fridge magnets that double up as bottle openers, belly rings and my favourite, the Freudian slip post-it notes. Genius. Oh and you can also grab lunch from their pasta-only menu or sip on a freshly made fruit smoothie. Find the store in Avenue Piccioni.
Bakeries
Bertini
The locals get their paninis, croissants, pizzas, quiches and other sweet delights from Bertini which is in Avenue Paul Doumer or from Tomasini which is on the corner from Rue Paoli and Avenue Piccioni.
Tomasini
Best restaurants
La Creperie
La Creperie sells good quality food at great prices. Most restaurants in Corsica close from 3pm – 7pm and only start serving food at 12pm. La Creperie is open just about all the time. They have good omelettes, pizzas, salads, yummy crepes (sweet and savoury) and ice-cream sundaes and serve a pretty decent espresso. All round, they’re super and they’re right on the beach front so you get a great view too.
Chez Paco
For a mind-blowing paella that will leave you gob-smacked, you have to go to Chez Paco. It’s a family run restaurant that’s been around for 30 years and they specialise in paella. I will be dreaming of this meal until I return to Corsica. Unbelievable. The portion is huge so for good reason, they only serve paella for a minimum of two people. They also make their own version of the traditional Corsican lemon liqueur. Chez Paco, 18 Rue Napolean.
Another fabulous restaurant that you should dine at, is L’Altore. They make the most unbelievable mussels with your choice of curry, garlic and olive oil, roquefort cheese and cream. They serve them with super crunchy french fries that have their middles scooped out so each french fry can be used to scoop up the lip-licking sauce of your choice. They also make fabulous salads like their roast vegetable salad, or the one with warm, crispy octopus on greens and crispy mini-roast potatoes. The bacon and fried goats cheese salad is also super delicious as too their fried calamari-rings that they serve as a starter. And their Irish Coffee? It’s the biggest one you will ever be served and it comes in a venetian glass that could easily double up as vase. Awesome. L’Altore, Place du marche
Local designers
Bianc' & Neuru
I was so surprised to see how fashion forward all the stores in Corsica are! I found the boutique shopping to be better than that in Nice and the local jewellery designers make some stunning pieces. There were a pair of rose gold earrings that caught my eye. They were a modern take on the map of Corsica and so delicate and pretty. Local clothing label, Bianc’ & Neru sells high-quality T-shirts, vests and hoodies for guys and girls that have a number of awesome prints, embellished designs and styles to choose from. Look out for their stores scattered in most of Corsica’s main cities.
Markets
Cheese lovers unite
There are markets in every little town around Corsica. Monday to Sunday farmers, bakers and local producers sell their products from morning till lunch time in L’ile Rousse. There is so much to choose from: cheeses, meat, bacon, ham, fish, local sweet dishes, honey, olive oil, biscuits, nougat and loads more. It’s best to go hungry… So you can try them all! My favourite sweet treats were the honey, polenta and date mini-cakes, the crispy and syrupy bowties and the mini-baklava.
Yum!
love love love
❤ ❤ ❤
Gawk your heart out 