Have you been to Corsica?

Sending you a pm - I love Corsica.

We went many years ago, unfortunately we stayed in a very quiet place where it was necessary to speak French - my French being practically non-existent we struggled a bit. Didn't find the locals particularly friendly and the tour rep told us she sometimes had trouble with them even though her French was fluent.

Remember going into one restaurant and I asked for a table for two, in French, the waiter shrugged his shoulders and indicated he didn't understand, tried again and again got the shoulder shrug. My DH lost patience at that point and said (in English) that he had never found it so hard to spend his money and that we should go somewhere else. All of a sudden the waiter could speak excellent English!

We went to Corsica in May about 14 years ago. We stayed in a small apartment in the citadel at Calvi and had a wonderful time. The weather was good and we really enjoyed exploring the local villages. The roads were a bit scary, I remember driving high above the coast on narrow winding roads, but I am a bit of a wimp

I do speak reasonable french and we didn't have any language problems.

Barrow - I have to agree that outside the hotels the Corsicans can be very unfriendly. I have lived in France for ten years and before that worked for many years in Monaco and Brussels, so my French is passable. I went into a small bar in a village and asked for a Panache - ie shandy. There is only one way of pronouncing it and I have ordered it in many French bars and cafes. The two young idiots behind the bar pretended not to understand, so I asked for a beer with lemonade. I then spoke to them in rapid English, insulting them whilst smiling sweetly.

I remember the nightingales. They say the songs are different all over the island. This is some years ago. One hotel owner in the mountains loved England , lichfield in particular. The forests in the centre have beautiful orchids everywhere. The wild flowers are beautiful. Not over struck by the wine or cheese.calvi,Porto and bonifaccio all have charm. They can be a bit intense over Easter . I think it is a lot cleaner these days.

Loved Corsica when I went there many years ago. Agree about the wine. I have friends who go there every year, but they are french.

Head for Calvi. I didn't find it too intensely french-speaking. Some villages speak a language which sounds more like italian and,of course, some speak the Langue d'Oc.

We went some years ago and found it a beautiful place - and very determinedly not French (a bit like Scotland and the UK). The north of the island was very un-touristy and beautiful. They say you can smell Corsica from way out at sea - the undergrowth called maquis smells wonderful. Fantastic for nightjars too.