Let Me Tell You a Little About Corsica

The Tour de France began on Saturday.  This is always a big time of year for me (I watch nearly every moment of it) not because I am really into cycling or anything.  I could never be that into anything that involves so much exercise.  No, my main interest is based on the fact that the cyclists ride past so many amazing views.  I watch it every year and add new places I'd like to go to my list.  The most recent of those places is Corsica.  Since Saturday the cyclists have been riding around the tiny French island located in the Mediterranean closer to Italy than mainland France.

In the last couple of days I've learned that there is more to Corsica than just beautiful views and amazing beaches.  Although, what more do you need?  For instance, did you know that both Napoleon and Christopher Columbus were from Corsica?  It's an island that today only has a population of 302,000 and yet two of the most famous men in history came from there.  I actually have an ancient coin from Columbus' native city of Calvi when the island was ruled by the Republic of Genoa during Columbus' lifetime.  By the time Napoleon was born in Ajaccio (pronounced A-jack-ci-o) it had become an independent republic briefly (the Republic of Corsica) and then in 1769, the same year Napoleon was born there, it became a part of France.

It is the most mountainous island in the Mediterranean and is one of the only French regions that retains it's own language for everyday usage.  About 10% of the population still speaks Corsican as a first language and about 50% of the population have some proficiency in the language.  Oh!  Here's one more little tidbit, there are a lot of fortress ruins along the coastline.  The reason they had so many fortresses along the coast was because they were very susceptible to attacks from Barbary pirates from the African coast.  Arrrrgh!!!!  Now, all of that might seem boring to you.  But if you combine the fact that Columbus was from there with the photos that I'm about to show you, you might begin to think this is a pretty cool places....  Take a look at these.

So, that's about all I have for you on Corsica.  If you require more than that to become obsessed with it as I have become then I can't help you.  I was captivated after a single photo.  So, tomorrow the cyclists will be on the mainland.  Maybe that will provide a new topic.  Let's see where those steroid popping guys take us in the next three weeks.