In Sweden, it’s only discreetly that Telia announced, a few weeks after the official keynote and 10 days after the release in some other countries of Europe, that the iPhone would only reach god-forsaken Sweden on July 31st.

For Apple, the iPhone is already available all over the world except a couple of poor African countries.

Also, note to Apple, most people do not speak Spanish in Sweden. So hey, don’t forget that having a popular product doesn’t mean you can get sloppy!

Wedged in with barely any space to get out of our van

Well first we had to take a boat with Corsica Ferries from Toulon (mainland France) to Ajaccio (on the island of Corsica). Since we were planning on getting around in the van Max’s oh-so-generous parents loaned to us, we needed to pull our van into the underbelly of the ship and park with cars wedged in all around us. Like sardines in a can.

Nutella, a French staple

The ferry took 10 hours there only 6 on the way back for some reason. Which gave us plenty of time to do… nothing. I did get a cute photo of Max sitting on a chair that looks like a jar of Nutella*. I’m not sure that qualifies as productive activity. It was easier to tolerate on the way TO Corsica, since we had a big lovely cabin to ourselves.Our lovely cabin with luxury view!

Our cabin with its luxury view!

The cabin had 4 beds – the couch rolls around so that it becomes a bed, and there are two more beds folded into the walls as you can see, and a little writing desk. There was also a bathroom with a shower, toilet and sink. For the first time ever in our joint cruising experiences we got a window that was actually a window worth having. It was so peaceful looking out on the ocean. In the morning we could see the rocky islands begin to appear showing stark sheer cliffs. What a wonderful way to wake up. Even if they do require you to get out of the cabin at 6am.

Our first campground, Camping Barbicaja, was… well… uninspiring. It was well-shaded… but that’s about all I can was positive about it. There were herds of feral skinny cats running around. The ground was barren and hard, under the pine trees. The laundry drying line couldn’t dry anything, since the shading was so thick in our rock lined terrace/forest. The shower area was filthy and I kept my sandals on out of fear of planters warts – and the lights went out about 5 minutes after you press the button. You basically just have time to get to your shower stall and be half-naked when all goes dark.

You can't see it, but we have a tiny baby gas stovetop in the back for cooking!

Although the van was fitted with a mattress (quite ingeniously, actually, with storage under the mattress and shelves over the foot of the bed in the back) we had a tent which we set up to mark our place at the camping lot.

We stayed there out of pure laziness, really. We noticed that almost everyone camped around us only stayed for one night, which is never a good sign. After three nights, we finally decided we’d had enough. So while out on our “day trips” around the island, we randomly picked a camping place. When I say “randomly” what I really mean is that I told Max every single time we passed a camping place every day of the trip, and he decided that he would deign to go down a tiny little road out to a camping place not listed in our many many many travel guides. That camp ground, A Marina, turned out to be WONDERFUL.

It was only about 30 minutes from Ajaccio and far superior in every way. It had amenities we didn’t even dream of in our first hovel of a camping ground. They had a small store which sold, amongst other things, chilled rosé wine – a must in southern France – and ice-cream! They also had an on-site pizzeria/restaurant, a washer/dryer, clean brightly lit bathrooms, wide open fresh spaces for each lot and IT WAS ON THE BEACH!

You heard me! ON THE BEACH! We could listen to the ocean in our sleep, and take an after dinner stroll in the sunset dusted waters along the shore. It was our new base camp for the rest of the trip and I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to go to Corisca!

*The picture is crooked because this computer refuses to turn images, it only turns them for the program, not the actual file. 

Nothing as romantic as a sunset on the beach... or so they say

Ants always persevere

While I would love to upload all the photos of all the animals, I’m extremely hindered by this extremely low quality computer connection. It seems that the camera is taking pictures that are of too good quality, it takes ages to try to convert them to something lower – and then they refuse to be adjusted. So pooh. It also somewhat dampens my idea of blogging every day and putting up pictures, since it takes hours and hours and hours of struggle to get anything up (no inuendo intended.)

But I will persevere! Inspired by the ever pervasive ants. The field outside of one of our campsites was literally crisscrossed with barren paths where the ants had cut a swath through it. 

That said: let the blogging begin!

Goat Crossing!

Corsica was GREAT! Plenty of tiny winding roads, clear blue sea, tiny fishes (of which I have no pictures since I don’t have that kind of camera), goats, turtles, tortoises, churches, dragonflies, birds, cats, dogs, néolithique standing stones, boats, sand, pebbles, waterfalls, cliffs and CARS. Seriously, people park like madmen in Ajaccio. However, this particular little blog will focus on the animals.

He's so big, he dwarfs the car in the back. 250kg at least and freaking HUGE.

As you may or may not be aware, Corsica is famous for its cheese, charcuterie, and wine. Quite a lot of that cheese comes from goats. Cute tiny little goats that are actually herded from pasture to pasture, across the tiny twisty Corsican road you’re trying to navigate with your giant camping van. And then they sneak off to the side of the gate to nibble on some tastey bushes before bleating and throwing themselves along with the rest of the herd. They’re adorable. Goat cheese is also my absolute favourite kind of cheese, possibly since I couldn’t digest regular milk as a baby and had goat’s milk instead. Mmmm unpasturized French goat cheese.

Tortoise eyeballing me

Another well-known delicacy is wild pig, which is not to be confused with wild boar as wikipedia does. Wild boar is sanglier, and they feature in the popular Asterix comic universe. Wild pigs, on the other hand, are called cochon sauvage and are much more closely related to domestic pigs than boars. They also seem to have a complete lack of fear for human beings, as this one digging around near a parking lot near Vizzavona. Some are only half-wild, and have been let loose to gorge on chestnuts, acorns and truffles to improve the quality of the meat.
 

Turtles... on a stick (Jeff Dunham rules!)

People seem to let their dogs wander loose in the city, and the cats are nearly feral but quite happy to take a bit of your sausage. We found out that the cats at A Cupulatta – the City of Turtles, were actually put to good use as hunters to protect the tortoises from the ravages of rats while they hibernate.

Babies eating frisée lettuce

The reserve is the center for breeding and protecting turtles and tortoises, as well as rescuing the illegally trafficed and healing the injured. 
You can also view the tiny baby turtles that are kept separately for their protection against predation. They’re so tiny and adorable, like itty bitty button helmets!

Corsican dragonfly in a rare moment of rest

Of course, the park is not only a haven for useful cats and turtles. Birds, dragonflies, frogs and fish all make use of this refuge – as well as hot, sweaty followers of A’tuin!

One last creature has no name, because no one knows what in the heck it is. Is it even living? Thousands of them were floating around near the beach by Porto. After a lot of fear, I managed to get in the water with them – and don’t seem to have suffered any ill effects. But the weird little blue blobs were not fun to swim with and definitely spoiled the experience. At least they weren’t sharks! I had spotted a jellyfish out in the water, but these weren’t jellies.

Mysterious blue blob in the sand (thousands more in the water)

Max daring to hold the blob and photograph it for posterity

If you know what they are, feel free to leave a comment!

Did you know that you can sunburn your stretch marks? Because I have, on my arms. They’re now neon pink in a sea of red.

How did this happen, you ask me? Because I couldn’t flip over! The lawn chairs don’t go flat, and I was reading in the sun. I *would* have flipped over and read while laying on my stomach if I could have, but instead my front half is quite pink and the back half has the same vampire-pale complexion as ever.  And the book I mentioned earlier was so great, I got lost in it and didn’t really notice I was becoming lobsterized. Sigh. It’s all finished now and it will be ages until the next one is released in paperback. Until then, I will have to be satisfied with starting an entirely new series, Dresden Files. The tv show was pretty enjoyable, although it was cut short with having only one season. Hopefully the books will be even better, and best of all there are LOTS of them! LOTS! Whoo! I already bought the first three in the series, and hope they will last through the week. As we are going to Corsica next week!

While packing the van for the trip, Max says: “Oh we need to think about what we need to take with us when we get on the boat, since we’re not allowed back in the van until it lands 10 hour later.” So I reply, “Shouldn’t we have thought of that BEFORE we packed the van, so it would be separate and ready?” His answer: “That would be too smart.” 

mmm… books… *homer-like drool*

Let’s see.. what else have we been up to?

Ah, the chicken. I have for the first time in my life handled a whole raw chicken. Minus the beak. but everything else. I’m pretty sure that there would be a lot more vegetarians in the world, or at least less meat consumption, if everyone had to do that. Not only is it a bit gross, but it’s so darned difficult to break it down into pieces! Of course you’d get better with practice.. but it’s so much easier to eat a veggie. 

The dish we made was quite interesting. I had no idea you could eat a whole lemon, peel and all, when it’s sliced and added to the pot. But you can, and it’s delicious. So basically you quarter a chicken, stick it in a pot with garlic, olives, olive oil, coriander seeds, lemon juice, lemon slices, salt and pepper. voila, a delicious tangy dish. It has to cook for quite a while, and  you’ll want a good sturdy pot – but it’s very easy (once you’ve gotten past the chicken staring at you with no beak). 

Now I’m curious about what other dishes can be made with whole slices of lemon!

Le Lavoir

For our third day of adventuring we traveled to the petit village Pernes les Fontaines, which boasts.. as you might have guessed from the name.. an embarrassment of richess in the fountain department.

Ironically enough, this is the first year where all of my classes have actually been useful to me in one day. This term was spent studying French, museum science and included a five-week internship where my main responsibilities were the research and requesition around the theme of “laundry.” We visited a small private art exhibit, and one of the surviving lavoir left in France. Hurrah for classes you can make use of!

A lavoir is a public place in France that is set aside for washing clothes. They’re generally situated in conjunction to rivers or springs, and while not in use there are various community projects to support their restoration and care. As you can see, this one was in beautiful condition.

volumes sculptés (aka garbage bag wearing mannequins)

The art exhibit was titled L’art au donjon’ which I could describe with plenty of bullshit words I learned in my class – but I’d rather cut through all that and just say “it’s pretentious art made out of garbage”. Which isn’t to say that it’s bad, but let’s call the kettle black, shall we?

The exhibit with gigantic ants was my personal favourite. France is filled with ants. No one tells you that in the travel brochures.

elles fourmillent, click on me to see the ants better!

Big giant ones too, although most aren’t as big as these ones, and they bite. Don’t believe anyone who tells you that they don’t because they DO!

Après Vous!

The exhibit incorporated the entire building as a mode of display, using its degradation to enhance the mood of the exhibit. I’m sure I could write off a 20 page paper on the entire thing, but that would be as boring as technical articles no one understands. *cough cough* Unfortunately, it was situated throughout the path leading up to a clocktower and which meant you had to use very steep crumbling steps with very low sides.

To finish off our day, we indulged in gorgeous ice-cream/sorbet/nut/whipped cream/fruit creations at Isabella’s. It was fun, but I have to say I prefer the quality of the small shop called Patisserie Montero which may not be as flashy as Isabella’s, but the ice-cream and sorbets are mind-blowingly delicious. And she makes le vacherin (ice-cream cake)!

Max says: Click on the title of the article to see a map of Pernes les Fontaines in France.

The Andrea

The Giovanni

It’s amazing how wherever I go on vacation- it rains. Always. It doesn’t matter where. Canada, USA, France, Malta, Japan, Denmark, Croatia… Even in Dubai, U.A.E.! It rained in the DESERT just to thwart me! Or perhaps I’m a”Quasi Supernormal Incremental Precipitation Inducer,” like the guy in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? Luckily, I don’t particularly mind the rain and got to snuggle up to my latest book, White Witch, Black Curse (witches, vampires, werewolves.. what’s not to like?)

Today was also a good day for hair-cutting. So my cuddle monkey is now a prickly hedgehog His dad buzzed enough hair off him to make an entire Lhasa Apso. He offered to cut my hair as well, but I declined his generosity.

Step 1. Shear Max

Step 2. Collect Hair

Step 3. Make Lhasa Apso

Step 4. Try not to wonder who this new person is and what he did with your boyfriend

We also took the van out for a mini-drive, so Max can get a feel for it before we borrow it to go to Corsica. Unfortunately, Max cannot open the door to the van. That would hamper our plans to use the van for transport and camping, except I seem to have no problems at all opening the doors. It’s a good thing I wasn’t supposed to drive though, because I’d had more wine with lunch than I meant to and my lips were numb. (Someone kept refilling my wine glass!)

To finish off our day were the best part of France – the most delicious individually packed “desserts” in existence. I had a tiny mini Tarte Citron meringuée, and Max had a MaronSuis‘, which is a delicious whipped chestnut cream so beloved that it has it’s own facebook group. People rave about French cooking, and yes French food is wonderful. But how do they make these delicious beautiful little meringuée pies in their tiny little individual packages?

It’s amazing how much Stockholm’s Arlanda airport has grown over the years. It was a baby airport with grandious plans 10 years ago, when I moved to Sweden. I miss the simplicity of just walking past a security desk manned by one bored looking fellow – even though I was invariably singled out for inspection. Apparently I look suspiciously innocent.

The vacation has barely begun and I have already spent 2000sek. I didn’t have headphones that are viable for use on an airplane (thanks in part to Dexter chewing on wires and in part to my astounding ability to lose and misplace objects.) 

So I am now the proud owner of a set of Philips SHN9500 active noise canceling headphones  and I shutter at the idea of checking how much

 I was gouged for on pricerunner. They work wonderfully well though!

 They’re also much more comfortable than the alien ear invasion technology Max favours. Depeche Mode, Kidney thieves, Christophe Willem and the sountrack of Serenity melt my brain in a gentle padded embrace and tune out the migraine inducing hum of the airplane engines. Aaaah. 

Of course the headphones also have a “mute” feature, so  you can allow sound in (and it cuts off your music as well) and hear announcements. Thus I was able to find out that the plane that had been scheduled for our flight was found to have “too many” problems, and thus we now had a completely different plane last minute (hence the delay in boarding) and that this plane was “perfectly good”. Thank you so much for putting me at ease by telling me about problems I knew nothing about, so that I can now obsessively wonder if I’ll be on the next French plane to vanish into nothing. 

On a somewhat happier note, I’ve started my “summer school” French lessons by working in my excercise book. With Max’s helpful supervision I have learned many useful things. For instance, I can now inform you that la grêle means “When the sky is pooping ice-cubes.”

You can also still follow the release dates of cinema movies in Sweden via my other calendar (release dates source: SF). This one is only updated once a day.

Enjoy and don’t hesitate to leave me a message if you use one of those!

Then install the GlobalSat utility provided with your GPS data logger and enjoy!

Below, my daily commuting to work:

• sur votre gauche, vers le haut : mes derniers status tirés de ping.fm / Twitter
• sur votre droite, en bas : la liste de nos prêts sur Kiva, le site de micro-crédit pour les pays en voie de développement
• sur certains articles désormais : géolocalisation ! En cadeau bonus, sur la liste des articles en Français, la carte de localisation de tous les articles ! (enfin, de tous ceux qui valent la peine d’être localisés…)

In English after the break…

You might have noticed some changes, rather, additions, to the web site lately:

• on your left, towards the high hand corner, my last statuses as posted on ping.fm and Twitter
• on your right, by the bottom of the screen, the list of our loans on Kiva, the micro-loan website for the development of poor countries
• now, on some articles, starting with the ones in French for some reason, geolocalization so that you know not only what this is all about, but also where! Don’t worry I will add localization information to English posts overtime too.