Starting Out on A Tourist Day in London

We arrive in London late in the evening and have reserved two nights in the hotel so that we can spend a day in London.  We stay at the Renaissance Hotel in Heathrow, convenient to our early morning flight in a day and with easy access to London on the Underground (also called "The Tube").  Buses are free inside the airport boundary, taking us back and forth between the terminals, the hotel, and the airport Tube station.  We purchased Oyster cards for London transit, including the Tube, through the mail before we left the US and we are good to go for our exploration of London.

First stop, Harrods, the famous London department store in Knightsbridge, with over 1 million square feet of retail space on a 5 acre site.

Harrods

We pass through the specialty shops at the entrance and head into the food court to admire the offerings, ranging from fresh meats and seafood to teas and spices to full prepared meals, with food to go or counter and table service for dining in.

 Specialty shops

 Harrods food court offerings

One of my favorites is the Beijing Duck Kit, with a whole duck, 18 pancakes, cucumber, spring onions, and hoisin sauce.

Beijing duck kit

We take the beautiful old escalator up several floors and find the art section, which has a wide variety of styles and prices, including a Picasso for several hundred thousand pounds/dollars.  This is a small museum!

 Harrods escalator

 Harrods art department

We don't purchase any art today, but our next stop is Harrod's Christmas World, where we shop for ornaments (more in our price range).

 Harrods Christmas World

We acquire our ornaments and then wander through more merchandise departments (ranging from full kitchens to books and flowers, tea shops, and other retail experiences) and eventually end up back at the food court, where every spot at the lunch counters is taken.

 Other departments

Ok, no seats left at Harrods for lunch, let's go to Harvey Nichols, another grand department store down the street.   We stroll two blocks over, take the elevator up to Harvey Nichols Food Market and settle into Zelman Meats for a wagu beef burger and a bottle of wine.

 Lunch at Zelman Meats in Harvey Nichols

 Food market at Harvey Nichols

 As we head outside, the sidewalk is packed because Riahanna is at Harvey Nichols to show her makeup line and everyone wants to meet her.

 We work our way around the line and move on -- it's time to walk the city.

Stopping in Nice on the way to London

We rise early to catch the first ferry from Bastia to Nice, where we'll head over to the airport for a flight to London and spend a day before returning to San Francisco.  The journey home is long, but we make an adventure out of it.

 Early morning ferries

 Leaving Bastia

The ferry trip to Nice is five hours and we read, lounge around, and eat the wonderful hot fresh croissants and chocolate croissants (pain au chocolat) that we picked up at the just-opening bakery near the port before we boarded the ferry.

Hanging out in the ferry

As we get closer, we recognize Monaco, Cap d'Ail, Èze, then the familiar sites of Nice.

 Approaching Nice, entering the harbor

We have a few hours before our flight and wheelie off the ferry into old town, where we start looking for a restaurant to camp out and enjoy lunch.  After a block or two, we spot several possibilities and pick one that appeals to us.  We have, strangely enough, two kinds of mussels, with mustard and with chrorizo, accompanied by fish salad with octopus, calamari, shrimp, and mussels.  And, for desert, profiteroles.

Fish salad

 

Mussels two ways, profiteroles

What a great way to spend the afternoon, eating well, a little wine, and a great view of the old harbor, watching ferries and yachts come in and out.  A classic French experience!

View from our table

Soon, it's time to head to the airport and we hop in a taxi and cruise down the Promenade des Anglais, the main beachside boulevard in Nice.

Cutting through Nice

The art at the Nice airport is whimsical, but everyone is tired and just hanging out under it.

 Airport art

And soon, we're aboard and on our way to London.

 Nice in the rearview mirror

Heading Back to Bastia to Catch the Ferry

We depart Bonifacio for the four hour drive up the coast to Bastia, intending to explore a little more of the area that we whizzed by on our way down.  As we leave Hotel Cala Di Greco, we take a few more pictures of this magical place.

 Hotel Cala Di Greco

Heading up the coast, we drive by a number of beautiful beaches and, after passing one too many tempting locations, make a U-turn, park and walk in to enjoy the view and have a Diet Coke.

 Stop at a small beach along the road

Enjoying our Diet Cokes

We're not ready for lunch, but we admire the fish cooking on the wood-fired grill and the pizzas in the wood-burning pizza oven at the small restaurant where we have our beverage and hope we'll do as well when we are hungry.

Beach restaurant, lunch in process

Later, we're ready for lunch and stop in at a Boulangerie/Patisserie in a small town, sharing sandwiches and a glass of wine.  Ok, it's not fish from the grill, but it's fresh, wonderful-tasting, and just the right amount.

 Lunch

We roll into Bastia, check back into Hotel Port Toga, across from the ferry terminal, and head back to the old port for dinner, returning to Restaurant Cote Marine.  They remember us from a few days ago, give us great seats, and ask us if we enjoyed our trip south.  We rave on about our stay in Bonifacio and share two Formula meals:  antipasti (zucchini, bell pepper, arugula, parmesan, crostini, olive tapenade), Corsican pizza (olives, mushrooms, ham, cheese), and profiteroles for desert; and octopus/calamari salad, penne with langostino and mussels, and a cheese plate.   While we're dining, a group serenades us from outside the restaurant.  Ok, we're coming back here again also!

 Corsican pizza, penne with langostino and mussels

Cheese plate, profiteroles, music to dine by

We walk back through the quiet streets of Bastia, full, content, and ready to relax before the next stage of our journey.  We meet a  group of runners heading the other way, getting a little exercise and having a great time in the fresh evening air.

Strolling back through Bastia

Corsica has it all, great people, wonderful sights, incredible food.  We're thinking that we should come back to both Corsica and Sardinia in a few years, combining these two great islands.