Shriek!!!! An alarm is set off somewhere. Almost ready to checkout, I open the door and was almost deafened with the noise. Oh no! Is the hotel going into lockdown just when we need to leave?? Colin and I grab our suitcases and walk down the stairs to reception. The noise is deafening and I keep a finger in one ear. "The toast was burnt" the French lady, Aurora, at the desk tells us. I remember to walk around to the 'right' passenger door today for the first time instead of trying to get in the driver's side. Colin has done really well driving, keeping to the right, remembering the clutch...... We travel the coast road for a while before cutting across to the main road to Porto Vecchio. It is narrow but not as bendy as the other roads we've been on. The scenery is different too. No high mountains but rugged hills covered with shrubs. Little inlets and bays are scattered all around the coast. There are not as many motor bikes or cyclists on this road but a lot of walkers. Corsica has many excellent hiking trails and we were near the Mare a Mare, Coast to Coast trail. This time our hotel is right in town. Thank goodness for 'TomTom'. He guides us through narrow oneway streets ALMOST to our hotel. 'Turn left' he says, but there is no street there. Well, surely that tiny entrance isn't a street. We keep going. 'Turn around where possible' demands TomTom. We find a park and Colin walks down the street to ask directions. Score: TomTom 1 us 0! We follow TomTom and arrive at our hotel. After a quick lunch, we head to Bonifacio, another citadel city half an hour's drive south of Porto Vecchio. A citadel is a fortress built in a commanding position in or around a city to protect it. Bonifacio is a medieval city begun in the 9th century by the Genoese. The ancient houses sit precariously high up on the limestone cliffs. Colin joins a cruise to see them from the sea but I prefer to walk the old city streets. I no longer count how many stairs I walk up. There are hundreds and hundreds, in every town, up and down. But that is part of many of these beautiful old medieval towns in Europe. They were built high up on the cliffs to watch for enemies and for defence. The views they had were and still are spectacular. The tiny streets are very crowded as I wander in and out of the little shops. There is a cork shop with hats, shoes, and even postcards made out of cork! Colin's cruise has finished and we spend some more time exploring the tiny alleyways of Bonifacio. We slowly wander back down the steps to the marina and find the gelataria which has my favourite Corsican flavours - chestnut and myrte, a Corsican berry. Just delicious.....