corsica-capo-di-fenu

10 years ago by

A little layover in Corsica to say hello to my family and let my nephews jump on me – the weather is perfect and today, my only goal in life is to read a good book and to get on a paddle board.

Yesterday I spent the day on the beach of Capo Di feno, where there is no reception at all.

It’s actually perfect, you send message before going “Ok, we’re leaving, meet us there!” and then it’s total zen, noone can reach you. No more “emergencies,” no one glued to their phones, no 1000 texts to get you to do something. It feels good and even if it’s only for a few hours, I really call that a vacation.

I had tried last summer to have a fully phone off vacation. I had gotten super organized and everybody around me knew I would be unreachable and you know what? It turned out to be more stressful than anything else.
So now what I do when I’m on vacation is check my emails in the morning for half an hour, answer urgent matters and then not worry about it for the rest of the day. Of course I can’t help Instagramming when it’s super gorgeous – but that’s it.
Oh, and I take advantage of long days at the beach to have mini tech-rehabs.

I found it’s the best balance for me. What about you? How do you deal with your phone during the vacations?

PS – The photo was taken on the Capo Di Feno beach, at Pierre-Tou’s restaurant (Le Pirate), my favorite place to end a long summer day.

38 comments

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  • Nansosi July, 17 2014, 9:07 / Reply

    Such an amazing photo! LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

  • it sounds like the perfect vacation spot! :)

    http://littleaesthete.com

  • Ohhh profites en bien!
    Je n’arrive pas a décrocher de mon portable pendant les vacances!
    Le blog, c’est un hobby pour moi donc en fait, comme j’ai du temps pendant les vacances, j’en profite pour pas mal poster sur les réseaux sociaux, chose que je ne peux pas faire systématiquement! Donc ce n’set pas hyper sain mais je suis tout le temps sur Internet pendant les vacs (en France chez mes parents)!
    Sauf bien sur quand je suis a l’étranger, je visite et je profite, évidemment!
    Bisous bisous

    Le monde des petites
    http://www.lemondedespetites.com/

  • Ohhhh ! J’y passerai en Aout chez le Pirate, je dors 4 nuits aux roches Rouges (je suis devenue accro depuis que tu nous l’a fait découvrir). Et en effet, une fois aux Roches Rouges, je m’oblige à n’instagramer que les sunsets :-) C’est ça ma rehab. xxx

  • Mon endroit préféré sur terre ! Pas cool cette Garance d’avoir refilé le bon plan :-) !! Bon moi cette année je n’y passerai malheureusement pas (plus de places donc !!) mais je me consolerai à Porto Vecch et dans le cap Corse ! Bon séjour et la bise à Maggy
    http://www.mode9.fr

  • Que c’est beau ! La Corse ça reste la plus belle île du monde :)
    Mon téléphone, je checke le matin et le soir, de toute façon à la plage ce n’est pas la peine, le soleil, le sable, ça ne donne même pas envie !

    Bonnes vacances !

    http://www.pardonmyobsession.com/

  • I always feel so torn and end up doing a little bit of both. I try to check messages once a day and then forget about my phone. If I’m on a cruise or something then obviously no phone, no problem. I do hate when you come back from vacation and your inbox is like 3692753645902145725 messages so I try to tame the beast without being obsessive about it. I agree with you, about balance–it’s truly key. :)

  • missyou July, 17 2014, 9:37 / Reply

    Comment ne pas liker ?? Comment ne pas fondre de plaisir devant cette photo… Que c’est beau ! Que ça fait rêver… Merci merci from Geneva (mais certaines le savent déjà – WG I don’t forget)

  • I used to be tied to my work phone during vacations, up until about 2 or 3 years ago. I realized that it did me no good because there was little to nothing that I could affect in the office, and that I was just enabling people not to figure out a solution without relying on calling me. So, I stay almost 95% off email for now and mostly just check it the day before I go back to work so that I can sort out my priorities for the next day.

    http://www.enduringethereal.com

  • 2 songs come to my mind “vacances j’oublie tout, plus rien à faire du tout..” and “il est libre Max, il est libre Max, y’en a même qui disent qui l’ont vu voler…”

    Enjoy your rehab vacation :)

  • I could not leave it at home! Nice photo!
    Passa a trovarmi VeryFP

  • Love this image…and Capo di Feno looks sounds amazing. It’s so hard for me to leave my phone alone for more than an hour, but I like your idea of checking emails in the morning and then steering clear for the rest of the day!

    xx
    Michele
    http://www.roguetutu.com

  • Never bored July, 17 2014, 10:19 / Reply

    A dream-like photo!

  • Hope you have a wonderful time! I find it a bit hard to stay off my phone, but sometimes its nice to just relax and not worry about stuff. :) xx

  • Oh La Corse! I wish I was there…last year I went to a small village near Porto Vecchio..so gorgeous and unspoiled. As for dealing with the phone, the best is to not have internet or phone access.That happened to me on my trip this year,which forces you to relax! Otherwise it’s just too tempting to check your phone.

    Enjoy!

    http://www.blushandbeyond.com

  • photo sublime .

  • On holidays I’m with my mum and my wife, that are the only ones who called me or text me so… no need to worry about rehab!
    Please do Instagram those pretty pictures, they make my day!
    xx,
    E.
    http://www.theslowpace.com

  • Wow Garance, such a beautiful location.
    I say, phone in the morning during the espresso and then just enjoy the vacation.
    it is not every day that the beach is there. :)

  • Pierre-Tou … ou les Maldives en France..on l’adoore !

  • Je me rappelle, quand j’étais petite on passait les étés sur la Costa Brava (Espagne) dans un appart très chouette, on n’avait pas de téléphone et s’il arrivait quelque chose on nous appelait au restau du coin de la rue, alors la fille du patron venait “sonner” (pas de sonnerie vraiment car la porte était toujours ouverte) pour nous prévenir. On ne recevait pas d’appels tous les étés, je dirais même que très peu d’étés, qui pour moi, duraient trois mois à l’époque !

    La dolce vita!

  • Pauline July, 17 2014, 11:45 / Reply

    Wowww
    J’étais également à Capo di Feno hier ! J’aurais adoré te rencontrer :-)
    Cette plage est vraiment magique… Avec les îles sanguinaires en fond…

  • I think that’s a great philosophy. I recently had an unexpected phone/internet-free vacation and it was so stressful. We are in the middle of a cross-country move and needed to be in touch with our realtor and my new boss, and we had no way of contacting them – it was so stressful.

  • Faudra pas quitter la corse sans un bleu de chine

  • Ma garance moi aussi j’adore la Corse et le caractère un peut pirate de ses habitants et Coté connexion
    avec le monde c’est souvent galère….. Pour moi mes lieux de vacances sont aussi mes lieux de shopping pour ma boutique Fromtheworldwithlove.com et les dieux des réseaux sont eux aussi en vacances….. il est vrais que je suis dans ces moments là au bout du monde.Alors c’est repos obligatoire pour le réseau.
    bisou bisou enjoy:)
    Yael Guetta

    http://www.ftwwl.com

  • Great shot ! makes me dream of the Mediterranean

    for me real holidays are those 7 days a year when I am disconnected digitally . I check my emails in the morning for about 10 minutes to see if there is anything important and then I switch off the phone, computer and everything for the rest of the day . I don’t even take my phone with me anywhere.

    I am not on twitter,instagram, facebook etc so that helps

    Also , the only time of the year that I can do this is end of july till 15 th august when the people in the industry are on hols . Another good time to disconnect digitally is between the 23 december and the 4 th of january because most people will be off the grid

    otherwise , if I cannot take off in august and have to take my hols in late january or early december , then unfortunately I have to be more connected…that is..check emails twice a day and spend at least an hour working or connected every morning or evening.

    the secret is to holiday when everyone else is on holiday….unfortunately

  • Hello Garance!
    I am so thrilled to hear you are in Corsica! There is a hotel/shop that carries my collection there (Tina Frey Designs) and I wish so badly I could visit them myself.

    If you are there, can you please visit this place and tell them “hello from Tina Frey” for me pleeeeeeease!!!! The owner’s name is Alexandra de Lanfranchi!
    Unica Punta – 2 Quai Banda Del Ferro, Bonifacio, 20169

    I would gladly go myself…maybe next year! It sounds like such a beautiful place from your previous blog post!!!
    :)
    Tina

  • Who makes those adorable sunglasses?! I’ve been looking for a pair just like ’em.

    xx Ella
    Ella Et Cetera

  • Katherine July, 18 2014, 1:08 / Reply

    Gorgeous photo! And the perfect straw bag, could I ask where it’s from? Enjoy the rest of your holiday!

  • When you are on holidays, just leave everything along and have fun.

  • Ai-Ch'ng July, 20 2014, 7:14 / Reply

    I agree 100% with Melda.

    We’ve just returned from ten days away together as a small family: all we used our mobiles for was
    (1) to take a few photos (not even that many – just about two or three each day), because this time we just felt like we wanted to experience the world more through our human senses, than through the camera lens. I didn’t go onto Facebook at all, and nor did I bother checking emails. I’d told everyone we would be away for a week, and I decided to do just that – be away for a week: it was the best holiday we’ve ever had.
    (2) a message service for important messages from my parents, or regarding my parents, if they had an emergency question (which never happened, despite their advanced age)

    It’s a discipline of mental habit – being stressed or not: and once I realised that my health and the time spent in person with my family – rather than jumping on the phone – was what I had intended for us to luxuriate in this holiday, I switched off from technology. very, very rarely are things so important on our phones that we have to attend to them immediately – and even if it’s death announcement – well – that’s happened to me on a holiday before: and there’s was nothing I could do right then in the middle of the street, when the phone call came, than if I had waited until it was a quiet moment – and I was off the main intersection.

    Before portable technology, we were never connectable or contactable when we left the office: I see no reason whatsoever why we cannot be the same even now. When on holiday, be on holiday. When at work, work hard… avoid mixing the two wherever possible. With regard to family emergencies – the universe has a way of looking after that, too, if we allow ourselves to detach sufficiently from anxiety.

    You know – if we have the money and time to take a holiday, then work can – and will wait.

    Life waits for no one, so make the most of it on your break! Ditch all connections unless they are people, meals and events that are actually happening to you in real time, in real life.

  • Helen A. July, 20 2014, 2:05 / Reply

    Cette année c’était facile: mon téléphone est tombé en panne pendant mon camping-trip en Suede et Finlande. Pas de telephone – pas de probleme :)

  • Pendant la journée quand je suis à la plage j’arrive à me déconnecter un peu mais sinon c’est dur!

    Bisous
    http://www.Lauralexo.com

  • J’étais sûre que tu n’aurais pas résister à l’appel de ta Corse natale ;) !!
    Passe d’excellentes vacances auprès de tes proches,

    Pauline
    http://lesselfiesdepauline.blogspot.fr

    Ps : très belle composition photographique ;)

  • To phone or not to phone, that is the question. :)

    I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the summer. When I visited L.A. I was attached to my phone, trying to figure out how to navigate to my next appointment. Two days later I was camping on the coast of the Olympic Peninsula, no cell service in site. Going from those extremes made me realize that I want to be in the middle. I’m going to think more and write about this soon! Thanks for sharing your experience. xo

  • Lisa Walker August, 15 2016, 12:36 / Reply

    Living near the beach and working insane hours on my feet as a chef, I try to make some summer days off from work a vacation from my life. I ride my bike in whatever beach-direction, or pool, feels right, set up camp and read. my phone is there just to entertain me- Instagram, updated texts with friends; but mostly it’s in a ziplock bag tucked away from the sand and sun… I totally agree that having your phone (charged) and with you is less stressful than not having it at all. Taking care of important things in the moment allows for less stress; otherwise, my phone is just a plaything on my days off.

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