Behind again. It’s hard with all these port days to stay up to date, not to mention too much fun I’m having. After we left Gozo we had one of my three sea days out of 30 on this cruise. Had we been a sailing vessel we would have been becalmed; there was absolutely no wind and the sea looked like a lake. I can’t really account for my time. I stay up very late, closing down the Club or the Observation Bar listening to the live music and dancing. I get up late and during the day, I chat with friends, play trivia (we are the champions! Yay!) and somehow the day is gone and it’s time for more music and dancing.
I have met some marvelous new friends. There are two delightful ladies from Australia, a couple from eastern Washington State, and an extended family here from the UK celebrating Mum’s 94th birthday. On my trivia team we have members from Australia, Scotland and the left coast and we all get along splendidly. I must say that the Scots are delightful company, despite the fact that I have to listen carefully to understand what they are saying. On the other hand they probably have the same problem with me.
So where was I? After our calm day at sea we arrived at Ajaccio, Corsica. We were on the island just a few days ago, albeit at a different port. This is the capital of the island and the actual city where Napoleon was born. It was a gorgeous sunny day. After breakfast I headed ashore to the market. I’ve written often of my love for markets so this was a must see. The market was two minutes from the ship. It wasn’t big, but it was nice nonetheless. I walked through taking photos. It’s so interesting seeing the different kinds of food in different places. Also the size of some vegetables and fruits are so much larger than what we see at home. Think of tomatoes and onions on steroids and you’ll get the picture. Oh, as I was walking on the dock on my way to the market I passed the chef coming back from shopping there. On this cruise he has been buying local provisions, especially fresh seafood, whenever possible and it has been wonderful.
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| I wonder what goodies he bought for us today. |
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| The Marcatu d'Aiacciu |
After walking through the market I kept on along the street and came to the Place Foch AKA the Place des Palmiers (palm trees). There’s a large marble statue of Napoleon dressed as a Roman consul with four lions around the statue. The plaza is next to the Rue Bonaparte which leads to what was Napoleon’s house in which he was born. I walked down that street and came to the Citadel of Ajaccio. Construction of the fortress which guarded the city of Ajaccio was begun in 1492 by the Genoese since the Republic of Genoa controlled the island at that time. (Something else happened in 1492 and was related to Genoa. Can you remember?) Genoa maintained control of Corsica until the middle of the 18th century. By that time the city state’s power was waning and it was tired of dealing with Corsican revolts led by Pasquale Paoli, a Corsican nationalist. In 1768 Genoa ceded control to the French. I think the Genoese decided they would let the French deal with the revolutionaries; they were tired of it.
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| The Place Foch |
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| Napoleon with his four lion guards |
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| The Citadel |
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| The walls along the waterfront are part of the Citadel from the dock |
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| Pasquale Paoli who gave the Genoese (and later the French) a hard time |
I just walked around it a little and then I went back to the little streets in the old city next to it and found a bench to sit at and people watch. I have come to realize that at my age I am much more interested in watching people and the local color than seeing the more traditional tourist sights. If I happen to wind up seated next to a local and strike up a conversation, that’s an added bonus. Today I didn’t find a local, but I did meet a couple I hadn’t yet met on the ship and we had a lovely conversation about all kinds of things.
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| A charming street in the old city |
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| I had to take a close=up of this beautiful flower |
After a while I started back to the cruise terminal and I thought I might find a place for lunch at a café along the way. Most were pretty crowded and when I looked at the food on the tables nothing looked exceptional so I continued on my way back to the Ovation. Friends were sitting at the Patio by the pool and I joined them for a salad. In the late afternoon we played Trivia and in the evening after dinner I went to the show and then dancing of course. I know it’s not really exciting to read about but it was a lovely day. I forgot to mention that when I was at the Citadel I looked across the harbor and in the distant mountains there was snow so I took a picture. Somehow I just never thought about a place like this in the Mediterranean having enough snow that it would still be here in May.
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| If you look you can see the snow at the mountain top. |
Tied up at the next dock was this beautiful sailing ship, the Sea Cloud. She was originally Marjorie Merriweather Post's yacht Hussar V built for her in 1931. She served as a US Coast Guard weather ship for a while and during WWII as a US navy ship. She sails again as a cruise ship carrying a maximum of 64 passengers.
À bientôt for now.
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