Finally On A Ship and A Day in Corsica

Our time in Rome was up, and we decided not to take the train but to go by car service. The train meant schlepping our bags half a mile to the train station, boarding, and then finding a way to the port. It was definitely cheaper—maybe $40 Euros total. But there was a notice that the trains might go on strike, so we opted for the car service. Of course, this was $185 Euros.

But our driver took our luggage from the lobby, put it in his car, and drove a scenic route. Easy peasy.

The car was a new BMW and the driver looked like a chauffeur.

He dropped us right in front of our ship, a young man came and took our luggage, and we began the boarding process.

Unfortunately, there was a delay because the police took a lunch break and they needed to stamp our passports. No worries. We had seats in the terminal and finally boarded.

Our cabin is lovely with a nice balcony.

That’s the view from our balcony.

We attended a meet and greet and met a woman who used to live in my neighborhood.

We watched the sunset.

I had free play at the casino and managed to double it.

Today we are in Corsica. We slept late and had coffee and tea brought to our cabin.

It looked a little cloudy out so we weren’t in a great rush to get off the ship.

Bruce watched a sailboat race from our balcony.

It was Saturday and a farmer’s market was taking place by the port. They were selling meats, vegetables, and cheese. A lot of locals were out and about shopping. I never saw such huge peppers.

We decided to take a bus around the island. It was a 55-minute ride for 10 Euros.

Our tour took us through the town passing the Ajaccio Cathedral, officially the Cathedral of Our Lady of The Assumption.

With the sea on one side, a beautiful cemetery with hundreds of crosses peaked out above the mausoleums.

In the distance, we could see some snow-covered mountains.

We drove to the Sanguinary Islands and its Genovese Tower. Unfortunately, this was not a hop-on-hop-off so we couldn’t hike the mountain.

There were some pretty views along the journey including Napoleon’s statue.

When we returned to town we stopped at a bakery for pastry and coffee. I had a Napoleon befitting the location.

There were two churches we stopped at. The oldest church in Ajaccio was built in 1580 which is the church of St. John the Baptist.

The San Ruchello church, built in the late 17th century, needs some renovations.

In the square was a beautiful statue of Napoleon. It is a fountain but not in operation.

As we walked back to the Island Princess, we visited a few shops. The people of Corsica were very friendly and it was an inviting town.

Back on the ship we met up with some new friends for coffee, then ate with a group of people for dinner. It’s so much fun meeting new people.

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