Lounging on the beach and soaking up French culture and history can tire anybody out and luckily our professor had arranged a short trip away from Nice for us. Corsica is a small island in the Mediterranean, a region of France, with a mix of Italian and French heritage. It was not easy to get too (a bus ride to the train, a train ride to the ferry and a 7 hour ferry to the island) whew! The ferry was huge though with plenty of ways to entertain passengers. There were several restaurants, lots of chairs and couches to lounge on, a shop, a movie theater, huge decks where we could soak up the sun, and a small pool to splash about in.
We finally got to Corsica, checking into our hotel, and crashed for the night. Boy, were we exhausted! The next morning we woke up early for a visit with the Corsican mayor. Our hotel had a delicious buffet of breakfast foods, a nice change from our typical corn flakes and baguette at our university’s cafeteria. Then we were off to Ajaccio, the Corsican capital. The island is very small and only has 1 bus per hour running past our hotel. Thankfully we made it with plenty of time to spare. When we arrived in Ajaccio we were about an hour early to meet the mayor, so we split up to explore. The town had a lovely market full of fresh foods and lots of shops and cafés. I picked up some postcards and spent some time walking through town. Then it was time to meet the mayor.
Our professor was friends with another professor who set up our meeting. The Corsicans were very excited to have us American students visiting. We met in the Napoleon Salon for a reception. We had the history of Napoleon and several beautiful old paintings described to us by a translator and then we were introduced to the mayor himself. He gave a wonderful speech welcoming us to Corsica and extending his hospitality and encouraging us to visit again. Our professor then spoke for all of us thanking him for his speech and hospitality. We ended with delicious aperitifs and mingling with the Corsican people. Then we set off into the town to explore. I spent a pleasant afternoon in the company of friends walking the streets of Ajaccio. Then we sat for a few hours chatting over pizza. My time in Ajaccio ended with the most delicious raspberry tart of my entire life. It was mind-blowing, easily the best dessert I’ve had in a while. I don’t know what I will do in America without all the patisseries! (Actually fit into my jeans I suppose).
The next morning I woke up and took advantage of the breakfast buffet again before heading to the pool. It was so nice to sit and soak up the sun, jumping in the pool every once in a while to cool off. Later in the afternoon I switched to the beach. In Nice all the beaches are rocky, so the sandy beaches of Corsica were a nice change, as were the hotel provided lounge chairs! I dozed off for a while and then woke up for a few hands of cards. The rest of my afternoon was spent chatting with people on the hotel patio. Early the next morning we woke up to catch a 7am ferry leaving Corsica. It was a rough start to the morning, but if this trip has taught me anything it’s that any type of moving vehicle knocks me out within a matter of minutes. My friend has a series of hilarious sleeping Isabel pictures. Although it was quite a journey to get to and from Corsica, it was a really wonderful way to spend some of our last few days in France. All the people we met were cheerful and happy to have us as guests. The island was beautiful and relaxing. I would highly recommend it to anyone in the area.
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