(Day 9: Ajaccio, Corsica) Our Trip Of A Lifetime: Cruising the Mediterranean

Well... no dawn or sunrise pictures taken by us today... we slept too late for that!

But, here we are... anchored in the French port of Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica!

After a very late night last night (and a couple of alcoholic beverages each), we slept in this morning... and it felt so-o-o-o good!

We did watch a late-starting fishing boat head out of the harbor.

There was a very large and colorful Sardinia Ferries boat anchored beside us.

The large island of Sardinia (part of Italy) is only a couple hours ferry ride directly south of Corsica (part of France).

The morning sunshine lights up the buildings and surrounding hills of Ajaccio.

They have a sprawling harbor and wide cityscape at the base of the island mountains... (Corsica is listed as the most mountainous island in the Mediterranean).

Here's Kathy videoing the scenery from our huge porthole while I'm getting ready for breakfast.

Every day, they show this cool itinerary map on the TV channel... it traces our zig-zag route and shows the "already-visited" ports along with the "soon-to-come" ports of our trip!

You can see our trail from Barcelona going to Malta, then Tunis, then Naples (Pompeii), then Civitevecchia (Rome), to La Spezia (Pisa), and now to Corsica which is circled... leaving only Villefranche and finally back to Barcelona.

We showered, dressed, and about 9:30 a.m., we headed down to the Parrot Cay restaurant for a nice, relaxing real breakfast this morning... before heading out on our own to see Ajaccio, Corsica.

(Naturally, we just missed the end of the "character breakfast" there by a few minutes... that's where some of the Disney characters in full costume stop by your table and pose with you for pictures and give out autographs.)

We each had great, specialty omelets and got to ask our server girl, Susanna (from Portugal), a few questions about Ajaccio and her working on Disney Cruises.

Susanna was very bubbly, sincerely nice, talkative, and spoke English very well.

She said the best thing to do is get on the "topless" sightseeing bus and take the 1-hour tour for about 7 Euros... just to get the lay of the town, the beaches, and general island area before we started walking.

She also told us, she has worked for Disney for about 3 years now and loves it!
She doesn't want to work anywhere else if at all possible.

We thanked Susanna for the helpful tips and headed off to walk and see Ajaccio!

We walked nearly the full length of the ship to get off the dock.

Hey look... even our ship's anchor is Magic-ally "golden"!

Then it was only about a 300 yard hike from the ship to the first dock shops.

We hiked past some pretty nice, small yachts like this one from London... flying the Union Jack.

Another gorgeous, sunshiny day... walking along this palm tree-lined harbor on our way to another, first-ever, adventure!

We hopped on one of the "topless" tour buses... and we splurged by taking the 80-minute tour instead for only 10 Euros each. (It's not like the paper Euros look like real money anyway, eh?)

Here's the "topless" bus ticket shack, with the port and our Disney Magic in the background.

This schnazzy statue is, I believe, a memorial to all the Corsican laborers who built up this island.

A typical Ajaccio street with cars and people moving everywhere.

(Note: You might see the odd body part or the occasional top of a head in these pics, since we are up on a double-decker bus and we have to shoot over and around folks... e.g. this "arm".)

A beautiful park and flowery courtyard in downtown Ajaccio... (and this guy's head).

Another lush, sunlit park near downtown... with the Grand Hotel rising high in the background.

Near the amazing coastline as we leave the city.

(Some pics are a bit tilted as I shoot on-the-fly... NO, I'm not too hungover from last night.)

Here's another great looking, old building on the edge of Ajaccio... (with a slight tilt to it).

Check out the height of these stairs this kid is about to climb! Wow, what a hill!

It's a good thing I'm not driving... I can't read French!

Apartments overlooking the beach wall and the gorgeous coastline of Corsica.

An elderly gentleman leisurely strolls along the sea wall park... and I still can't read these French road signs.

A seaside garden planted up the slope across from the seawall... (nice blond hair in the picture).

On the coastal edge of Ajaccio, there is a large, old cemetery behind the high wall running along the coastline road.

It is said that a teenage Napoleon Bonaparte and his older brother would take walks out past this cemetery nearly every day.

The cemetery is a few blocks wide and its many family mausoleums are staggered well up the sloping hillside.

The road curves often as it follows the rugged coastline... frequently giving postcard-perfect views of the blue Mediterranean and its many small nearby islands.

Many homes are built into and clutching the steep hillsides... what a great view they must have each and every day from up there!

A winding road leads up to a Genoese Tower... one of about 90 towers that were built as early warning to villagers of approaching pirates.

A closer look at the old, defensive Genoese tower overlooking the Sanguinaires' small islands off of the Pointe de la Parata.

This one was built around 1550 a.d. as a soldier outpost... and was one of many used to warn of, and fight off, the Barbary pirates.

There goes "eagle eye" Kathy looking for shells, stones, or other "treasures"... an omen of things to come! (She did find a couple small pieces of "beach glass"... more on that later in the day)!

As we leave this small peninsula, we can see the orchard of seedling, macadamia nut trees that were recently planted along this stretch of coastline.

We leave the Pointe de la Parata area and are heading back toward town, following the gorgeously rugged coastline all the way. (Nice elbows in the picture.)

Lush and colorful greenery, in between the rock outcroppings, along the coastline ... plus more of the typical terracotta tile roofs.

This lone fisherman out on the rocks is enjoying a relaxing, sunsplashed, and perfect day!

The sea, the sand, the soil, the greenery, and the low mountains... ahhh, Corsica is spectacular !!!

One of the many private resorts along the coast that cater to the rich and famous!

Another sun-drenched sand beach for both Corsicans and vacationers to enjoy.

Several small scuba and snorkeling dive boats are anchored just off the swim area.

A simple stop-and-go traffic light on a pole... in the middle of nowhere (there's no intersection)!

This is a small, drive through gas station overlooking the beach and Mediterranean.

As we get back into town, we notice that parking is quite a premium here...
their cars are parked anywhere they can squeeze in.

A quaint little covered, open-air cafe along the roadway.

The gorgeous coastline continues.

With the mountains as a backdrop, the old citadel sits at the end of the beach, guarding the peninsula.

An original Napoleon-era building near Ajaccio's downtown... it looks similar to the one Napoleon was actually born in (but this house is the wrong color and without shutters).

This busy city street overlooks a long slice of beach as it hugs the seawall.

This is the Roman Catholic Ajaccio Cathedral, built between 1577 and 1593... and it is where Napoleon Bonaparte was baptized in July 1771.

Part of the old citadel... still majestically guarding this Mediterranean port.

Looking down inside the high outer walls of the old citadel.

At the citadel level, looking over the seawall at the people enjoying the sun and warm waters.

Another unique Napoleon-era, French building.

One of the congested, and usually unseen, back streets of Ajaccio.

Our "topless" bus drops us off... and we are now hiking around town on foot.

An amazing, palm-lined avenue guides visitors to the city's center.

This is a stylized statue of Napoleon dressed as a Roman Emperor.

That Napoleon guy really got around when he came back and visited his home island of Corsica.

AND this must be the ice cream stand where he came to eat "glaces" (gelato-like ice creams)!

(We did have one while we were here... and it was great... chocolate, of course.)

This was a very large, decorative "Emperor's Crown" sitting high above this city intersection.

I can't believe it! It's unbelievable!
The name "Napoleon" does NOT show up on any of these street signs!

Another colorful, little side street off the main avenue.

A sidewalk coffee shop downtown... (where the locals sit back and watch the silly tourists, I bet).

Wowza! We found a sexy, French lingerie shoppe!

Kathy then caused a "near-international incident" when she started to take a photo of the window display!

The French salesclerk/store owner came rushing out on the sidewalk and, waving her arms in front of Kathy, told her "No photos! Go! Go!" in a very rude tone of voice!

So we moved on down the sidewalk, laughing at how serious the 30-something, French clerk had been while trying to defend her window lingerie!

(We did sneak these couple of pictures on our way walking back from downtown... ha-ha-ha!)

A busy side street on the downhill slope.

(Note: Downhill takes you eventually to the beach... while uphill takes you to the town center.)

A corner pharmacy in the downtown business district.

The small blue signs are their street signs... "Rue" means "street" in French.

Attached to the Pharmacy was a "Parapharmacie"... a store that can sell everything except aspirins, cough syrups, or anything even slightly related to a prescription medicine... (not even any over-the-counter medicines)!

We finally found a Post Office so we can send a batch of postcards!

It has been only 5 minutes since Kathy had her "international incident" with the store clerk... and so Kathy tries to start another, even worse, "incident" !

We had just purchased several picture postcards in a gift store a few minutes ago... but we forget to bring or buy a pen to write with... (duh).

So Kathy went into the Post Office to ask to borrow one for a few minutes.

When she came out, she was carrying an ink pen... attached by a thin, foot-long chain to a weighted base !!!

Since no one was around at the moment to ask... she had taken (or snatched) the pen, holder and all, and brought it out to the bench where I was waiting!

We hurried to fill out our postcards... and then she had me take the pen set back inside when I went in for the postage stamps. (It only cost .45 Euros per postcard to mail... about $ .65 U.S.)

I expected a gendarme (their policia) to come out and haul us away to their Bastille/jail cells.

But, we were lucky this time, too... a scandalous "international incident" was avoided... again!

Several of the "locals" relax and talk near the Post Office as we fill out the postcards to mail.

We mail them and quickly leave the scene of the "crime".

Walking back toward the seawall, we see this cigar-making shop... it says "Le Havana" on the awning, but I don't know if they actually sell Havana cigars inside... (of course, they would be illegal to bring back to the States).

I don't smoke, but a couple guys at work would probably like to try a real Havana cigar.

Kathy spotted a French jewelry store with nice hand-made and limited edition jewelry in the window... so we went inside.

A very nice store, with decent prices, but one tiny problem... the young sales clerk spoke NO English (or didn't want to speak it and played dumb at least)!

Kathy (who can't speak French either) did a lot of pointing, gesturing, and trying things on... before finally settling on a really nice multi-charm necklace and kinda heavy silver earrings to wear to our special dinner tonight!

We back-track past the gift shop where we bought the postcards and a couple small souvenirs.

Since we are walking downhill on a breezy side street... we must be headed for the beach!

In a small city park, there was an enclosed kids' carousel ride... very similar to what we saw in the park in La Spezia.

This is a closer view of the Roman Catholic Ajaccio Cathedral... it's just a short distance from the seawall and beach.

A small, open market area near the seawall.

Hey, who's this old guy with the young, international traveler chick in the black hat?

Uh-Oh ! Their tops are missing!

These girls must be so poor they can't afford both parts of their bikinis...
or maybe someone pick-pocketed their tops when they weren't looking!

Poor, poor girls!

View of the beach at the base of the old citadel... look at the awesome blue colors in the water!

Oh, by the way... I think I may have accidentally seen a few girls sunbathing "topless"
on the beach... (letting them all hang out, so to speak) !!!

(Well, it is a French island after all !)

And then it happens... Kathy finds her first piece of wave-tumbled beach glass!

(Note: Beach glass consists of chunks or pieces of broken glass from discarded bottles, jars, plates, or whatever... that has then been tumbled over and over by the action of the waves.)

The tumbling makes the edges all smooth and rounded... and the colored pieces are the most sought after... for display in jars, vases, or shadow boxes, etc.

From that point on, Kathy was on the run to find as much beach glass as she could... and to take it all home to the U.S. with her!

She even joked about what things she might need to leave out of her suitcase when we flew home later... just so she could use the luggage weight and space for her beach glass!

A quick shoe adjustment before Kathy is up and scanning the surf for more colored beach glass.

I helped her a little and did find a few good ones...
but, she is the one with the trained eye and she found some really nice pieces.

Kathy was finding brown, green, yellow, blue, white, and clear glass pieces... and also pieces of tumbled brick, tiles, and carved marble, too.

She was in "beach glass heaven" on this strand of sand!

Ooh la la !
Young French girls frolicking in the waves (while Kathy searches for her beach glass).

That reminds me of an old, not-so-nice, little rhyme:
Ooh la la, French mama... 15 kids and no Papa !

The walls of the old citadel (flying the French flag) blocked the end of the warm, sandy beach.

With almost 3 pounds of beach glass tucked away in baggies, it was time to start hiking our way back to the boat.

(Kathy drug her feet as much as she could... she just didn't want to leave this great beach!)

Right about here, I discovered a silver, coin-size object washed up in the surf... and I got excited.

Could it really be an authentic silver pirate coin?
(Real pirates had sailed these waters and ports for hundreds of years.)

I quickly examined it and the coin had tumbled in the waves so much that it was unreadable on one side... but some lettering and a partial design was barely visible on the other side.

Kathy had stopped to show her beach glass "treasures" to an American lady and her 11-year old son (also from the Disney Magic).

I figured I would impress the boy with the possible pirate coin I just found... so I let him hold it.

He looked real close and said, "Hey, there's a big "2" and the letters "f-r-a-n-c" on it.

What? My pirate coin was just a lowly "2 franc" coin !?!

But, he also saw a partial date of "194?" on it... so, at least it had tumbled out there since just after World War II... and that was still pretty cool!
(But still, finding a real pirate coin would have been an even better story!)

We climbed the seawall stairs and looked down over the outer walls of the old citadel.

This stout fortress was built in 1492 !!! (The same year "Columbus sailed the ocean blue"... and discovered the Americas!)

Looking down into the yards within the walls of the citadel... (I don't think the tennis court was originally built back in 1492, though).

Just like back in 1492, their beasts of burden are still grazing on the citadel yard grass.

They are cheap "lawnmowers", too!

One lazy goat was relaxing comfortably on the center line of the tennis court!

A last view from the citadel, looking out over the Mediterranean, before we hiked the six blocks back to the Magic.

We had to get back and rest up for our big date-night at the fancy "PALO" restaurant tonight!

Kathy was rested, all dressed up, and ready to go to "PALO"... she cleans up pretty nice, eh?

And check out that new Corsican French necklace and the earrings, too !

I wore my usual: tan pants, black shirt, and a new Disney tie.

A fancy, back-lit wall display outside of the glitzy, high class restaurant "PALO".

A pretty fancy entryway to "PALO".

Don't jump, Kathy!
My tie doesn't look THAT bad ...does it?

Plus... It's a long, long way down to the water!

A sailboat cruises gracefully by as the sun begins to set over the port of Ajaccio, Corsica.

Even the outer hallway restrooms near "PALO" are fancier than normal.

Then, it's time... our reservation awaits!

A very happy couple... all smiles after a great dinner, some wine, and the fantastic desserts at "PALO" !

The meals were outstanding and Andrea, our server, was very friendly and helpful with the many menu choices.

I had the tuna steak (tasty but dry)... while Kathy had a fillet steak and a lobster tail sliced into medallions. Hers was better... but then our desserts came!

Mine was a chocolate souffle with both chocolate and vanilla bean syrups drizzled over it (Yum)!
I also ordered a side order of gelato scoops in a small dish.

Kathy ordered a tieramisu something-or-other... then I made the mistake of giving her a trial bite of my souffle!

Next thing I know...
I'm stuck with the tieramisu and the gelato... and she is polishing off the chocolate souffle!

That's okay, because it was all great!

Andrea talked with us a while and said she has been with Disney Cruises for 12 years now and she worked her way up the ranks... to reach her very prestigious position as a server at "PALO"!

Our whole tab for the 2 classy meals and drinks was only $48... it would certainly be over $100 back in the real world of the United States!

After dinner we changed into casual clothes and went to the "Rockin' Bar D" to listen to the British band "The Right Stuff" and to see the ventriloquist who is the main act tonight.

This British ventriloquist/comedian, Jimmy Tamley, was super funny (a bit risque... but not raunchy) at the late night, "adult" show at the Rockin' Bar D Lounge!

His "dummies" were "Grandpa" and some "annoying old crow"... with Grandpa pretty much being a dirty old man character!

One joke he told:

An Italian man got mad one day and told his wife and their 9 kids to come in the room and line up in front of him.

When they did so, the man said, "Wife... look at all these kids and then tell me why little Sammy (the youngest boy) looks so much different than the other 8 kids!
I think he must have had a different father than all the rest!
Wife... is that true and I demand to know, who is his father?!?"

The wife finally answers, "Yes, he has a different father than the rest... YOU!"

(Ouch !)

If you ever get the chance, you should go see his act!
He is Hilarious!

This is one of the funniest skits we've ever seen!

Jimmy Tamley gets his audience volunteers to wear 1/2 face masks that he can remotely control so that it looks like them talking... but, of course, it is his ventriloquism that does all the talking!

There is a short video of this act posted at the bottom of this writeup... enjoy it... they are hysterically funny!

Then it was "Disco Night"... everybody dancing to some cool "stuck in the 1970's" music... played by the British band... "The Right Stuff"!

They played some disco, some funk, some Donna Summers, some Bee Gees, some Village People, and much more!

The Afros and vintage costumes were over the top and oh so comical.

The bad thing is... some people (not me, of course) actually did dress in the 70's just like some of these dancers are dressed!!!

She's a red hot chick out groovin' and "making the scene" with her mini dress, knee high boots, Afro, and big jewelry!

Kathy and I even got up and danced a while... but then the strobe lights started making Kathy a bit woozy... so we finally went to bed after 1:00 a.m.

The YMCA song has never been funnier than the way the staff sang and danced to it here!

They did a super great job on the song... plus getting the crowd up and involved, too!

There is a short video of this dance posted at the bottom of this writeup... f-u-n-n-y !!!

Komang does it again!

He left us an Orangutan hanging above our bed... with our nightly chocolates and the next day's Navigator just below!

The cutest towel "sculpture" yet!

Tomorrow we go to Villefranche, France!
In the South-of-France it is the gateway to Nice, Cannes, and Monaco!



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