After an early start in Toulon on Saturday morning, we made it to the ferry and made a camp in the 'Spaghetteri' area where we spent the next 8 hours playing card games, chatting and eating spaghetti.
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| We found a way to pass the time |
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| Boarding the ferry |
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| Breakfast |
When we finally arrived in Ajaccio the group split off to find our respective AirBnbs. I was staying with fellow assistant Cece in an apartment right in the centre of Ajaccio with a lovely host called Philippe. Once we'd settled in a bit and caught up on the all-important wifi, we met up with the others for moules frites and wine (obviously) at a cute local restaurant.
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| Our new pad |
The next day was incredible sunny weather so was the perfect opportunity to hit the beach. It being Sunday - aka the day that nothing is open - we spent the day chilling in the sunshine and attempting to get some sort of holiday glow. That night was a serious girls night in: the girls came round to ours (Philippe's) and, after trawling through the web for somewhere open on a Sunday night, we ordered pizza and watched Netflix.
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| Pizza and Pulp Fiction |
The sunny weather continued so we took the bus to Les îles Sanguinaires to go walking. The views were absolutely stunning - Instagram was going to have a field day - and we also saw some, amusingly named, European Shags (seabirds that live on the southern European coast). The guide at the tourist office had shown us a couple of routes so we headed along the coast then up another route he'd suggested. However, without a map/sign posts we didn't exactly know which direction we were heading and eventually hit a main road. After about half an hour walking uphill we realised we were probably lost and decided to flag down the next car that went by. Fortunately for us, a pick-up truck driver came past and offered us a lift back to Ajaccio - it turned out we were miles away! The six of us clambered into the back of the truck and enjoyed the ride back to town.
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| Squad selfie: Cece, Amy, Kate, Katie, Annie and Annie |
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| A European Shag |
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| (Hitch)hiking |
We later headed out for drinks, although soon realised that nightlife in Corsica on a weeknight in winter is not exactly banging. We did however find an Irish bar with a solid cocktail menu and the friendliest bartender in the world who showered us with free sweets and a round of drinks on the house. There we also met a very merry Corsican, Jean-Paul, who claimed to be Napoleon's ancestor and also treated us to another round after a quick bit of salsa with Kate!
Having supposedly met Napoleon's great, great, great... grandson we thought it would be appropriate to visit the Maison Bonaparte where Napoleon was born. As with many museums in France, it was free entry for under 25s, result!
On Wednesday we thought we'd get out of Ajaccio for the day to explore more of the island, so took the train to Corte. It's a university town which meant there were lots of young people hanging around and some incredible reasonably priced patisseries. We climbed to the citadel and museum at the top of the town and enjoyed more sensational views and swatted up on the history of Corsica.
Our last day was spent eating endless amounts of cheese at the morning market with glasses of red wine and rosé (it was 10.30 in the morning but they insisted). Stocked up on Corsican souvenirs and had one last trip to the beach before boarding the overnight ferry to Toulon.
As it was breakfast time in Toulon we knew exactly where to go, having seen a bakery selling GIANT croissants and pain au chocolat when we were last there. None of us made it past more than a few mouthfuls! Took the train back to Avignon and I arranged another BlaBlaCar all the way to Vaison where it was good to speak some French again with my friendly driver, Gael.
I'm spending this weekend packing now as I'm officially moving to Avignon on Monday to live with a French student in a cute little apartment!
A la semaine prochaine,
Katie x
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