Corsica, the condensed edition

Alright, alright...life is busy and I keep watching myself getting farther and farther behind on updating the blog! So welcome to my last couple days in Corsica, the Reader's Digest (condensed) version. I'll stick to the highlights here, so while the full picture of my vacation probably won't be achieved, let me start by making one plug:

GO TO CORSICA. Go on. Do it. Paris is cool and all, but dude - why don't more people go to this place? I mean, I gave a teaser photo of one of the beaches in Ajaccio a couple weeks back, but my last day or two there I was seriously blinded by the blue. That, and even in the very beginning of March, I was lucky enough to get a couple days of sunshine so bright and that perfect temperature that makes you want to stop, sit down, press the "pause" button on life, and stay there forever. It was that perfect.

My cheapo camera took this picture. Currently my computer background.

Even better, there was a wonderful woman staying at the pension at the same time I was, and we got along great and just hung out together. As it turns out, she's a flight attendant and has decided, of all the places she's been, to make Ajaccio her home. She even invited me back if I'd like to come visit before going home! Despite the slightly isolated feeling you'd get of living on an island, I can absolutely see what she means by coming here. People have lives here, evidently: but it all tends to move just a little bit more slowly. Everyone seems more relaxed, and when the sun is out, it feels like even the residents are on vacation. Mme Morelli probably said it best, in that, in Corsica, "la vie s'écoule," which means that life just flows, much in the fashion that a river does (the verb is actually used for flowing water). My new friend and I, despite her having papers to arrange for her eventual move, had some good times together. We had paninis on the beach, she showed me her favorite bakery and some of the most excellent Corsican patisseries, we took a long walk in the sun and discuss life, and even managed a free tasting of oursins. What are oursins, you ask?

That's right. Sea urchins!

So we were walking along late in the morning, chatting up a storm and eating our cheese-filled beignet things,

I ate way too much this trip. Also, much tastier than oursins.

when we spotted a man in front of a restaurant making his way through several giant buckets of the spiny critters. He'd cut them in half, take the good half and put it on his platter, and chuck the rest. We curiously stopped to watch and inquire, started chatting, and he soon told us to wait while he fetched a spoon for us to try. Us, being polite and adventuresome folks, were up for it! So, we scooped our way through the goopy red/orange stuff, coming to the conclusion that it tasted like the sea. Or maybe Corsican caviar. (I wouldn't know, I've historically avoided munching on fish eggs). The people sitting in the bar watched us through the window in amusement, the manager came out and joined the chat, and we had a good little diversion before we thanked the gentlemand and went on our way. General consensus? Not unbearable, but we preferred the pastries!

Earlier in the vacation, I dragged my behind away from the coast for a day and hopped a train...the trains in Corsica are amusing, to say the least. They look like they haven't changed much in the past 30 years or so, and despite the jokes for how shaky and slow they are (and there are only three or for that cross the island the entire day!), they give you an amazing way to see the island. They don't always follow the roads, and they'll take you right up into the mountains (info tidbit: Corsica is the most mountainous Mediterranean island!) and back down again as you head for one end of the island or another. My destination? Corte, the former capital of the island and a place very sure of its Corsican identity.

The imposing and precariously perched citadelle. And a little virgin mary bottom right, for perspective.

I visited the museum of Corsica, learning a lot about the place and the language, and also learned just how dead this place is in the off season! (The main town wasn't like that - speaking of the historic city, here). Again, there were times I got that "last person on earth" feeling, just me and this old place on perched on a cliff, surrounded by mountains on all sides. It rained on and off throughout the day and my feet got pleasantly wet, but I did enjoy a nice conversation with an older woman coming back from grocery shopping who caught me affectionately petting her insistent cat. I enjoyed her accent, asked her about life here, and she in turn asked about mine. And then the two of us went our separate ways, of course, to continue our days. Thanks to the rain and cloudiness, the day had a very "grey" feel to it, but it wasn't unpleasant. It seemed to evoke thoughtfulness, and being the only goofball wandering around town in her umbrella and floating through the museum, having this acquaintance made for a nice break in the day! A couple pretty pictures, here:

View taken from the best lookout point in the city.

Funny thing about that lookout, actually: it looks like this,

and was kind of off limits due to the guys re-paving the miniature street below it. However, my spidey sense and "cultural awareness" (or something like that) told me that sometime around noon these guys would disappear for their obligatory two-hour lunch break, leaving me free to snoop and get my view. Needless to say, pretty spectacular. Overall, day well spent, and I'm glad I got to have almost an entire museum to myself as well. Corsican culture, and the language, is very interesting and rich. I only wish I could have spent more time there! Maybe I'll just have to go back...

So, to conclude this incomplete summary of Marisa's Week O' Fun, a vacation toute seule didn't turn out to be as sad as I imagined (quite the contrary!). I went from Carnaval to Mario Kart, the mainland to an island, beach to mountain, and sun to snow.

Yes, snow!! Gare de Vizzavona, located in the mountains between Corte and Ajaccio.

Sure, maybe I didn't get to experience a foreign country or go insanely far from where I now call home, but I feel like it was worthwhile all the same - and something a little different than the ordinary study abroad student-type vacation (though I am envious of people plane hopping and jet setting, for sure!). I came home with a clear head, an unexpected tan (in early March? woah!), legs of steel, and some Corsican delights - chestnut tree honey, (miel de chataigner), saucisson de sanglier (wild boar sausage), Corsican ham, and, among other things like leftover pastry, some tomme - mind-blowingly delicious, yet mild sheep's cheese that seriously made me wish I had bought an entire kilo. Seriously, this cheese is so heavenly that it made me want to hop off the boat and go straight back. Just for the cheese. In the name of all things holy, oh god it was good. Plus, the woman at the saturday market from whom I bought the cheese and saucisson and some ham as well was so friendly, I'd be a loyal customer any day. Just more Corsican hospitality, I s'pose. So, to wrap things up, for anybody who reads this, thanks for coming along on my travel trip. Hope you enjoyed it!

Dinner on the ferry back to Marseille (with the legendary cheese). Until next time, hope your vie s'écoule!