DAY 19 - DAY 13 SERENITY

AJACCIO FRANCE

These are the Crystal Dining Room Menus from last evening.
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We had a pre-dinner drink at theCrystal Cove.  In his quest to try many of the new Gin Drinks Keith had the London Spritz. This one had Beefeater Gin, Aperol Aperitivo, Fever  Tree Indian Tonic Water topper with Prosecco.  

We met a few guests for the very first time.  They all had lots of great comments about the cruise and Crystal Cruises.

We enjoyed dinner at the Crystal Dining Room.  Many people were dining at other venues so it was fairly quiet.  Anne Marie had Shrimp Cocktail and Keith had Tuna Tartare.  We each had salads and we both went with the Halibut.  It was cooked to perfection.  While it said fried it did not have the taste nor the texture of been fried.

We slept while as we sailed to our next port of call of Corsica, France.

The day began as it normally does and you all know the routine by now so we won't go into the details.

We then got ready to visit Ajaccio for the very first time.

​This was our first visit to Ajaccio France.  Ajaccio was founded in 1492 by the Genoese.  Napoleon was born here in 1769 and all around the town there are many reminders of Napoleon.  Its current day population is 60,000 people.  
 
Major attractions include:
 
Maison Bonaparte which is the house where Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769.
 
Musee Fesch which was constructed in 1850 for an Institue of Arts and Sciences to be set up.
 
Marche des Producteurs de Pays is a market which carries produce from local farmers.
 
Notre Dame de la Misericorde which is the official name for the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption of Ajaccio.  It was the church were Napoleon Bonaparte was baptize on July 21, 1771.
 
Place de Gaulle which is lined with buildings in one square.
 
Place d’Austerlitze is a square with an enormous monument to Napoleon Bonaparte.

With both Crystal Cruises map in hand and one provided by the local tourist office we enjoyed a very long walk of Ajaccio.  The town is located within a five minute walk of the ship.  

We entered the town by the Market (Marche des Producteurs de Pays.  The market included fruits, vegetables, breads, croissants, cheese, and other pastries, ham, olives, olive oil and other food items.  Many locals were shopping there.  The aroma of the pastry items, breads and cheese was wonderful.  We thought about making a picnic.  

We visited the Maison Bonaparte which is where Napoleon was born.  We have visited his birthplace, where he was exiled on this cruise and in 2007, St. Helena, where he was sent to spend his final time before death where he was first buried as well as Paris his final resting place.

We walked along the waterfront heading over to the Ferris Wheel.  To and from this area we stopped at three churches and walked inside them.  We saw large groups of children walking from school to a nearby area and high school students arriving for the start of their school day.

We walked to another area of town with more upscale stores and restaurants. We walked over to the Citadel.

Although a little overcast the weather was terrific.  We had on light jackets and took in all of the charm of this town.

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When we returned home to the ship we enjoyed lunch at the Lido Cafe.  

After lunch, Keith played Paddle Tennis and Anne Marie walked outside on the Promenade Deck.  We also read, wrote and spoke with fellow guests and members of Team Serenity.

This evening we will be back at the Crystal Dining Room for dinner.

Anne Marie & Keith