So there we were on the Corsica ferry that was trying to pretend to be a fancy cruise ship. We ended up doing what a ton of others did which is camp out in the lounge and sleep on a couch. we were pretty pathetic the next morning as we got in at 7:30am but that first view of corsica was..... incredible. we couldn't be cranky! so we got off the boat and found the bus right away. our hotel wasn't in the middle of town, so we took a fairly long bus ride. But we didn't know where the stop was so we got off and had to walk for like 40 minutes in the rain. But we made it. we had to wait for a while but the hotel put us in a room until ours was ready.
The hotel was absolutely gorgeous and the room was huge! we had a terrace, kitchen, table, living room and big bedroom. Oh and each night we fell asleep to the sound of the ocean because it was right across the street and our terrace looked out to the mountains and ocean and oh man. The next few days are kind of a blur because we just took it easy. I read both The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest along with Persuasion and half of sense and sensibility. We walked around and explored a bit, went to the beach and hung out by the pool. We didn't have the best weather every day which is probably a good thing as we fried in Nice and were still trying to recuperate from that.
So after 4 nights in paradise, we took a bus, then a train through the mountains to Bastia. I have NEVER had such an interesting bus ride. Ok I take that back as Morocco was pretty interesting, but I was surprised this time because I definitely did not expect it from Corsica. It reminded me a lot of the windy and narrow roads of Morocco. It was crazy. But we made it safely to Bastia and got on another boat to land in Italy!!!
We got off the boat in Livorno and jumped on a bus as the bus driver was an incredibly friendly guy who got us to a stop for a different bus to get to the train station. Revelation: I LOVE ITALIANS! It was shocking how different the feeling was in Italy than in France. In France it's not that people aren't nice, but they aren't openly friendly with strangers (although I'm finding that less and less true the longer I'm here) and they don't go out of their way for a stranger. But in Italy we had no idea where we were and how to get to the next bus stop so we stopped to ask a guy, but he didn't understand us so this random guy taps his wife (who was on the phone) saying that we need help and she spoke French and English. So she's got her phone on the side of her face as she's trying to explain to us how to get to the train station. She was so nice! So we made it to the train station, then on to Pisa!
Our hostel in Pisa ended up being a couple rooms in this guys house but it wasn't too bad and it was in a good location. Pisa was cute but I think the best part of Pisa aside from the tower is how inexpensive the AWESOME food was. We took it easy the first night as we were pooped from all the travel. I mean bus, train, ferry, bus, train... it was a little much. So we woke up the next morning and saw the tower which is pretty cool. We walked there and let me tell you, it's not very tall so you can't actually see it until it's right in front of you. it was pretty cool though. So we walked around, then made it to the train station and jumped on the next one leaving Pisa.... On to Florence!
Florence is breath taking. We had lunch, then went to see the Dome! We walked around, got gelato, then got in line to see the David. We got in, then took a quick look around before turning the corner and BAM. there he was. naked. The statue's HUGE and a little overwhelming so we sat down for a little bit.
After that we walked around the rest of the museum, then we went to Dante's house on our way to Porto Vecchio. We walked back towards the train station, had a coffee, then went back to Pisa for dinner and our last night in Italy. Only complaint about Florence is the overwhelming amount of tourists and constant crowds.
Kathryn left first, then Liza and I went back to the tower and walked around until we had to leave for Beauvais, then Paris, then the train back to Rennes! On our way to Paris we made friends with this guy from London, studying at an Australian university in Florence then parted ways when we had to catch our train. Liza's host mom met us at the train station in Rennes and that was it! Our vacation adventure was over!
The hotel was absolutely gorgeous and the room was huge! we had a terrace, kitchen, table, living room and big bedroom. Oh and each night we fell asleep to the sound of the ocean because it was right across the street and our terrace looked out to the mountains and ocean and oh man. The next few days are kind of a blur because we just took it easy. I read both The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest along with Persuasion and half of sense and sensibility. We walked around and explored a bit, went to the beach and hung out by the pool. We didn't have the best weather every day which is probably a good thing as we fried in Nice and were still trying to recuperate from that.So after 4 nights in paradise, we took a bus, then a train through the mountains to Bastia. I have NEVER had such an interesting bus ride. Ok I take that back as Morocco was pretty interesting, but I was surprised this time because I definitely did not expect it from Corsica. It reminded me a lot of the windy and narrow roads of Morocco. It was crazy. But we made it safely to Bastia and got on another boat to land in Italy!!!
We got off the boat in Livorno and jumped on a bus as the bus driver was an incredibly friendly guy who got us to a stop for a different bus to get to the train station. Revelation: I LOVE ITALIANS! It was shocking how different the feeling was in Italy than in France. In France it's not that people aren't nice, but they aren't openly friendly with strangers (although I'm finding that less and less true the longer I'm here) and they don't go out of their way for a stranger. But in Italy we had no idea where we were and how to get to the next bus stop so we stopped to ask a guy, but he didn't understand us so this random guy taps his wife (who was on the phone) saying that we need help and she spoke French and English. So she's got her phone on the side of her face as she's trying to explain to us how to get to the train station. She was so nice! So we made it to the train station, then on to Pisa!
Our hostel in Pisa ended up being a couple rooms in this guys house but it wasn't too bad and it was in a good location. Pisa was cute but I think the best part of Pisa aside from the tower is how inexpensive the AWESOME food was. We took it easy the first night as we were pooped from all the travel. I mean bus, train, ferry, bus, train... it was a little much. So we woke up the next morning and saw the tower which is pretty cool. We walked there and let me tell you, it's not very tall so you can't actually see it until it's right in front of you. it was pretty cool though. So we walked around, then made it to the train station and jumped on the next one leaving Pisa.... On to Florence!
Florence is breath taking. We had lunch, then went to see the Dome! We walked around, got gelato, then got in line to see the David. We got in, then took a quick look around before turning the corner and BAM. there he was. naked. The statue's HUGE and a little overwhelming so we sat down for a little bit.
After that we walked around the rest of the museum, then we went to Dante's house on our way to Porto Vecchio. We walked back towards the train station, had a coffee, then went back to Pisa for dinner and our last night in Italy. Only complaint about Florence is the overwhelming amount of tourists and constant crowds.
Kathryn left first, then Liza and I went back to the tower and walked around until we had to leave for Beauvais, then Paris, then the train back to Rennes! On our way to Paris we made friends with this guy from London, studying at an Australian university in Florence then parted ways when we had to catch our train. Liza's host mom met us at the train station in Rennes and that was it! Our vacation adventure was over!
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