12/9/2012: From somewhere in the Mediterranean
Well, my dreams of running off and becoming a benevolent pirate have been shattered once and for all. After spending a night rolling and swaying to the rythem of the sea, and most of this morning battling motion sickness, I've decided that the idea of sleeping on the ocean is a whole lot more romantic than the reality of it. But, I 've got to admit it's been small price to pay for the experiences that went with it...
Yesterday I made a guess about where Ryan, Nansi and Naomi would be arriving, and after a few hours and few cups of espresso, breathed a huge sigh of relief to see them strolling through the double glass doors at customs. Among the treasures they carried was a specially wrapped Boston Cream Donut that Jen had sent me all the way from NY state! hahaha
We spent the afternoon wandering the colorful streets of Nice together.
at the port of Nice
There were quaint little stores with local bottles of wine for €4, espresso, gelato, fresh soft cruchy baguettes, an entire shop dedicated to the art of olives- Oh my!
We walked up to the waterfall on top of the hill and stormed a castle.
It's not where you go, but who you're with :)
then we waited for evening to arrive on Nice's pebble beach where the constant push-pull of waves against the smooth grey stones makes the sea purr like a kitten.
After dark we made our way to the port and checked into our cabin on an overnight ferry to the island of Corsica. The boat was full and the long wait gave us plenty of time to find a quiet corner to make a late night picnic with all the culinary treasures we'd collected throughout the day :)
16/9/2012 (Termini Centrale, Livorno Italy)
Alone once again; this time I'm writing this as I sit in a darkened train station, hoping I'm on the right platform. It's only 8:30pm, but there's an eerie quiet in this place and I'm looking forward to leaving. But the last 5 days staying with friends in Corsica have been perfect...
After a night and a morning on the ferry, we docked at the old port of Calvi. The house where we stayed was only about 5 min up the coast from here.
Here there are unforgettable sparkling saphire seas, granite mountains of every color- yellow, red, purple, grey, black and tan... some of the rock formations sculpted by the wind and sea look as fragile as hollow eggshells. I've never seen anything like it.
In Corsica, no one locks their doors, and there seems to be nothing unfriendly- not even the mosquitoes! It's like a tiny little piece of paradise dropped into the Med.
beautiful water
Ryan says you can hear the sound of the ocean when you stick your head inside this rock!
Here be pirates
Memories of Corsica: Our road trip down the coast with Nansi playing DJ, and Ryan driving our rented Peugot like Mario Andretti on the twisty mountain roads. Food. Oh- the FOOD!! Being welcomed like family in the beautiful home by the sea in Calvi where we stayed. Becoming irrevocably addicted to fresh figs picked from the tree. An experiment eating prickly pears gone horribly horribly wrong; spending hours pulling those itty bitty pickers out of our fingers; and then deciding the fruit was good enough to do it again! hahaha Touring the old citadel in Calvi where Christopher Colombus is said to have been born. Wine tasting. Driving in the hills. Hiking to that freezing cold green river, and taking millions of pictures of the jaw-dropping scenery. Our fantastic picnic near cliffs by the sea, and drinking wine straight from the bottle. Trying to keep-up with Nansi's many accents and laughing until we couldn't breathe. Going in service and meeting the congregation. 5 days of french left my brain a little scrambled.
And then it was time to say goodbye. After 5 days there, we dropped our rental car in Bastia and jumped on another ferry to Livorno, Italy. We'd spend only 3 hours here- just enough time for a coffee and a canoli in Piazza Grande, before catching a city bus to Termini. Happily, we arrived JUST in time for them to catch their train to Florence. Not even time for goodbyes- just "see ya later" yelled over our shoulders as they scurried down the high marble hallway towards their platform, and I went looking for mine to Rome, where in the morning I'll catch another flight.
So here I am in Italy, with my bag still stuffed with treats from Russia. I just ordered myself a sandwich in Spanish and I can't seem to stop saying "please" and "thank you" in French. Gosh I'm confused. So ends this chapter, but then tomorrow another one begins in Istanbul...
