Our next stop after Venice was the island of Corsica, in the Mediterranean off the coasts of Italy and France. We arrived in Toulon, France by dinnertime Tuesday, met up with Matt and Molly, who were coming from Paris after doing their own things for the first weekend, and grabbed some Chinese food. Spiciness, finally, I’d been missing it like crazy here in Europe. And then we boarded a ferry, which was more of a cruise ship, but super cheap considering, overnight to Corsica. Even though we had been up early the day before to catch our train to Toulon, we got up early Wednesday morning to see the sunrise over the island.

It was gorgeous. Like heaven on earth, hence the title of this blog. I mean, just take a look at the pictures. I knew from pictures and people talking that Corsica was supposed to be amazing, but it just didn’t compare to being there ourselves. (I didn’t get to see dolphins… That was a huge disappointment, but the rest of Corsica definitely made up for it.)

So we landed early in the morning, found a tourist office to leave our luggage at, grabbed some coffee to keep us awake, and then headed to a beach! We found one by the walls of an old citadel after only five minutes of walking. It was seriously beautiful. And really warm, perfect temperature to be in the Mediterranean on an island. And sunny. Really, just the perfect day. So we played in the sand for a bit, clambered over rocks on the coastline, and ran into the sea to swim in the perfectly crystal-clear water. And tossed a Frisbee, probably my favorite part.

After relaxing for a few hours, though, we decided it was time for lunch and to go get some open water kayaks. So we did. Sarah and Molly actually did get into a kayak, I was so proud of them! Even though they freaked out and decided staying on the beach was a better idea. So Matt and I headed out for a few hours of pure bliss off the coast of the most beautiful island in the most beautiful sea in the world. In my humble opinion. The best few hours of the entire trip so far, without contest, and that’s saying something. Although seeing my best friend Kate in Athens tomorrow may just be up there too. It’ll be a hard choice!

By the time we got back and FINALLY found food that was open, it was dark and we only had a couple hours before our overnight ferry back to Toulon left, so we relaxed for a bit and got ready to live in a moving water palace again for a night. And to shower, because all that saltwater and wet clothes just weren’t gonna cut it for another 24 hours. And after all that exercise and the great fried dinner we got on the boat, we crashed like babies.

So now I’m in Rome (after way too long on trains) for the night, ready to board my flight to Athens in the morning. And I really can’t wait to see just how the second weekend and then next week of break compare to the first. If it’s even close, these will be some of the best two weeks of my life.

Rest of the photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/100454144518688283131/HeavenOnEarth

 

Venice was amazing, beautiful, relaxing, and just really really cool. We left Rome late at night, and got into Venice at 5:30. Yes, a.m. Which turned out to be a great decision, because we were able to see the sunrise over Venice. And since Venice is a huge tourist trap, being there in the wee early hours of the morning gave us a glimpse of its beauty before being invaded by humans. After finding the square with Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica, we sat for a while and just enjoyed the beauty of the sea and the old buildings and the sunrise. And then found somewhere to get hot chocolate and croissants at like 8 for breakfast. We were starving at that point, obviously. But nobody else was up yet, so we had the outside café all to ourselves (well, we shared with the pigeons).

After our hostel opened and we could drop our bags off, we headed out again to tour St. Mark’s Basilica before the afternoon, hoping to beat the crowds. Fail. I doubt there’s such a thing as beating the crowds in Venice. But still, we got to see it, and it was just magnificent. Especially the golden altarpiece and the ceilings, which were painted gold or had gold mosaic or something gold. And the bones of St. Mark were under the altar (supposedly, obviously). So after facing the crowds, we decided it was time to wander the streets a bit, since the best part of being in Venice was getting lost with all the canals and bridges and old houses surrounding you.

But we were also starving, so we cut our wanderings a bit short in search of good fish. Which was also a fail. Guess our trying to find something fast and cheapish gave us that quality of fish too. So to counteract our disappointment and tiredness we grabbed a seat on the steps on the Grand Canal and took a good hour, two hour nap. And were still a bit lazy afterwards and so decided wandering again was our best option. We found so many Venetian mask shops, and some cannoli (yum), and even some people walking around wearing costumes. It WAS Halloween, so it wasn’t just because they were crazy Venetians. Maybe.

We headed back to the hostel a bit early, since we had been up since like five, and relaxed for a few hours before our free dinner with the rest of the people staying at the hostel. Which was a great chance to meet everyone from around the world and share travel stories (and the free food might’ve been the best part. I mean, I’m a student traveling. I appreciate ANYTHING that’s free). And then the staff of our hostel took us out on the city for a few hours, and though Venice at night was also super cool, it just can’t beat the sunrise.

Venice, though, is totally worth a trip. It was amazing, relaxing, and just beautiful. Even if it is a bit touristy. So to see all my pictures, follow this link: https://picasaweb.google.com/100454144518688283131/Venizia