Napoleon was born here in 1769 and spent his childhood in Ajaccio. Everywhere you look there is reference to Napoleonic heritage: squares, museums, building names, streets, pubs and shops. He only lived here for a few years (9) but the town is like a shrine to his memory and people line up to visit the house he was born in and is now a museum. There are about 5 statues dedicated to him around town and one of them was most "underwhelming" statue I have ever seen. It took about 6000 steps to reach, but on arrival at Place d'Austerlitz the figure of Napoleon on top of this granite base was tiny. But I guess they always said he was a little man!!
Last night I caught the overnight ferry from Ajaccio to Marseille. The wind was blowing a gale so the 12 hour ride was a little bumpy but it was a terrific way to travel. Not quite Scenic Eclipse (and no butler or stabilisers) but highly recommended!
On arrival I had to wait for my AirBnB to be ready so purchased a HopOn HopOff bus ticket and did three laps around town to fill in the time! Marseille will be the host town for the Olympic sailing and some soccer games, so a lot of activity abound the Marina as they get ready. However with only 2 months to go they will be lucky to be ready on time!
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