This was the first time during our honeymoon that we had ventured ashore without being part of an organised excursion. We were brave!

Today’s port was Ajaccio in Corsica. It was another hot one, and we noticed the heat – well into the high 20’s – when we left the ship. We arrived at a large marina, full of big and expensive yachts. There were offers of rides out to sea advertised, alongside the dockside. While it was very tempting to be given a tour of the island on a bloke’s private boat, we were worried he wouldn’t return us in time, and Ventura would leave without us!

We therefore headed to the market, across a perilous road (I’m still not fully sure of the zebra crossing laws, over here). Once we reached the market stalls, we were treated to a senses overload. Beautiful coloured fruits and seeds, and all kinds of interesting smells from local produce. There was a meat which was a little too “interesting” and started to make me feel very sick. I had to step away, for fear of seeing my breakfast again, on the market floor.

As well as the market, Ajaccio has a lot of shops, selling lots of souvenirs. We browsed these for a while. There were some things which tempted me to part with our Euros, mainly a local football scarf, but in the end we decided to hold onto our cash.

We had to make a quick return to the market, as while walking up the high street, we saw a dangerous looking dog, off its lead trying to attack a group of people. Not wanting to end up as lunch for the local monster, we went back to the stalls. The smells didn’t get to me this time. I think it was one particular meat which turned my stomach, so I made sure to avoid it! There was a stall selling lots of locally produced liquors. We bought a couple of bottles to return to England. I don’t think you can buy those in Tesco!

It has been another very hot afternoon, so we spent the afternoon on our balcony, soaking up the rays and topping up my tan. A little duck kept us entertained, by swimming around the marina – our little feathered friend certainly looked to be enjoying himself!

[Photos from the day]