Latedeals
up the slope to the impressive monument celebrating Ajaccio’s most famous son Napoleon Bonaparte.
We ambled back into town to find water, mooched around some souvenir shops and the marina and returned to the ship to enjoy the mountainous scenery surrounding the town from the deck 15 Gaudi bar.
ROME
Italy’s compelling capital is a €5 one-hour train ride from the vast port at Civitavecchia and on a whirlwind trip, we took in the Colosseum, Forum, Altare della Patria (the bonkers giant white ‘typewriter’ monument), the glorious Pantheon and a typically overpriced lunch in the heart of tourist land.
We could have got a later train back and slotted in, say, the Trevi Fountain but the ship won’t wait if you’re late.
CINQUE TERRE, ITALY
They saved the best till last. If you’ve not been to this gorgeous stretch of the Ligurian coast, I urge you to head there as soon as you can. And, if possible, see it by boat.
There really can’t be a better way to appreciate the beauty of the little towns (Cinque Terre means five lands), with their colourful buildings seemingly tumbling down steep ravines leading to the sea.
We joined an excursion from La Spezia naval base, heading first by coach to Porto Venere, a delightful small town with an eye-catching 13th century church on a promontory and a scenic cove where Lord Byron supposedly liked to swim.
If the poet was doing so on the day we were there, he’d have hundreds of tourists gawping at him and generally getting in each other’s way.
We joined a tour-boat-cum-ferry that calls at the five towns, picking up and depositing hundreds of people at a time.
The sight of the steeply plunging coast with its terraced vineyards and gravity-defying houses is stellar. And from the sea, you get the best views of Riomaggiore and Manarola as the boat approaches the harbour. The towns are only reached by sea or the coastal railway, which runs through tunnels cut in the cliffs.
By road, you’d need to park at the top of the hills and walk down or get a lift in a golf buggy. One old monastery is only linked to the outside world by a flight of 1600 steps.
We jumped ship in Monterosso al Mare, which has a couple of beaches, loads of shops and restaurants and is very pleasant. It’s a day out by train from Genoa.
Returning to Fantasia by train and coach, we metaphorically highfived the five lands.
Bella Italia was never more bella than here. 1000-year-old church is a fine blend of Romanesque and Byzantine styles.
Sample historic ice cream at Antica Gelateria Fiorentina: The Florentines have laid their own claim to inventing the creamy dessert. Responding to a request by Grand Duke Cosimo I de’Medici to make an impressive dessert, architect Bernardo Buontalenti presented a sorbet with eggs, salt, lemon, honey and milk. Visit gelateriafiorentina.com How to get there: Steppes Travel (steppestravel. com/01285 601 050) offer a sevennight itinerary to Italy on an expert-led Group Tour with Kamin Mohammadi from £3,595pp – currently on offer from £4,595 – based on two people sharing, including full-board accommodation and transfers, excluding international flights. Departs May 11, 2019.
British Airways (britishairways. com) flies to Florence from £71 each way.