Our Exclusive Voyager Club Excursion - this is just for our group Ajaccio, France | 22 Oct 2014 Discovering Bees, Napoleon and Ajaccio with Corsican Lunch - 2014 Length: 5 hours 30 minutes Ajaccio is Corsica’s largest town, retaining the image of a typical French Mediterranean resort with palm trees, street cafés and a marina full of yachts from around the world. Set in a magnificent bay with a shadowy mountain range as a scenic backdrop, its first image is of yellow-toned buildings and a majestic citadel. Ajaccio’s name can be traced to the Roman Adjaccium, meaning a place of rest, which it provided to shepherds during the winter months when they came to town to stock up on supplies. Later, Ajaccio grew around the citadel, which was founded in 1492 by the Genoese occupiers. Bees have been an important part of Corsican life and important symbol used by Corsica’s most famous son, Napoleon Bonaparte. Symbol of immortality and resurrection, the bee was chosen to link the Napoleonic dynasty to the early origins of France. Golden bees (in fact, cicadas) were discovered in 1653 in Tournai in the tomb of Childeric I, founder of the Merovingian dynasty in 457AD and father of Clovis. Bees were considered the oldest emblem and symbol of the sovereigns of France. We will be met on the pier and depart for a very special place, Le Jardin des Abeilles (the garden of bees). We will be hosted there by Denis Casalta, who lives in this beautiful garden where he will tell us about the management and production of honeybees, bumble bees and queens and the famous Corsican honey that they produce. Following our visit with Monsieur Casalta, we will depart for lunch, where we will have the opportunity to sample a traditional Corsican meal featuring the some of the famous Corsican Honey. After lunch, we will return to Ajaccio for an interesting walking visit. The city of Ajaccio was renamed the “Imperial City” in order to respect the will of the Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, who was born here on August 15, 1769. The walking tour will allow us to discover the Imperial city of Ajaccio, with an introduction to Napoleon Bonaparte and the symbols of the Empire: the eagle, the bee, the chain of the Légion dhonneur, the Hand of Justice and the Sceptre, the Crown and the Imperial Mantle. You can find these symbols all around Ajaccio. We will return to the pier by approximately 2:30pm or you may continue to explore Ajaccio independently.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 02:43:26 +0000
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