Week 3 Spotorno – ban spandex

It was an amazing morning – blue skies and no wind, and we finally get to leave Finale. And this was another amazing trek, following a much more rugged coastline and going through the picturesque village of Noli, which is lined with beautiful palm trees along the sea walk. Today I wanted to acknowledge the bike riders, and being Sunday there were many more on the road. Mostly men of all ages and sizes, and most in their colourful bike attire – spandex jersey and shorts. Not a pretty site for some of the oversized riders. It’s a very popular sport and what a surprise today. As we were making our way along the road to Noli, hundreds of riders came whizzing by without warning. There were so many riders we could feel the wind as they flew past, just as is seen on the tour d’Italia. It was a bit of a scary moment due to the number of riders and the speed they were travelling. 

It was very easy to find our hotel today. Days before I do a Google map search or use an Italian hotel search web site and get the names and phone numbers of reasonably priced and highly rated (70% or better) hotels. We were booking ahead the first few nights, but realized that finding accommodations during this period is not a problem. Therefore, if we decide to stop I’ll go through my list, and we’ve always been able to find a room – and usually with breakfast, on average for 60 Euros a night.

The town of Spotorno is designed slightly different from other towns we’ve passed. The town is separated by a main road and uses a series of underpasses to cross the street. We strolled the beach passing children on a trampoline attached to a harness like in circus training, and men playing volleyball. And because of the rugged coastline there were many fishers on the rocks, but I’ve yet to see anyone catch a fish. We enjoyed our hotel room, which has a large patio that allowed us to have lunch and enjoy a glass of wine in the afternoon sun.

Check out Picasa Week 3 photos Spotorno (CTRL+Link to open in a new tab)

Day 2 in Finale because of a rock slide that blocked our way to Spotorno and Day 3 in Finale due to heavy rains and strong winds. The wind was so strong it moved all the patio chairs. And what do you do when it rains? Eat and drink of course. Not a healthy choice but it was fun. 

Week 3 Finalborgo ("**it happens")

Forrest Gump once said, “it happens". Well today “**it” happened. Having just had a hardy breakfast we left Finale Ligure happily, and sticking with our plan to walk the shoreline. It was such a beautiful day for trekking – the sun shining and the cool breeze coming off the sea. So what could go wrong? After walking for about 6km we encountered a road closure due to a rock slide. The workers were unsure when it would be cleared so we walked back about 2km to the nearest town and decided to take the bus back to Finale Ligure. We went back to the hotel and told the owners about the road closure, and they already knew about the rock slide. But it all worked out for the best. We even got a better room than last night, and after lunch we visited the village of Finalborgo. What a beautiful town, which has kept it historical charm with narrow streets, grand piazzas with cafes and restaurants, churches and a medieval castle on the hilltop. Like Forrest Gump, we made the best of a bad situation and we were pleasantly surprised. Hopefully the slide will be cleared by tomorrow. Otherwise we may have to stay in Finale another day, which would not be so bad as we have found restaurants to try out.

Check out Picasa Week 3 photos Finalborgo (CTRL+Link to open in a new tab)

Week 3 Finale Ligure

The trek was extremely pleasant this morning. We followed the coastline all the way and all four villages – Loano, Pietra Ligure, Borgio Verezzi and Finale Ligure are linked by a planned walkway. No walking on the road today, which can be precarious at blind turns. All villages along the way have their unique charm and too bad we can’t stay longer. Borgio Verezzi is known for its grottos, but we had to move on. Our final destination Finale Ligure is a town worth stopping at. It has beautiful beaches and a great walk through the medieval town that stretches for a few kilometers. There are many beautiful churches with spectacular artwork. We followed a sign to an old castle, but ended up walking to the top of a hill and no castle was found. We found the castle on the way down, but not much left except for a few walls.

I have to say something about the food...I’ve been trekking for two weeks and I don’t think I’ve lost a single pound. Yes, it’s the food and wine...just too good to resist the daily temptation.

Check out Picasa Week 3 photos Finale Ligure (CTRL+Link to open in a new tab)

Week 3 Loano

We were pleasantly surprised this morning when checking out. The manager offered us breakfast at no charge. What a treat! There were all sorts of pastries, cheeses and yogurt.  Wow, the coffee was super strong this morning. I should have ordered hot water on the side to dilute the coffee. The trek took us through the farm areas – on the advice of a local resident who said it would be a shorter route to Ceriale. We arrived in Loano, our final destination, and needed to ask a few people to get directions to our hotel. It’s a maze in many of the small towns, and often, most native Italians know the exact directions. Unfortunately not all streets have names posted and therefore I usually need to ask more people along the way for direction.

Check out Picasa Week 3 photos Loano (CTRL+Link to open in a new tab)

Week 2 Alassio

Today’s trek (17km)  followed the shoreline going through two small villages (Androa and Laigueglia) before our final destination. All three towns have construction projects underway to improve and/or enhance the beauty of their shoreline and town. What is sad to see is the closure of many of the beach areas. This is the sign that summer will soon be over. Even though the temperature is in the mid-20s, beach umbrella and chair vendors are dismantling their beach cabanas and power washing their chairs. Everything is being carted away and stored in warehouses, but will be reassembled again in 2013 in time for the next wave of tourists. Life in Alassio is very typical of our last stay in Diano Marina. The difference seems to be in the tourists. Diano Marina attracts more tourists from England, and Alassio from Germany. 

Check out Picasa Week 2 photos Alassio (CTRL+Link to open in a new tab) 

Week 2 Diano Marina

Life is great! I can’t believe we are experiencing such a beautiful trek. This is the first visit to this area of Italy and we are truly amazed by its beautiful coastline. Being in the Italian Riviera I had expected difficulty finding accommodations, but this has not been the case. This is the shoulder season and I would imagine that in July and August all accommodations would be full. Julie is already talking about coming back for a month next September/October. After finding our hotel we took a 4km walk to Cervo, a well preserved hill-top medieval village with a beautiful church at the summit. The village is filled with artist shops and cafes. Our afternoon lunch was on the beach with food from a local deli that included a bottle of Italian wine...this the truly La Dolce Vita!

We decided to stay an extra day in Diano Marina and explore more of the town. We discovered a few streets off the beach area with many shops and restaurants. It was a pleasant stroll passed Cervo were we discovered a bar perched on the cliff and with a small beach area a few meters below.  We returned back to the hotel for lunch and within minutes of our return the rain came down hard with continues thunder. This lasted for about two hours and then the sun came out and there was little evidence of the rain. There is a British tour group staying in our hotel – approximately 40 people, and that evening they had a live musician entertaining. There was too much noise heard from our room and therefore we decided to join in on their fun. Their bus driver was quite an entertainer himself doing some crazy dances and imitating celebrities. We danced to closing time.

Check out Picasa Week 2 photos Diano Marina (CTRL+Link to open in a new tab)