geeteetravels

The volobus ride to the airport this time was uneventful, no pickpocketers that preyed on us. There was a big celebration in the city today so buses were rerouted but no problems for us. Once again we weren’t charged any extra for the bike, 2nd year in a row on British Air. Smooth flight.

We stayed at the Bloc hotel again at the airport, such a convenient solution to storing the bike for a day and no travel in the morning to catch a flight. Anything to make the actual trip easier is a good choice and worth a bit more expense.

We travelled into London via the Gatwick Express, this time using the oyster card, and saved a few pounds. We rode to Euston Station to meet Erika who was coming from Apsley where she’s directing the musical “Rent”. We had hoped to go there and see some of their rehearsal but time didn’t allow. While waiting for her we wandered around the area for a while looking at some historic squares with various memorials, statues and flora to read about and admire. This area of London (Bloomsbury) is a famous intellectual area of London with several universities and was home to artists and authors such as Virginia Wolfe and Charles Dickens in the past.

Had a nice (short) visit with our daughter then back to Gatwick for our last sleep of the holiday.

Arrivaderci, until next time.

I think it’s Zermatt poking up through the cloud on the left

A quick visit and dinner with Erika

Our last day of riding on this holiday was a beautiful sunny day again, we’ve had almost perfect weather the whole time. It’s been fairly warm by Canadian standards, between 25 and 30 celsius, but not bad for Italy in summer.

We headed up the coast passing through many seaside towns and cities such as Noli, Savona, Varazze, Arenzano and then into Genova. This part of Liguria is so densely populated that you never really feel like you left a place and came to a new one, they just blend together. The resort towns are all quite beautiful with beaches, bars, shops, and beachgoers everywhere. Now that it’s summer holiday time it is getting quite busy.

There was another bike pathway between Varazze and Arenzano about 10 kms, which we took but it wasn’t as good as the other 2 we rode. The surface wasn’t as smooth and there were less services available but it got us off the busy road for a while.

Back at the Hotel Chopin we got the bike dismantled and again wondered where the time went. It felt like we had just begun yet it was over. Time to start planning for a new adventure.

When out for dinner that evening we (Tara) unfortunately spotted another rat. Perhaps we won’t come back to Genova. Living in rat-free Alberta makes us a bit sensitive on that subject.

Today again we headed for the hills out of Finale this time on the west side of the city up to Verezzi, yet another Borgo più bello d’Italia. This one is very well preserved, maybe the best we’ve seen, and not very busy, maybe because it is a bit hard to get to up a steep switchback road. There was a small outdoor concert area within it also which would have been fun but no performance until after we’ve left.

Then we headed a bit farther up into the hills through a few more towns and beautiful hilly countryside. A lovely ride. ☺️

We finished the loop at Finalborgo which is the medieval part of Finale Ligure also very interesting although not a special classification like some of the others.

We spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach and swimming in the Mediterranean as it’s the last chance before heading back home.

We had a delicious dinner of tagliatelle in the old centre, mine with porcini mushrooms and George’s with cinghiale (wild boar).

How to stay cool when it’s cooking out

All set up for a show; great to see these spaces in use. And the local postie’s scooter.

Warning! If your gloves are being held together by salt and grime don’t wash them.

Checking out the history of Verezzi.

At one of the two gates into Finalborgo.

The view back down the coast; there are a lot of people clinging to this coastline.

After an amazing breakfast we rode what seemed to be straight up from Finale over a big hill/mountain of over 300m and descended on the other side into the town of Noli. This is a lovely old medieval town that is well preserved and is also a beach resort. Again it has ancient churches, clock and bell towers, narrow streets with archways and loggia all in full use. One of the churches was the first in Liguria and dated from the 10th century. The seaside here is beautiful with wonderfully clear blue water.

For lunch we found a foccaceria, Liguria is famous for this, and they even had one type called farinata which is made from chickpea flour so I didn’t have to have rice cakes, yea!

We visited an old medieval castle when out walking later that is used for concerts and events. There are so many of these here that they don’t restore and promote their historic value as a tourist highlight. Anyway it gives a nice view of Finale.

Another bad selfie with Noli in the background

Unexpected art on the doorways

Another solid parking solution for the big bike

The port and beach in Noli

Gateway into Noli which has history of support for the first crusade

The postcard shot of Noli

Another lovely coastal ride today, up and down as is usual in Liguria, but no major passes to conquer. The mountains abut the coast so there’s very little flat ground except where the river valleys flow into the sea. Consequently there are many tunnels (galleria) along the way. We didn’t used to like tunnels but now we are appreciative of the climbing they eliminate, especially when we’re riding with the heavy paniers.

We passed a few very scenic towns and stopped in one, Alassio, where you can find the famous Cafe Roma where Ernest Hemingway and other notable writers frequented. There is a wall across the street from there that has a collection of tiles with the famous visitors signatures.

Once in Finale Ligure we found our B&B for the next 3 nights, settled in and went out for our evening passiagatta and supper. The B&B is quite lovely, the nicest one this trip. Our bike is parked in a container which is a first. Our host here invited us to use the washing machine for our cycling clothes! What a treat to not have to wash things out in the sink.

The Muretto (wall) in Alassio where many celebrities have signed their names

Last tunnel before Finale, this one named Caprazoppa (lame goat)

We zipped right by this church while riding on the SS1 Via Aurelia, which we were on for most of the trip, one end to the other

Ernesto is reputed to have inspired the tradition of putting up these signed plaques outside the Bar Roma in Alassio

A good spot for an aperativo, no?

Today we retraced our route from yesterday partially and rode west along the coast again then made a loop going north through a few small towns on the via Cipressa which is a small segment of the annual Milano – San Remo bike race. It was a nice little climb of about 250 meters over 6kms through some pretty countryside with views of the sea and coastline.

Then we went back to the Riviera cycling path until almost San Remo and again turned north and rode a few kms to Taggia which is another town with an interesting medieval centre and a bridge over the river that dates back to the 12 century and has 15 arches.

It is a real treat riding without the heavy bags, we feel so much lighter and stronger, più forte.

View from the harbour in Porto Maurizio (Imperia)

A safe place to park the bike but the stairs are hard to ride

Things you see while shopping at your local supermercato

Old guy on a much older ponte

The view from the Cipressa Milano-Sanremo climb

Today’s ride took us eastwards, starting the last leg of our trip back to Genoa and then home. We started out on the usual busy coastal road but switched to the Riviera cycling path in San Remo. The path was again built on an old railway track, converted to a cycle path, and this one is quite long, 24 kms. It is quite well used and delightful as it follows close to the sea and provides an escape from the constant traffic. There are also many bars, water fountains, beaches, flowers, scenery and a big tunnel. The thing the path did not have is hills, so an easy ride.

Once in Imperia we headed to the beach for a dip in the Mediterranean along with the what seemed like the entire city. You can pay for a space with a chair and umbrella on the private and predominant beaches or crowd onto the small public beach and claim a spot. It’s very crowded, Hawaiian beaches are far superior, but it is interesting to people watch.

We’re staying in a pensione on the 3rd floor but luckily we only had to carry the bike up to the 1st floor balcony for storage.

You see all manner of wheels on the Cycling Riviera pathway

Approaching Imperia after the pathway ended

A little chocolate for lunch dessert

On the breakwater at Porto Maurizio (Imperia)

A fine Sunday afternoon at a free beach. Most people pay for a lounge chair and umbrella and settle in for the day.

The ride today took us into the Nervia and Crosia Valleys, starting in Ventimiglia. These 3 towns are all classified as “Borgo Più Bello d’Italia or most beautiful towns in Italy. They are medieval with castles and churches, situated on top of hills/mountains with narrow streets and much character. The whole ride was only around 40 kms but again involved some fairly serious climbing, about 500 meters, so took most of the day. We stopped in the 1st town, Dolceacqua, to wander around the old city and do a bit of souvenir shopping. There is a famous old bridge going into the city that was built in the 15th century and was painted by Monet.

The towns kept getting higher in elevation as we progressed. At one point just before reaching Apricale we saw another town perched high above us and joked that this was our next point, and in fact it was, Perinaldo. The road to Perinaldo was ridiculously narrow, I thought it was a bike path at first, but spectacular as it wound up to the town through a forest and of course gave us great vistas of the towns below. At times the grade of incline was over 14%, a new world record for us. But then we got a free ride all the way back to Ventimiglia.

For the evening passeggiata we visited the old city of Ventimiglia which is perched up above the modern city. Like the towns we explored today it is a fully functional modern habitat for the people but appears to be from the middle ages with it’s narrow streets and passageways, so different from our own home where we have so much room to live.

Today we set off for a ride to France and Monaco, made it to Menton 12 kms away, sat down at a cafe to enjoy the seaside view and our back tire suddenly went flat with a loud pfft while we were sitting there. So we went about changing it, George checked the tire for anything sharp, pumped up the new tube and the same thing happened again! And yes we had only brought one tube for this short ride. But now we discovered a worn area on the sidewall that was pinching the tube and causing the problem. So now we needed a new tire and tube, luckily we were in a city not in the middle of nowhere. Also after carrying a spare tire for the last 8 years we decided to leave it at home this year…

George managed to remember enough French (we are getting very used to Italian) to ask where to find a bike shop and they had what we needed. So we (mostly George) fixed it and carried on but it took a couple of hours to sort out. This was an expensive cafe stop.

We made it to Montecarlo and rode to the casino and the big marina before turning around to head back to Italy. George had been there in 1976 for the Monaco Grand Prix and wanted to see it again. The ride along the coast was spectacular.