geeteetravels

The ride today started with a steep climb of about 575 meters out of Levanto to the road that runs above the Cinque Terre. There were some 12% grades and lots of 8-10%, so a bit tough for an hour or so but as George always says, there’s no view without the climb. The views of the villages were spectacular. This is one of the best roads we have encountered in all of our bicycle trips, see the photos that follow.

After the Cinque Terre area we descended to La Spezia and then rode to Lerici around the golfo dei poeti, so named for the famous residents – Byron and Shelley. We found our new abode for the next 3 nights, a very small hotel with just enough room to park the bike in the office. Again we are on the sea and George went in for a dip before the evening walk and supper.

Today we took a short ride from Levanto west on an old railway converted to a bike/pedestrian pathway running along the coast to Bonassola and Framura. The majority of the time was spent in a tunnel but it did open up frequently to give us glimpses of the Mediterranean and hidden coves and beaches. Also tunnels are cool so it was a refreshing ride.

In Bonassola we had our first swim in the Mediterranean and enjoyed the beach for an hour or so, just long enough for George to get a sunburn on all the places he had no sunscreen.

Later in the day we did a self guided walking tour of Levanto and took part in the evening passagiata before finding our supper.

Those rocks are not only sharp but burning hot!

The beach in Levanto

Three colourful palazzi along the waterfront in Levanto

Find the flying girl in this picture

On the Levanto – Framura cycle path, only about 6km but well done

No riding today, we took a train into the first of the Cinque Terre (5 Lands) Monterosso. Suddenly we were in a busy tourist area the second we stepped off the train. It reminded us of Venice and Rome with many Americans, Japanese and Chinese. After a short look around the town we found the trail that takes you to the 2nd village of Vernazza. The trail is lovely with many steps to climb through the forest and some vineyards and orchards also. We enjoyed this very much. The trail was somewhat busy, not bad though, 3 kms long and took us about 90 minutes. The view of the villages from the trail was spectacular. The highlight of the area is seeing the villages from the trails or from the water. The actual villages, once you’re in them, are typical of many Italian villages we have visited with many eateries and shops, not so interesting. Vernazza also had a castle to climb up to give us a good vista.

After a nice lunch in the main piazza we took the train to the last village Riomaggiore and explored there with plans to take a boat back to Levanto to see the area from the water but unfortunately the water was rough so the ferry was not operating. So the train was our only option.

We chose only to go to 3 villages as it seemed enough for us, too many people!

Bougainvillea love it here

Looking back at Monterosso as we hike towards Vernazza

Heading up on the trail to Vernazza

There could be trolls here

Vernazza in the distance

Walking down into Vernazza

Riomaggiore

The coastline here rises sharply from the water, vertically in many places, so there is no nice flat shoreline road at all times. We knew that when we planned the trip of course but this would be our first trip inland in order to get to Levanto which is a kind of gateway to the Cinque Terre. Unfortunately these colds we picked up are hanging on so we’re not in top shape but away we went. The coastline here is truly remarkable in its beauty and there’s no view without the climb so we were distracted as we pushed.

We stayed low on the coast for the first 20km or so and then started inland and up at Sestri Levante. The road was great and much quieter off the coast, very little traffic. We rode through pine forests in silence except for a bit of chain noise and heavy breathing as we gradually came on top of the ridge. Then we floated along for awhile until plunging down to the sea and Levanto in the last 10km. We are staying here for three nights so we get a rest and a chance to see the Cinque Terre.

Up in the pine forests

At this point we still had a lot of climbing left

The morning view from our hotel in Rapallo

Coming down the mountain into Levanto

The first ride of the trip and getting out of the city can be stressful but it went relatively smoothly and was uneventful. We followed the coastal road or just above it all the way to Camogli where we started climbing over to the Portofino area. It was fairly steep and slow in places but thankfully not too long. We were rewarded with a spectacular vista of the Golf of Tigullio once over the top. We rode to Portofino before going back to Rapallo where we were staying. Portofino is a very exclusive area on the Italian Riviera. The are many big private yachts and fancy villas. We couldn’t find an affordable place to stay there thus opted for Rapallo. This is also a nice beach town to enjoy the ocean and the waterfront walks. The hotel is quite dated but adequate as it faces the water and gives a good view of the area.

The hotel offered a deal that included the evening meal as well as breakfast. We decided that the food wasn’t their forte.

Buena notte. We’re off to bed early and hopefully can sleep off the last of the cold we managed to pick up, probably from the plane.

White Oleander are everywhere; super fragrant, beautiful and highly toxic!

Ready to go

Just one of the tiny bays between Rapallo and Portofino

The picturesque coast on a remarkably calm and hot day

Tara is loving being in Santa Margherita di Ligure

We have seen ‘trompe l’œil’ on many buildings; moreso than elsewhere in Italy

Portofino harbour

Our last half day with the Danes involved more Palazzo exploring, a nice lunch and a goodbye beer. The lunch was from a bit of a hole in the wall place with a very friendly chef/owner. We pondered the menu for a bit and then were invited to choose by sight in the kitchen. Finally he shooed us out and said he’d bring us a good mix of everything which worked fine.

We said goodbye to my wonderful cousins with promises of a ‘cousinefest’ next year in Denmark. Then it was time to build the bike. The easiest place to do that was our room as there was no parking garage or other suitable spot.

All put together again

A fine and interesting lunch

Almost built

Palazzo Reale, looks like a nice place for a supper with a hundred of your closest friends

Our flight to Genova was uneventful and we had almost no trouble getting into the city from the airport. Almost, as Tara was pick pocketed out of 50 euros on the bus in. Nothing else was lost so I guess that was fortunate.

As soon as we got away from the bus stop we saw our greeting party waving at us. Two of my Danish cousins with their spouses had come down for the weekend to spend time with us and see the sights of Genova.

Over the next two days we squeezed a lot of sightseeing and catching up. Some of the highlights are shown in the pictures.

• Boat ride to Pegli and back
• Funicular up to a viewpoint and park.
• Trip to walk the passegiata and have dinner in Nervi
• Wandering the narrow streets of the historic centre
• Seeing the Palazzo Reale, and
• Just sitting, talking and having a cold beer with family we see far too seldom.

My cousin Aksel is a farmer in Denmark and a master at raising pigs.

We started out of Calgary two hours late on Air Transat but things improved from there. It may have been our smoothest transatlantic flight ever but it’s still difficult to get much sleep back in the cheap seats.

We planned to meet Erika and had bought tickets to a show (The Comedy About a Bank Robbery) so were a bit concerned about the time. We stored our bags at the airport hotel we were staying at for the night and caught the Gatwick Express into London. We met Erika in time and the show was good and funny although both Tara and I were nodding off a bit in the beginning.

I went shopping for a Denmark world cup jersey which was surprisingly difficult to find, as I wanted to show support for the team, and Canada (nor Italy) didn’t qualify. Then off to find dinner, before saying goodbye and heading back to the hotel at Gatwick. The concierge suggested we check in for the early morning flight this evening without any crowds, which we did. Yet another advantage of staying in the hotel at the airport!