The Ligurian Coast of Italy

Lets start with Italy.  I Love Italy.  It's a land of enchantment with wonderful People, Beautiful sites, Excellent wine & food.  And it was my most recent trip!

For years my good buddy 'CJS' that I travel with had talked about doing the Ligurian coast line and to include Cinque Terre in our travels, but how to get there, what was the best route?  I live in California & she lives in Phoenix.  We usually split up the 'research' duties and figure it out on our own, but in this case we were pressed for time and both working a lot of long hours.  I found a great site on line: InItaly.com.  I wrote a short email asking for some advise on route and hotels and Kristin was extremely helpful.  This is the route we came up with:

Fly to Genoa, spend one night to recover from flying > Train to Rappallo - spend 3 days > Train to Vernazza in the heart of Cinque Terre - spend 3 days > train to La Spezia and cab it to Lerici for 2 days.  

In today's blog - Genoa>Rappallo>Camogli

Genoa is a big city and just a resting stop for us.  We stayed at the Best Western City Hotel.  I originally thought -- Best Western?  Are you kidding me?  ( I should mention that I am a bit of a hotel snob, being in the business and all).  Well, I am here to tell you that the Best Western chain in Italy is very nice!  Perfect for our one night stay over!  We walked around town, keeping ourselves awake as long as possible.  (It you have never traveled to Italy, you will find it is a long flight - but you usually arrive in the middle of the day).  We finally ran out of gas and hit our beds and slept for 12 hours, waking up the next morning refreshed and ready to travel.

One of my favorite things about hotels in Italy is they include breakfast in their room rates.  It is always an adventure to see what will be on the buffet.

Here is a typical Breakfast -- Cheese, Focaccia, Prosciutto, croissant and a little Nutella!  They also have eggs, cereals, yogurt, fruit, etc -- but when in Italy, eat like the Italians I say!

I highly recommend the Best Western City Hotel if your layover is Genoa.  It centrally located, comfortable, clean, Free WiFi & reasonably priced.   They have iPads set up so you can log on and check mail & Facebook.  A very nice extra.

Getting to the train station & and making our way to Rappallo was super easy and inexpensive.  Just as at the front desk and they will be happy to direct you, call the Taxi & tell the Taxi driver where you want to go!  (special shout-out to Daniel at Best Western front desk! Who went out of his way to help us).

On to Rappallo.  We arrived in Rappallo and it was a short walk to our hotel - The Hotel Astoria.  What a wonderful hotel run by Sara, Alexandro & Paul.  We had a lovely room facing the Sea.  It was very clean and our room was recently renovated.  Very modern bathroom, windows on two sides - one facing the sea and one facing the abandoned hotel next door.  We asked about the the hotel next door and Sara told us the owner wanted to make them in to apartments but was fighting 'Italian laws' to make this change - they had been fighting for 25 years!

Rappallo is a typical European beach town on the ligurian coast.  Beautiful pastel houses, long beaches, great Focaccierias' (more on this later)  What was fascinating to us was all the beach 'clubs' with their little changing huts!  Rows upon Rows of these private clubs that you have to reserve in advance.  It is where the Italians vacation.  We were there in late May/early June 2013, and they were having a late spring, so not a lot of people on the beach yet.  No matter, we were there to enjoy Liguria - it's sights, people, food, drink & Gelato!

From the hotel Astoria, it was an short bus ride to Camogli.   The bus ride is very scenic, look out the window and enjoy!  I did not know much about this small town before our arrival in Liguria, but I am so glad we made the trip.

A word about Focaccia: This fantastic bread originates here in Liguria. When you see a sign that says 'Focacciaria -STOP!  This is were you want to get your snack or light lunch.  Just point to the one you want, and they will cut off a slice and weight it and charge you by weight.  The taste is unbelievably delicious!  Every Focacciaria is a little different - so try more than one on your travels through Liguria. 

Speaking of Food -- Liguria is also the birth place of Pesto.  Everywhere you go, you will find Pesto.  Everyone makes it slightly differently - again, indulge yourself and try many different types along your travels!

Camogli Pesto Pizza!

We spent the day exploring Camogli - a charming town worth spending your day.  Cute shops & vibrantly colored buildings along the waterfront. We strolled up & down the boardwalk soaking in the ambiance of Camogli.  A Picturesque town to take your time, enjoy the views, stop for a nosh or a little souvenir.  There are benches to sit on and look out at the Sea and relax.   The locals are friendly and happy to give advice, point you in the right direction or just chat a little.  English is not as common here as in other places I've traveled in Italy, but it was not an issue.  Just remember to be polite (Grazie) and it will get you a long way. 

 In the afternoon we took a ferry over to San Fruttuoso to see The Abby & Tower Doria.  Make sure you look at the Ferry times before departing.  They take long lunch breaks in Italy, so if you only want to go for an hour or so, go early, then come back to Camogli for more exploring.  On San Fruttuoso there is great hiking if you are in to it.  I did some hiking, my friend did not.  We both had a lovely trip to this small port.

Ferrying back to Camogli, we spent a little more time investigating the town, I had to get a piece of Focaccia to 'hold me over' until dinner time :-)  Then it was back on the bus to Rappallo.  

After a short clean up and rest, it was off to find dinner and gelato for dessert!  There are plenty of wonderful restaurants within walking distance of Hotel Astoria.  And of course gelato is easy to find. 

Gelato - always the end to a perfect day!  

Next post: Portofino & Santa Margarita.   I hope you have enjoyed this first post and will stick with me as I build this blog.  Most of what I have learned about making travel fun and easy I learned from friends met 'on the road'.  It's time for me to pay back everyone who gave me great advice by passing on the information.

Buon pomeriggio e viaggi sicuri

Good day and safe travels

Susan