The Italian Riviera Part 1
Taken a bit of time I know but here we go with a little guide to the Italian Riviera. A beautiful part of the world with great seafood to boot. Look out for part 2 and photos soon ......The Italian Riviera.....La Dolce Vita!
Ah Italy! Land of great food and wine, spiritual home of the cappuccino and all in all a great place to watch the world go by. We’ve been to Italy quite a few times now and decided to try somewhere different and after hours looking through guidebooks plumped for the Ligurian coast, between Genoa and Pisa, specifically the stunning villages of the Cinque Terre (literally Five Lands).
Getting There and Getting Setup
Having got some fantastically cheap flights (see article below), we picked out a campsite in Levanto, gateway to the Cinque Terre and planned a route down from Nice using the Trenitalia website. This included a stop off in Monaco to have a look-see at the principality and the famous grand prix circuit, but although the new train station is very whizz-bang it doesn’t have a left luggage office, so we settled for deux presion and continued on our way, crossing the border at Ventimiglia / Ventemille depending which countries train you’re on!
Anyway after 4 countries in one day we set up camp high on the terraces of Campieggio Acqua Dolce. This isn’t the greatest site we’ve stayed on but its proximity to the beach and the town centre made up for this. Time for a couple of top 50000miles tips;
1. Cheapy Eurohike tents are great but its well worth investing in some better pegs, especially when travelling abroad where the ground can be incredibly hard. The v-shaped ones seem to be the best.
2. Lilos! Don’t bother carrying a heavy airbed across the continent with you, just buy a couple of blow up lilos from a beach shop and sleep tight on rocky ground.
Living the beautiful life
The saying “when in Rome….” originated in Italy for a reason, they really do have life sussed. Cappucino is only to be drunk at breakfast time, probably with a brioche and best enjoyed with the pink Gazzetta della Sport. Take your time and watch life pass you by.
The nip to the private beach with deckchairs and umbrellas, cool off in the sea and go home for a long slow lunch when it gets too hot in the middle of the day. Return to the beach in the afternoon for some more sun before enjoying a glass of vino tipica with some lovely snackettes to warm the stomach up for your dinner of pasta and in this areas case seafood, seafood and seafood.
Bliss!! Except we didn’t do the middle of the day bit and went that shade of pink that only British skin will go. Mistake noted for next time!
Speaking of the food, it was as usual fantastic. The seafood of the area was superb, fresh anchovies on a base of potatoes with a tomato sauce and seafood risotto were both beautiful local dishes that we’ve recreated at home. Va bene!!
posted by MrB @ 12:38 PM
