life in a once time: The Ligurian Coast

I dont like to dwell on the weather. I try not to comment on the weather.This has come from years of living in a town where the 'how, why, where and when' of our lives are based on the weather.

I have been so busy running from the weather that I have not taken the time to write about our stay here on the Ligurian coast, Italy's maritime region.. I comment on the weather only because it would have been an entirely different experience here in Albissola had it been sunny and warm. It is a seaside resort surrounded by cliffs, coves and beaches. Every couple of km is another colorful seaside town running from the beach and scattered ( not a lot of planned development here!!) high up into the mountains. You can run or ride along the sea from town to town. I believe you can travel all the way from Savona to Genova by foot, stopping all along the way for a quick espresso and pastry...it is now on my list of things to do.

If it had have been warm and sunny we would have spent the week gladly paying for our little piece of sand complete with chaise and umbrellas, both the sun and cocktail kind. We would have swam in the ocean and strolled along the promenade stopping for gelato and espresso. We would have had dinner on the beach looking up at the hundreds of lights twinkling in the hills. If I had my choice we would have also visited the beach disco complete with dance floor just steps from the water...kids allowed!

Beautiful little treasures from the sea...

Instead, we ran/ biked along the promenade in our gore tex, collected sea glass on the beach,toured the local markets,went for drives along the coast and did a lot of sight seeing.We ate a lot. It was all very enjoyable. But we have had 6 weeks of non stop go and I think we were hoping for a bit of down time.I think we were hoping for a little bit of summer..days of no expectation and no plan,where the day just unfolds before you with no concept of time..

I often forget it is only May...

We have yet to be invited onto someones yacht..Mike wont rent us one...so we had to go to a boat show.

We did get a chance to visit the following places...

Genoa, the countrys largest port and birthplace of Christopher Columbus. East of this is Riviera di Levante...West is the palm fringed Riviera di Ponete. Both of them strung with little towns and resorts. On first glimpse, Genoa is your typical port town, a waterfront area dedicated to shipping and all industry related things. It is loud and a tad dirty..or you could say that it is colorful and very real. I personally liked its grittiness.

making money for gelato

Up from Porto Antico, the old port, lies the old town, which incidentally is the largest in Europe. Some of the shops have been in business since the late 19th century.They have dust to prove it. The laneways are haphazard, crooked and uneven. Lots of higgily piggily storefronts with three foot doors (my favorite)It is very easy to get lost.
Via Garibaldi is not to be missed. It is a beautiful street lined with palazzi straight out of the 16th century.Today the palaces have either been converted to art galleries, museums or offices, but their structure and gardens still retain all of their old world charm.

I am beginning to sound a bit like a tour guide..

It has been declared a UNESCO World heritage site.
Our visit to Genoa was gray and stormy, a perfect kind of day to visit an old bustling port. It required little imagination to picture yourself back in those times.

Sorry...had to do it..

Pisa and its leaning tower (we went on a bit of a road trip to Pisa, Lucca and Florence)
Pisa is pretty uneventful..until you step in the walls of the Piazza dei Miracoli (the miracle square). Pure white monuments towering over lush green grass. It had a bit of wow factor. I was very impressed with the grass which has been very sparse in our travels so far...and definitely not for playing, sitting or walking on! We broke a few rules and had a run on it... We dont speak the language.

view from tower

The leaning tower, which is probably one of the country's most familiar sights is not only impressive, but has a very impressive story to it. It has almost fallen over a few times. They have all sorts of videos/pictures/brochuresdescribing the work that is constantly being done to preserve it. Most impressive...the marble stairs winding to the top are actually worn down.

With a little calculation, I figured it is probably pulling in at least 2000€/hour in visitors (on a non busy day).

Lucca.
I loved Lucca. It has such a good neighborhood feel to it. It is full of cafes, cobbled lanes, tiny churches,galleries and good shopping...all contained within its magnificent walls. We had a great dinner and the luxury of watching the kids play soccer in the piazza with the local neighborhood kids. We will definitely be visiting there again.

Waiting for someone to ask him to play..

Florence. My favorite place so far...

Piazza del Duomo..unbelievable attention to detail.

We made the mistake of parking right by the market. It took us an hour and a half and cost us a fortune to walk the mile to the Piazza del Duomo. The market (the best to date) is lively and you cannot help but be drawn in by it. We just wanted to have a small taste of what Firenze had to offer as we will be back here in the next couple of weeks. We did the typical touristy things. We spent time at the Piazza del Duomo. I had a glorious couple of hours by myself as the kids and Mike climbed to the top of the dome to view the city. Not one person asked me where something was..to get something for them..or how to do something...

Ponte Vecchio

We spent the rest of the day wandering around the streets by the river... walking the bridges including the Ponte Vecchio..and people watching. I even found my perfect restaurant and a paper store. More to come on this lovely city in the near future.