Liguria

18th April, 2000

As far as possible, we have tried to follow the coast road, but as we have driven the Corniches above Monaco many times, most recently a week ago with our daughter, we decided to save time on the péage.   We had forgotten, however, just how steep it is and, with the caravan, it was a bit of a drag.   We crossed into Italy without incident and indeed could easily have managed without our passports. We planned to stop near Genoa and thus passed by many of the interesting small resorts below us.  We stopped for lunch in the Services near Albegna, then left the motorway at Pietra Ligure.   Though slow, because of the many towns, the coast road, the Via Aurelia, is reasonably flat and more interesting than the motorway.

We had missed the opportunity to stop at the border, where there was easy parking, to draw cash and were now looking for cash machines.   We saw one or two but there was nowhere to park and we continued on past Savona.   Our guide book is a bit dismissive of Savona and we were not too impressed with what we saw.   We stopped at Celle Ligure to look for a cash machine without success. At Varazze we spotted a cash machine by some traffic lights and, in best Italian style, just stopped, getting as close to the kerb as we could, and drew some cash.    The first time in the new country is always a bit testing, as you have to work out just how much the machine will give you.   This machine was even more testing as virtually all the lettering was rubbed off by frequent use and its faded screen was barely readable in the glare of the midday sun.   After several attempts, some cash was obtained and we made for a quick getaway before any Carabinieri turned up.   We knew we were close to a road sign and also that we had to pull round another parked car in front of us.   As we did, there was a metallic scraping noise and we wondered if we had touched something.  We stopped and looked but everything was in order.   It was not until we were making camp later that we realised we had indeed scraped the side of the caravan at the back.   When the van turns, its tail behind the wheels inevitably swings out.   We were lucky that we had only scraped the aluminium trim strip and that no real harm was done.   Had we been in the UK, or had a continental van, it would have been the awning rail and would have been a real pain.

This was our first site in Italy and it was decidedly odd.   At first we were offered a tiny pitch and told to park our car in the car park.    After further discussion, we upgraded to a bigger pitch, but still had to park our car away from the van, in the herringbone parking on the main access road.   The parking slots were Mini sized, but as there were very few cars at the time it did not seem to be a problem.

Even the bigger pitch was the smallest we had ever had and, as Easter was only a few days away, we were expecting it to get crowded.  As time was moving on we had no choice but to stay and checked in.   The CCI card that had been accepted for ID at every camp so far was not enough and a passport was demanded.    We were truly lucky to have got them back or we might have had to abandon the trip as the next sites were to demand both.    The receptionist went to excessive lengths to explain the security and the need to shut the main gate within on minute after dark to avoid the Carabinieri turning out and the subsequent charge.

Inspection of the sanitary facilities confirmed that we were not going to award this site the Palm d'Or. Loos were mostly 'hole in the ground', which we think require a life-time's training, and there was no hot water.   Warm showers needed a coin and did not always give warm water anyway.   Security was well up the Colditz standard, with both of us needing passes to operate the turnstiles to the beach and the main entrance.    Cameras - even in the loos - added to the Colditz feeling.   We knew from our motor-racing days that Italians are well known for getting into places they shouldn't, and for avoiding paying whenever possible.   To counteract this, the turnstiles had been modified to ensure that only one person at a time could go through.    Their computer system was supposed to stop anyone passing back their pass, but we decided not to test its efficacy.

We decided that we would take a quick look at the Pegli site, which we thought was not much further, and set off in the direction of Genoa.   We soon found that Genoa started only a few kilometres from our camp and, even without the caravan, was a tedious crawl so we abandoned the mission and returned to camp.

19th April, 2000

After breakfast, we headed into Genoa with our first priority to get a SIM card for our phone.   As we had learned the previous evening, the district of Genoa started not far from our camp and was an industrial sprawl for the 10 miles to the Old Port.   We were most unimpressed and were expecting to give Genoa the thumbs down.   Eventually, more by luck than good judgement, we found our way to the Aquarium, with its smart under-ground car park, which we found includes free loos.    It might be worth noting that loos can become a bit of a preoccupation for tourists and that we have really not yet returned to the standards of 2000 years ago when prominent Roman citizens would display their wealth and importance by having the best loos in the neighbourhood open to all-comers.

One of the first sights to greet us was a scooter park, which reminded us that we were indeed in Italy, the home of the scooter.   Scooters are everywhere and weave incessantly and dangerously in and out of the traffic.    We found our SIM card and returned to the Old Port to find the Tourist Office and the whereabouts of the Internet.  We ate our packed lunch in a quiet corner of the port and in glorious sunshine.   After the wet weather in Nice, we were beginning to wonder if we would ever see the sun again.

We set off to find the Internet shop along Via S. Lorenzo and soon came upon the Cathedral of S. Lorenzo, shown in the pictures below.   After the somewhat shabby (if interesting) bits of the old town we had seen so far, this was a shock.   Built of black and white marble and adorned with painting and gilding, one could not help but be in awe.   At this point, camera batteries which had been under-used for several weeks expired and we were not to video any more for the day.    The town, however, continued to impress as we went down the Via XX Settembre and found the Internet shop on Via Malta.

On our way back to the camp we decided to find the campsite at Pegli.   The guide book warns that the campsite at Pegli has a difficult access, which was why we had stopped short the previous night.   If it were not too bad, we would move there with the van the next day, as we were less than impressed with the site at Arenzano.    The site was well signed, but it was increasingly difficult to believe that we could get the caravan up the narrow, winding streets.   We concluded that it was impractical, but continued anyway and the last 100 yards reinforced our view.    The gates were closed and there was nowhere to turn round.   To add to our difficulties, a driving school car was giving some hapless student an introduction to the terrors of Italian parking and we had to wait 5 minutes before we could reverse and turn round.   Despite the shortcomings, we were going to stay put near Arenzano.

The next day we caught up with our washing and shopping and had a look round Arenzano.

21st April, 2000

We had been deluged with maps and information at the local tourist office who perhaps had not seen a Brit for some time and was keen to get rid of some of their superb English language brochures.  One showed some walks and we thought we should have a look at a bit of the local countryside as the weather continued warm and fine.   We drove up into the hills behind Arenzano along a narrow lane that ended abruptly at a smallholding where the walk began.   Unfortunately there was nowhere to park or even turn around and we had to reverse over 100 M back down the hill and park even further back. 

The walk turned out to be a hill climb, as we show in the picture above left of Kate struggling up the track.    Across a valley we could see a stream with waterfalls and inviting pools, shown above centre.  By now it was hot and we could find little shade, so after eating our packed lunch, we called it a day and returned down the hill, stopping to view the scene shown above right.  The sun was still fierce when we returned to camp, so we sampled the camp beach, shown left, with its dark volcanic sand.

22nd April, 2000

We returned to Genoa with our video batteries fully charged.    We thought the traffic might be less frantic, but in fact it was worse as it was Easter Saturday.   We avoided most of it by taking the elevated road but that dumps you into a massive traffic jam and from that point there is no easy way back to the car park we had found on our first visit.   We had realised, however, that Italians take no notice of road signs and we drove through 'No entry' signs, bus lanes and turned across traffic with double lines - only to be told the car park was full.    However, we just hung in with the other Italians and eventually they decided it wasn't full after all.

As it was hot and getting hotter, we decided to complete our tour of the town and then return to the Old Port for lunch and a boat trip.   We went first to the Piazza G. Matteotti to see the splendid Palazzo Ducale, shown below left, from which the Doge ran the city.   To the right of the Palazzo is the Church of Gesu-Sant Ambrogio, whose uninspiring exterior, shown below centre, conceals an awe inspiring interior, shown below right.  

Genoa's only surviving gate, the Porta Soprana, is shown below left and to the right of it is the site of the house where Columbus's family lived.    Below centre is a view up the Via XX Settembre.   This name is used in many towns and was Liberation Day, although 25th April is also celebrated as Liberation Day.   Perhaps they were different liberations.   On the right, below, is a building in a side street which has no particular significance we know of, but seemed remarkably ornate.

The Internet shop we were heading for was closed so we wandered on to the Piazza della Vittoria, which we could see at the end of Via Malta.   Here we could not resist drooling over the MGA Roadster casually parked in the square.    While ours was bright red, white is a far more practical colour in these climes.   We had had many fantastic trips in our old MGA which, in the end, we had swapped for two children.   In the centre below is a view from the remaining bit of town wall with the Basilica dell'Assunta in the background and the Carignano Bridge to the right.   The modern reflective building in the centre of the picture, with its distorting reflections, has a slightly unreal appearance and we zoomed in to see ourselves, below right.

We returned to the Old Port for lunch and, despite the crowds, found an empty seat outside the posh Yacht Club, where the smartly dressed were lunching.    We timed our boat trip just right and were able to get top deck seats at the back, with uncluttered views.   A couple of tall ships are shown below left, preparing for the start of the 'Prima Regata Transatlantica del Terzo Millennio'.    A view of Genoa from the sea is shown below centre and another tall ship on the right.

As we returned to port, festivities were under way as evidenced by the historic craft, shown below left, making its way across the harbour.   As we disembarked, drums were beating and a procession in mediaeval costume, shown below centre and right, was making its way into the port.   Despite our early misgivings, Genoa turned out to be one of the most exciting places we had seen.  

Sunday was the day of the British Grand Prix so we stayed put in camp and listened to the build-up on Radio 5.   Living just a few miles from Silverstone for many years, and having been to the circuit many times,  the event has a special interest.   Along with most motorsport enthusiasts, it came as no surprise to us that moving the race to Easter turned out to be the biggest disaster a GP has suffered in the UK.   We have experienced wet races in the Summer, when it took until dark to empty the car parks, with just a little mud.  

The race was shown on Italian TV and, with Radio 5 commentary, we enjoyed an exciting race.

24th April, 2000

Our Italian phone had received its first incoming call from our friend Colin in Frankfurt.   We had e-mailed to say we would be not far from his wife Isabella's home town and he said she was indeed there for Easter.    He, sadly, had remained at home in charge of the brigade of cats that had adopted him some years ago.   Isabella had invited us to lunch at their country house just outside Alessandria in the Piemonte region, just north of Genoa.   We went by the easterly, older motorway A7, with its numerous tunnels and twisty sections.    Isabella's directions were precise and we arrived just as she was opening her house, shown left.

Lunch was to be at her Mother's house, shown below left.    This house had been restored to provide splendid sitting and dining rooms as well as an store rooms for the family's wine stocks.   Shown centre below is Isabella's Mother, greeting us in the dining room and, to the right, is shown the special Easter cake coming out of its bright wrapper.

25th April, 2000

This day was also a holiday and, after walking to Arenzano and back, we had a lazy afternoon before preparing to move on.   The campsite, that had been very quiet when we arrived, was full to within a pitch or two over the Easter weekend.   Cars were now parked in every marked parking spot, just inches apart, so we had ignored the rules and parked on our pitch, when we had returned the previous night.   Colin and Isabella had told us not to miss Portofino and the Cinque Terre, but we thought it a bit far for a day trip and decided to move a little closer the next day.

As we had depleted our stocks, we made a trip to the crowded supermarket and eventually got under way just before midday, using the motorway to get around Genoa, returning to the coast road at Rapallo.   After a steep twisty climb out of Rapallo, we were able to stop and look back across the Golfo del Tigullio at Portofino in the distance, shown below left.   We decided that with all the congestion of Rapallo, this unfortunately was all we would see of Portofino.  We found a site at Chiavari and checked in.   Here, we were even more crowded, with poorer loos and a definite smell from the drains.   The camp staff, however, were most friendly and helpful.   Easter is probably the busiest time and the Riviera either side of Genoa the most popular, so we felt we should just grin and bear it.   

After dumping the van, we set out to find the Cinque Terre.    These are five small fishing towns supposedly inaccessible except by boat or train.   There are roads, but they are tortuous and it took us hours.    En route, we passed through the isolated village of Pignone, shown above centre, which also boasts a Ponte Vecchio, though not as splendid as one we were to see later.

Eventually we arrived above Monterosso al Mare, the first of the Cinque Terre, as shown above right. After the narrow, steep descent, we had little choice but to go into the huge, rutted car park they had built on reclaimed land next to the port.   As we had climbed out of Rapallo earlier in the day, we had been passed by a classic car named after our Easter Monday hostess, Isabella.   At the time, we could not identify it, but it was parked just two away from us and is shown below left.    Its name will also be one of the questions in our next New Year's quiz.    It was part of the Sardinia 2000 Rally and we were to see a few other classic cars bearing the same rally plate.

Last updated:  18/03/01