The Hills are Alive

Day 12 – Italian Riviera walking/cycling route

We woke up full of aches today. Walking the Riviera dei Fiori route isn’t as easy as it looks!

This morning we planned and booked our next part of our road trip. We are having 3 nights near Lorgues in the Var region of France. Our accommodation has a pool which we are looking forward to – some loafing around is required.

Today we continued walking the route. We had a bit of a misunderstanding as I had wanted to visit Bordighera, and Steve thought I didn’t. Neither of us realised this until S was triumphant at having found a parking place and I realised we were miles away from Bordighera. A very good example of talking and listening skills not being engaged. Never mind, after exchanging views passionately ie arguing, we compromised by agreeing to go to Bordighera tomorrow and start walking the route a little further on than S had planned.

Another gorgeous day. The sun sparkled over the sea and the villages looked pretty in their pastel colours. Sounds idyllic and it is, but you do have to turn a blind eye to the dog crap everywhere (worse than France) and a general grubbiness other than on the cycle route. The beaches aren’t the best here either but we did know that. They are not blessed with pristine white sand and the recent rains have stirred up a lot of detritus in the sea. We decided not to swim in the sea today because of this.

However, on our walk we came across Santo Stefano al Mare. More specifically we came across Osteria Alla Salute. Lots of people appeared to be guzzling delicious looking food. The menu looked good and not too pricey so in we went. It was indeed delicious.Steve had octopus and I had pesto ravioli. I definitely think we are showing our age. Usually we’d be hiking up a mountain, now we’re having leisurely lunches. It’ll be bingo and line dancing next.

We were boiling by the time we got back to the car so showers and a relaxing sit in the garden were the order of the day

In the evening we went to Pizza La Rustica for dinner as it was lauded on Tripadvisor – not by Americans but by locals . On arrival we were in two minds as to whether to walk on by. Slightly sketchy neighbourhood and not a very attractive frontage but we decided to go in anyway. It’s run by a guy who looks a bit like Brutus from Popeye but you could tell he was a good ‘un. Lots of drop ins for takeaway plus a very drunk man who swayed dangerously at the bar next to Steve (according to Steve he was very smelly) and asked Brutus politely for a free bottle of beer. Brutus equally politely refused. Very civilised but also very sad,. We saw the drunk man later and a bar owner had taken pity on him and given him a beer and a table to drink it at.

Our pizzas were actually Focacce which is basically a pizza with a very thin base. Steve had leek, potato and sausage on his. I kid you not. He said it was delicious.

We decided to go for a wander around the old town which entailed us walking through a bit of a sketchy area. More drunk , probably homeless men. Ages ago I read a book about Liguria and how heroin addiction had become rife in the area as well as alcoholism. Looks like it’s still happening.

As we walked towards the Duomo de San Mauritzo, we heard music and stumbled across a band singing Police hits. We ordered some wine at a bar nearby and listened to them while watching life unfold around us.

After a while, we moved on and looked at the grand church that loomed over the town square. It always fascinates me that while modern life goes on in Italy it is inextricably linked to the past through the architecture and monuments that are everywhere.

We walked home through the winding streets, some lit, some not. We made it home without mishap. An interesting day and evening. Italy works its complex magic again.