Vernazza to Sestri Levante

May 20, 2022

Descending into Vernazza, braking hard all the way, I was thinking about alternatives to riding (pushing) back up when the time came to leave. Even Al mentioned the unlikelihood of enjoying this particular climb. We looked at taking the ferry (not feasible for multiple reasons), a private boat (now that would have been cool but too expensive for just us), and of course, the train. Not only are bikes permitted on the train, there’s no surcharge as we discovered by asking an employee when the ticket machine wouldn’t sell us bicycle tickets.

The route I’d originally planned had us going back up from Vernazza to SR 370 which then comes back down to sea level at Levanto. If we started instead from Monterosso, the first climb would be a little less but still significant. The obvious choice was to take the train to Levanto, which would mean one big climb instead of two.

The next decision was whether to take the rail trail which goes north from Levanto along the coast for 5 km or so and then climb on the white roads or to just climb on the yellow road from Levanto. We chose the latter because the grades wouldn’t be as steep.

As it turned out, the grade was quite manageable. It was still more than 600 m of climbing, though, so a few brief breaks were taken.

I was pleased to get a photo of one of these lemon-coloured dandelions I’ve been noticing since our first day in Tuscany. Their delicate colour makes the ones at home seem so brash.

Near the top of the climb, the vegetation changed. Instead of leafy green acacia (I think) trees with their white flowers and other flowers by the roadside, now there were pine trees and heather.

And ferns. Sending my departure notice to our host—I’d forgotten to do so.

After Passo del Bracco, it was mostly downhill all the way to our destination. We saw a few loaded cyclists pedalling south up the hill but didn’t stop to chat. We’d also seen a couple of roadies on our climb, along with road markings for an event in the recent past.

We arrived at our accommodation at 11:30 but it wouldn’t be ready until 2 so we carried on to the beach at Riva, just a km or so further down the road. We were going to find a café for coffee but found only restaurants. There was a nice looking one on the terrasse by the beach but as we were approaching (to get coffee), the “menu del giorno” sandwich board was being set out.

I didn’t realize Al was so hungry but he asked if it was too early to eat (it was 11:30). Lunch is available, he was told. So, looking at the board, which listed two antipasti, two first courses, and two second courses, he ordered one of each…without asking the price. I followed along and it wasn’t until our appetizers were delivered that I realized that the board wasn’t listing the choices for a fixed-price lunch but rather the day’s specials. We saw this at least once before but the prices for each item were noted.

The plates were huge, quite unlike the fixed-price lunch we’d had on our first day of riding. I couldn’t finish my appetizer nor my first course but managed to cancel my second course (thank you Google Translate!) Al gamely continued but couldn’t quite finish his second.

I suspect it was the most expensive meal we’ve had so far (I didn’t ask Al what it cost) but he said his was the best as well.

My appetizer: octopus with potatoes and tomatoes. I’m not sure I’d order octopus again; I felt guilty eating it, thinking of the beautiful one at the Vancouver Aquarium where we used to take our boys when they were little. But the other choice was a plate of fried anchovies. Al chose that one but I’m not an anchovy fan.

My second course: linguine with seafood. I can’t get over how much seafood you get in a pasta dish like this. In Vancouver, you’d get two shrimp and three mussels, maybe. Al had trofie (a local pasta) with pesto that included potatoes and green beans. Then, for his se old course, he had “the best steak ever in Italy” with more potatoes.

After lunch, it was time to check in. We cleaned up, did a load of laundry (after I figured out how to use the washer) and walked into the centre of Sestri Levante for a look around.

Back in 1833, Hans Christian Andersen spent some time in Sestri Levante and, because he wrote glowingly of it, he's commemorated.

View from the peninsula, Sestri Levante. The four-star hotel flying the Saint George Cross (flag of the Republic of Genoa) doesn’t look like much from street level but those roof terrasses look wonderful.

The two buildings on the left display the trompe l’œil painting of so many buildings here. They are actually flat plaster. The building on the right has real architectural relief.

On our way back, we stopped at a grocery to get a few things for a light dinner in our apartment and breakfast tomorrow.

Heart

Comment

Link

Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 738 km (458 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	8
Comment on this entry	Comment	0