April 27, 2023
30 April, Nice to Cuneo via Ventimiglia
No riding today. Trains only.
Weather was not good at all.
Ventimiglia looks to be a tired seaside town which doesn't have a decent beach. However I have to say that I arrived there on a cold and wet Sunday morning. Other than 2 open cafes it was dead. I hung around long enough to have breakfast, buy a train ticket to Cuneo and jump on a train. I managed some pictures of the coast but that was it.
The journey to Cuneo should have been dramatic as the train wound its way through the eastern side of the Alps between France and Italy. However the low cloud and rain made the views very limiting. The window was so wet it was pointless trying to grab any photos.
I arrived in Cuneo during one of the heaviest downpours so it was head down and cycle the couple of km to my hotel. I didn't see much of the town through my wet glasses. When I got to my hotel it was all locked up and a piece of paper suggested I should phone to get details of access. The very nice lady who answered explained that the hotel was still closed for the winter and that they had moved me to their other hotel some 200m back into the town. My head dropped, I just wanted to get my wet clothes off and have a wee lie down (I was up at 0515). I turned and puddle hopped my way back along the cobbled street until someone stepped out of the shadows and waved me down. She had come out of a rather nice looking 4* hotel! This was the new gaff for the night. That cheered me up. Paid for 2* and got 4*. A Scotsman's delight 😁.
I camped down for a couple of hours after drying out and having a shower. With some reluctance I started to look for a restaurant for dinner. It was Sunday and I was in a very wet Italian town in the middle of nowhere. I had pictures of a Turkish Kebab and a night sitting on the loo.
Google maps showed there may be a few opening around 1930 or 2000 so I dressed in the same shorts I wore earlier but had dried by hanging them on the heated towel rail and headed out.
My despondency was immediately relieved. The place was bouncing with people in cagoules and using umbrellas. The main street was massively wide with a walking Porto down both sides. At the end it opened on to an ever bigger square with a walking Porto around it. I was delighted. I walk around and around and around. It looks like Cuneo is quite a tourist destination presumably for the mountains. Several outdoor shops displayed a great selection of the latest outdoor gear and a few restaurants were shining to open up.
I found a well revised Pizzeria and ordered a gorgonzola and smoked ham pizza and a side salad. Despite not cycling it still didn't touch the side. I guess I missed lunch.
Whilst the hotel claimed 4* status it wasn't really. It may have been in the early 2000s or even the 1990s however it was clean,very comfortable and it had a good shower and bed.
When I went to bed it was still raining heavily. Not Vietnam heavy but the rain drop density was such that nothing stayed dry for very long.
It rained all night.
When I woke I could hear the rain overflowing the gutters and landing on the pavement below. The forecast was for rain all day and all the way to Turin. Time to use my escape route so I cycled back to the station intending to catch a train to Turin.
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