Italian Riviera

acres of beach umbrellas

Though it seemed like we spent the whole day on the bike, we actually only covered 96 miles, most of it along the Italian Riviera, traveling from Savona to Villefranch (just into France, adjacent to Nice).  The seaside resort towns tend to run together in my mind--like the Italian lake towns--but each did have its own character.  The ones with fine beaches usually had private beach areas identified by the color of their umbrellas.  A few towns had public beaches.  Many had traffic jams, especially as the day progressed, and possibly due to the end of this three day Italian weekend. 

We stopped and walked along the seafront in Loano after buying lunch supplies, and later in Cervo we found a shaded  bench for our picnic, following it with another beachfront walk.  Another brief walk in Menton at 6.  Rob calculates that we were on the bike for 9 hours with only four stops--two of those quite brief. The traffic jam in Ventimiglia was quite memorable.

shot while riding--lots of yachts (not the biggest though)

Despite the traffic and crowds this area is appealing, with hills or cliffs rising behind picturesque resorts and marinas.  We took the moyenne corniche above Monaco and I had no luck taking photos, but the huge yachts and new buildings made us consider a return visit.  We are here in Villefranch for four nights--plenty of time to explore this part of the French coast, one would think.  We'll see...