Hotel L'Ondine Algajola

A short drive from Riva Ligure and we arrived at Laigueglia which is the start of the Italian Riveria. This village not as touristy as its neighbours suited us fine and we felt even more welcome when we popped into a local cafe for a cupuccio and were greeted with big smiles and bonjourns! The day was a stunner and we made our way down to the beach where we chilled out on the breakwall along with the locals. This was ...

... the local bar and settled in for a few drinks and complimentary tapas.

Wed 11 Nov
Riva Ligura even better in the sunlight had a pretty little piazza and church which had a beautiful painted interior - much unexpected by us. The novalty factor was it had automatic sliding doors!

After brekkie it was onto Menton which is a lovely little town just before the Italian border. Menton is a much more down to earth place than its neighbours and more our scene. We found a park right on the beach and went for a wander and took in sum much needed sun. Next stop Italia!!

Ho tergiversato tutta l'estate con in mano le guide del Messico, leggevo qua e là senza mettere insieme le informazioni, ma ormai il viaggio è alle porte ed ho dovuto trasformare i pensieri in prenotazioni, e non solo. Così in un attimo ci siamo attivati per le vaccinazioni e la patente ...

... we turn misfortune to our advantage - literally! -by a simple swivel of the seat. Lunch is brought forward and consumed to envy and applause by fellow jammees!
We resume without further incident, and make the miles with time to spare for light aperos before evening meal.

27 giorni alla partenza!!
Devo ammettere che ero molto più entusiasta di organizzare il viaggio in Sudafrica, anche perchè Adam mi aiutava e mi suggeriva soluzioni.
Comunque siamo a buon punto anche per questa vacanza.
Arrivo a Città del Messico il 16 ottobre, il 17 voliamo a Tapachula (la perla del Soconusco) e poi ci muoveremo in bus fino a Merida, dove vorrei arrivare il 24 ottobre. Da Tapachula ci ...

And Day 4 sees us blasting off for Italy. Robbed blind by French; enter endless tunnels of neighbouring coastline, and dread paying for them... Fab drive (- and fantastic value when we exit for Garda: only 28 euros for whole stretch, where French extorted 38 for one-third of distance!) Hole up for ...

... opens compartment door. She takes one look at me, kids and the compartment and she literally start yelling at the top of her lungs. I am not kidding. First, she yells, oh great (in Italian, which I understand fluently, but can not speak) kids in the compartment, why do I have to be stuck with kids.

Then, she starts yelling in my face, I paid for tickets by the window, you are sitting ...

... and left my bags for a bit. Figured out trains and my hostel in France. Decided to rent a kayak to pass the rest of the morning. Was harder than I remembered. Saw a few fish in the water and a jelly fish. Hopefully the pics turned out. Would be a neat area to go snorkeling in. Hit the train station a little after 1 pm. Went La Spezia to Torrino, to another station in Torrino, to Chambery (now in France) to Annecy. Stayed for a bit in Chambery, but ...

I was on my way from Rome to Barcelona by train. On the border between Italy and France, the train workers went on strike and stranded about 12 travelers including myself at 2AM. We got off the train, and as we waited for taxis to take us across the border these 12 strangers (many of whom didn't speak common languages) pulled out whatever they had in their backpacks (candies, food, drink, trinkets) and everyone shared what they could with everyone else.

San Remo, Liguria, Italy anacristina