roemin around

About 30 miles south of Pisa on the Tuscany coast, along with lots of Italians, enjoying a holiday weekend. Its busy !!I I have many posts and photos to upload on our progress, but finding accessible WiFi points is more of a problem than I expected, so they will have to wait. Writing this at the campsite Internet Point which is what I must do in future methinks.

What a wonderful 2 days we had in Pisa. The site we found is within site of the famous tower so it was an easy stroll on both days to the Piazza de Miricoli where the leaning tower is just part of the group comprising an impressive domed cathedral (Duomo) and an amazing babtistry. Needless to say there were loads of tourists at times but we were able to explore some of the lesser known sites by the river to escape the crowds. We had to have a pizza, in Pisa, just off the square and then back to catch some evening sunshine on the site. Our Easter Bunny was amazed at the site of the leaning tower.

A biggish town with a large naval base at the southern end of the rocky Lingurian coast, we stopped just outside for a night on route to Pisa. The area was popular with many English poets as the most romantic village in Italy, Portovenere, is nearby. There is a grotto dedicated to Byron who was a good swimmer and Shelly who drowned near here - not so good. It was liberation day eve, 24th April and also the day that Man Utd beat AC Milan 3-2. Saw most of the match on TV - whilst keeping a low profile!

The Cinque Terre is 20KM of coastline having 5 villages perched on the cliffs and connected by dramatic cliff walks, a train and not much else. We caught the train to Riomaggiore and then walked back to Corniglia in the middle of the group (thank heavens for the ecobus for the last half mile to the old centre) which was high up on the cliffs. We lunched on typical foccacia at Manalora and hopped on the train to see Vernazzo, the most photogenic of them all. What a spectacular and scenic day. Stayed the 2 nights outside Deiva Marina on a site which had a courtesy bus to the station and where Rosemary 'bonded' with an old Italian lady - like she does.

Left earlyish, for us, on Sunday to make the most of the truck free motorway on our 130 miles to the other end of the Ligurian region. Its was a very 'exciting' drive with literally hundreds of tunnels or viaducts thru the mountains that skirt this part of the Italian coastline. Went straight thru Genoa and made for Porto Fino. Unfortunately there were thousands of others out for Sunday lunch so we could not park anywhere near. Maybe next time.

Sunny and warm - bellissimo. Decided to stay in San Remo for three nights. Excellent site with a sea view and all mod cons. Walked into San Remo past the old mansions and hotels which made the town a popular resort in bygone days. Good sandy beaches and restaurant still line the prom. Had first real Italian pizza for lunch, wandered round the casino (loads of fruit machines) and an unusual Russian church. Very colourful good quality market, bought trousers for Rosemary and a hat for Peter. Climbed up the steep narrow alleys of the old town 'La Pigla' stopping en route for our first cappuccino and cakes. Fine view over the town and harbour from the church at the top. Back by tram for an early meal. Christened the new BBQ with grilled Sea Bass and baked banana with chocolate. Finished off a bottle of Soave, fed the tame blackbirds with grapes and dozed. Freeview box works fine in Italy (provided you speak Italian of course).

Left the site at Cagnes sur Mer but the traffic was horrendous, so no chance of parking on the Promenade des Anglais for a walk round the old town. The sea mist was coming in again and it was murky on the A8 out of Nice. Stopped to look down into Monte Carlo from the service station and with the cool mist and previous traffic experiences, we decided to bypass Monte Carlo and Monaco this time. Left France and descended into Italy, the mist dispersed and we quickly found the site, Villagio dei Flouri, at San Remo. We chose a nice pitch with a sea view. Unusual site as it is fully block paved but has lots of flowers and vegetation as its name suggests. A few British motorhomers passing thru, like us, with whom we exchanged experiences on sites and Aires on our ways thru France.