Italian Riviera (Italy Part 1)

From France to our first stay in La Spezia, we mostly drove along the small coastal roads.

Along the way, we passed through many seaside resorts, but unfortunately couldn't see them all because there were no parking spaces. Even on the roads leading out of the town, the cars were still packed tightly together.

The beaches were crowded due to the nice weather and holiday. However, we didn't want to lay on a beach where the sun loungers were set up one after the other. But it seems to be common in this area. In all the towns, you could rent a sun lounger in the sardine-can atmosphere.

We could only drive through Sanremo, whose name reminded us of many restaurants at home, because there was no place to stop.

Our first stop was in Imperia, which was named after the river Impero that divides it into two parts.

We walked along the harbor, where the podium for National Day was still set up. The police, fire brigade, etc. introduced themselves to the public and promoted their services at stands. This included not only mounted police but also an old fire truck, which was particularly popular with passing photographers.

Before Genoa, we took the highway because we had already heard so much about the traffic jam in the city since the bridge collapse. The detour was also easily passable on a Sunday, and we drove back to the coastal road near Rapallo.

Here and elsewhere, we saw houses with paintings that made them look as if they were adorned with stucco and made of large stones. In reality, all the decoration was only painted on, but sometimes deceptively real.

In Lavagna, we had our first Italian ice cream on this trip - and that with a sea view.

Then we continued on curvy and mountainous roads to La Spezia.