Funny that the sailboat we saw last evening seems to have spent the night. It actually stayed most of the day.
We decided that we would try to take advantage of the great weather in the morning. The forecast suggested again that clouds and showers might come in around 1:00. Our plan, albeit somewhat risky for a Sunday, was to head to Camogli for a late morning cappuccino, and then work our way up to San Rocco to the Bar Dai Muagetti for lunch and a cold drink. We had originally planned on a trip up into the mountains to a Michelin Star restaurant in the town of Ne. We tried to make a reservation for 4 of us but they were totally booked. We ended up with an amazing view and a great lunch for under 50 euros!
We checked again to make sure the Bar was open because the last time we tried it for lunch it did not open until 4:00. With assurance that we had a green light here we set off on our travels. The risk here for both of these destinations was the possibility that we could 1.) not find any parking spaces, and 2.) that the destinations were mobbed and we could not get a seat. Given the beautiful weather, this was a real possibility. The 'locals' love to go to the beach on weekends.
Our first destination was Camogli. As we drove through the town on the upper level, we could see crowds of people walking through the town with floats, beach chairs and umbrellas. As we drove down to our preferred parking area, there was not a space to be seen. Once on the lower level adjacent to the Passeggiata, we were doing a loop through the lot and amazingly found a spot! Wonderful luck and a good start!
As you approach the Fondamenta and the beach, you pass in front of the symbol of one of CAmogli's most famous events......the annual fish fry! It happens in early May and draws huge crowds. We are not sure if this large pan has ever been used!
There was also some activity surrounding a reconstructed fishing boat of some sort. The poster image included here has a good explanation. Today they were varnishing the masts.
A narrow 'calle' leads to the fondamenta........where an amazing space opens up to the beach.
Totally amazing how many people were on the rocky beach.......and in the water. We have never seen more than 10 -15 people here.
Crowds everywhere, but we were able to find a wonderful cafe/gelateria with a table with a marvelous view. Time for a cappuccino! In the video we were trying to capture the sounds of the Sunday church bells, but you have to strain to hear them!
THEN OFF TO SAN ROCCO!
AND BAR DAI MUAGETTI
Literally carved out of the rock hillside, this is both quaint and spectacular. It is a 5 minute walk on a hiking trail from the center of San Rocco. It's major business comes from the hikers going from Camogli to San Fruttuoso.........somewhat of a limited clientele! One of our favorite places in Italy with absolutely staggering views.
These steps go up to the 'toilette'.......more of an outhouse!
........and as we were finishing our lunch (pranzo) we thought we heard a distant rumble of thunder. As we took our path back to San Rocco and our car, we rounded the corner and saw what was probably heading our way. In the end, we got to the car and did not confront rain until almost halfway back to Bogliasco. The sky was totally amazing!
When was the last time you saw a phone booth?
Back to the Villa for a restful balance of the afternoon on the 'crash couch!'!
and a short video of the sparkling water........
Dinner and a digestivo out on the terrace before we had a film presentation by Denise Iris, a creative filmaker in the group. That was quite an experience (we both almost fell asleep during the documentary on Romania!)
