Italy, San Marino, Liechtenstein Adventure Day 10

Day 10 - Tuesday, April 16, 2019 - Drive to the Monterosso al Mare, Italy; Cinque Terre

After breakfast we were ready to pay our bill and then head south for Italy and Monterosso al Mare on the Cinque Terre Coast.

Following the same route out of Liechtenstein and through Switzerland, we could see the beautiful snow capped mountains in the bright sun. Because we did not have to worry about the wet and snowy roads, we could sit back, relax a bit, drive, and enjoy the views.

At the summit of San Bernardino Pass we stopped for gas and to take a few photos. Traffic was much heavier on Tuesday compared with the light Sunday traffic. We noticed many more large semi trucks and transport vehicles.

The Swiss are known for their tunnel building. Again, we counted the many engineering feats as we traveled through the 27 tunnels.

There were many SOS turnouts for emergencies and several times we took advantage of a wide spot in the road for a photo stop. The iconic views of the tranquil valleys with the tiny Swiss chalets were captivating.

We crossed the border into Italy at 11:15. There was no stopping, but traffic was backed up at least 15 minutes. Once through the border, we were on our way to Milan.

Traffic was very heavy until we took the A-7 to Genoa going straight south from Milan. We could see a little of Christopher Columbus’s home city but after we arrived at the Mediterranean coast, the route went through one tunnel after another.

The route along the rugged Italian Riviera coastline has been linked with many tunnels crossing the ravines along the sea. The dark tunnels interrupted the views, but there were periodic glimpses of the tiny hamlets and the blue green sea. Think California’s Highway 101 with the fabulous views but with blinders!

Arriving in Monterosso al Mare and finding a place to park our vehicle was another matter. We had researched a nearby municipal lot, Loreto Parking, close to our hotel.

The lot was very full but Vic managed to secure a place to store the car for the next 5 days. We unpacked our luggage and walked about six minutes down the hillside to the Margherita Hotel, in the pedestrian only zone.

Greta, the young woman at the front desk welcomed us and showed us to our room at about 4:00. When we began setting up our computers we realized that the Internet was exceptionally slow.

After worrying that it was our computers, we learned that in this tiny village on the coast, there was only dial-up service and no fiber or cable like the bigger cities inland.

Thinking back to the “good old days” when we began writing GarciaTrips and had to go to Internet cafés to send out our travel journal, we were at least lucky to have slow service that was better than none at all.

Greta suggested a few places for us to eat dinner and we choose Nuovo Eden, with a beautiful view of the waves splashing on the rocky coast below. After a salad and a panini sandwich, we stopped next door for a gelato.

We meandered home amid the throng of early evening tourists. Our evening of writing our memories and choosing photographs of our driving day went quickly and in no time at all it was time to turn in for the night. Another day of Monterosso awaits us in the morning.

Accommodations: Margherita Hotel - - - Meal: B, L, D