Friday, May 29 – Castagnito to La Spezia transfer day

Packing everything back into the bus and driving down to the coast – the Mediterranean! After we had been on the road a bit we made a pit stop. As we pulled in Gianni pointed out that two of his buses were there. We briefly met his son and another driver, who were taking two buses of Torino school kids to the Genova aquarium. That Friday began a holiday weekend, so there was a traffic jam as we neared the coast, made up of Italians headed to holiday by the sea. We came in really not knowing what to expect (including how long we would be staying there!)

We were met at the Jolly Hotel by Rotary and Rotaract members. We settled into the hotel and questioning the desk revealed we’d only be there one night. The Rotarct members rode with us to Portovenere, our stop for the day. After breathing in the sea air and just looking at the scenery – brightly painted houses, an island across the way – we hopped a boat to the island for lunch!

A boat and buoys in Portovenere

The Italian flag and the colorful buildings of Portovenere.

We ate seafood in a semi-enclosed area of the restaurant, right by the water. They had walls plastered with photos of celebrities who had eaten there. We then took the boat back across and saw Portovenere.

Giancarlo and Jim at lunch - right next to the water!

Ruth, Stephanie, Giancarlo, and Kelli at lunch.

The group (with Laura in front and Gianni in the back) with the restaurants main-man.

The main street is picturesque, but nothing compared to the church on the promontory. Byron’s Grotto is there (as in Lord Byron, the poet), and a fantastic view up the coast. It is inspiring! I could certainly sit there, look, listen, and write!

Jim in the plaza by Byron's Grotto and the church.

Me, Kelli, Laura, and Giacomo

An ancient wall, with sea beyond.

Me and Ruth by the sea.

The coastline, looking towards Cinque Terre.

The view looking back from the church.

There were cats everywhere in the town (before seeing that I had bought a kitten-plastered postcard to send to my cat-loving nephew). Just beautiful! As we headed back to the bus there was a scary moment – an elderly tourist walking with a group in the opposite direction as us fell and really broke open his face. We waited around while one of our Rotaract hosts, a doctor, helped out. Poor man!

One of Portovenere's many, many cats.

Looking towards La Spezia on the road from Portovenere.

We returned to La Spezia for a break in the hotel (and surrounding area) on our own before dinner. The hotel was only a couple of blocks from the harbor and the design of it gave all the rooms a bit of a view of the boats and the water. For dinner we walked along the harbor to a service-at-the-counter fresh seafood place, but the line was incredibly long (as incredible as the food was supposed to be), so incredibly long that we hopped in the bus and drove up the hill to eat somewhere else. It was a very modernly designed restaurant with these pancake things (their specialty) with bunches of different toppings to put on them. Yummy!

The Jolly Hotel, with all the windows (not visible here) facing the harbor (to the right).

Sunset and silhouettes.

The group walking between the palms by the harbor.

Dinnertime.

Looking over La Spezia at night (the view from our dinner table).