We had a warm 80 degree start to the day and had to stop a few miles down (actually UP and around the mountain) the road to get connected to Italy (ie: Sim card for the ipad).  So we really didn’t start making forward progress until about 10 am…….blame it on the photos (Arch dedicated to Queen Margherita of Austria)plenty to see in the colorful town of  Finale Ligure, where we stopped.  The Basilica di Saint Giovanni was beautifulespecially inside, but there was a mass in progress, so only one photo was managed.

Though we rode the coast road, we had plenty of climbing 

and a few tunnels to navigate.We lost track of how many hills we climbed and tried to focus on the scenery.In Italy, bicycles are commonplace;you ride the roads like a car and thankfully are offered plenty of room and respect as a vehicle,the idea of it still seems strange to us, coming from a culture that does not respect the bicyclist on the road.

We went through colorful villages,with colorful characters, harbor towns,beach towns and cities with incredible architecture,some that were centuries old.

Some time after noon, we started to see the mountains in the distance that create the curve in the country.The afternoon was a blur of climbs and drops, beaches and mountains.  That was until we reached the edge of Genova around 2:30.

It took us two hours to get into the middle of the city, not because of any backtracks or U-turns; the city is just that big; nineteen miles of coastline, 94 square miles.

Some of the roads we navigated…..let’s just say we are glad we made it safely into the city.

Note to Self:  Avoid large cities.

The Vespa scooter was made popular by Italians, like bicycles to Amsterdam.  Miraculously, we found an incredible hotel in the middle of the city.  Hot, tired and thirsty, we ventured out for refreshment which was served with a tasty platter of food.   Our little cafe was in the middle of all the activity, Piazza de Ferrari, Great people watching.  These darling children asked to take my picture, so our agreement was that I could take theirs’.We did a little touring on our way to dinner, but it was late and tomorrow we will tour the city.