A Late Arrival ~ July 22nd & 23rd

We left Vernazza late to go to the next town to look for a place to stay..this town is called Monterosso - Monterosso which was about 1 hour further along the cliffs hugging the coastline.  But again no success,  as cute as it was!  I would of loved to have stayed here tonight!  While Nick waited in the car (double park-that is!) I wandered around looking for a place, yet again being in this adorable region of Chique Terre at it also was not 6:30 - we had no success. No matter....we travel on! (hey we have the luxury of a car - don't forget that!!!!!)


Finally we saw a hotel along the roadway...and grabbed it at 10 pm!  
It was a older hotel & we were thankful for it!  Yes they were pricy...I think they know that if you come in late...well...you probably have not yet had success in finding a room for the night..ha!

It was family owned: Mother with daughter Charlotta (YES! Charlotta (Nick's youngest daughter's name) we took a picture with her for you!) 
Elgi her brother too was very helpful getting our suitcases in the room!

We slept well and had a little bite to eat in the morning & off w went to the next town  /Santa Margherita Ligure

We had climbed way up on a ridge...and saw that the next morning!  Looking down we could see the coast!

 They had some really pretty flower pots on the front porch!

 Here is Charlotta & her mother - cute! 

This is Klaus from Hamburg Germany!  He was on a road trip with his Ducati (Italian made) motorcycle!  Hey Stephanie and Chad...how do you like this???? Pretty cool huh?  So fun to chat with the guests - they have their stories to tell as well!  As we were chatting with Klaas - 3 other guys came out of the hotel and got on their bikes too...oh my 3 more Ducati's!!!!!

 Off they all went...with those rounded tires, Nick, the bike has really good traction on those sharp bends! 


Nice!

 We entered into the town of Chiavari and we found a parking spot and walked to the beach area!  Oh it was so cute again! 

 Chiavari

 You could walk along this pathway they had cut into the rock...and it would take you along to areas where people laid out on the rocks sunbathing!

 After a cup of coffee - we headed onward enjoying the ride...seeing a lot here and there & thinking we should take time to look for a place to sleep much earlier this time around - right? 












 We came to Rapallo another town that was on the way to Portofino - a well known town Nick said which he remembers being a popular hot-spot for many!  But we could not go further along the coast road - the police kept control of how many cars would come into Portofino and so the cars had to turn back on this road...which everyone did on this narrow road! One by One!  

So we drove back to Rapallo to stretch our legs!  Enjoying a walk nice walk along the Boulevard with all its activities this Sunday morning!
 

We continued to drive along the coast going through very long tunnels through the rugged cliffs along the coast.  Wow - the work and time it took to drill these holes through such long distances! 

 We had to park the car inside this garage...and can you get an impression how very narrow these corridors were going down 4 floors...sometimes the cars had to turn & maneuver back & forth to make the turn down the ramp!  Oh gosh...talk about getting claustrophobic!  I felt it!  The car up ahead did just that...and already had a dent on the side!

And we were driving a small Fiat Panda!!!!! 

Rapallo was a active town -
Rapallo See Info on this town!

 Sunday Morning Market

 Hey there is Christopher Columbus statue...was he born in this town by any chance????

 Hey Jack Kinsey...Look here...RE/MAX is also in Rapallo Italy!  
They have an advertisement on the Taxi! How do you like that????

It was early around 3 pm and we decided to be looking seriously for a place to stay...and so we had to leave this area to go on ~  We drove to Santa Margherita and yes we found a hotel with one more room left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We were so happy for that...and we were tired too!

Hey Beppie...look at this...close huh?  Do you own a restaurant in Rapallo Italy too???????

Driving along the coast and this would be our only other evening on the coast of Chique Terre - we knew by now that weekend it was even more busy with not only tourist traveling but also local people enjoying a weekend away...and so we thought - we would be most thankful just to find a room for the night...!  As we turned into the town of Santa Margherita (it was the plan to leave this area & travel into the Tuscan area for the our 3rd day of car rental before heading back to Florence)
OK with all that said...we saw this sign - and Nick said "I am going to walk down that road and see if they might have availability!" Gotcha Nico!

Lo and Behold...they had ONE MORE ROOM LEFT - HERE IT WAS 3 PM!!!!! OH MY NICO LET'S TAKE IT!

 It was a old hotel from the 40's and it was right on the coast!!!  Oh my Nico...do we still have a chance at staying on the beach here in Chique Terre area?????


 Coming into the Lobby was nice...look warm a feel it was!!!
 
 Wow...a very cute place with such a atmosphere!
 








Way cool or what????!!!!!!

 The view from our room!






A Beautiful Buffet breakfast! 

 We stayed at the hotel...and rested not even going into the town!  Just enjoyed our hotel the late afternoon & evening!  We went out to see the beach area & grounds of this hotel Villa Margherita ...quite impressive - kind of a Greece scene & feel - I thought!  But in days gone by - I bet it was very popular!  We felt blessed & fortunate to have an evening on the coast anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

It was a neat place to be...made us think of all those American movies - with Audrey Hepburn etc...how fun!