To Alassio: by regional train

October 9, 2022

We heard the rain starting last night but by breakfast the weather was just overcast. We could have taken a chance and cycled the roughly 20km to Alassio on the SS1. We also knew we would be pushing the weather window and we would be riding a road we really do not much care for. Our planned ride would have been a much longer route inland to avoid the coast as much as possible. We would have gotten wet in the hills for sure. Instead, we took our time at breakfast and had a later check out. Our hosts were great and encouraged us to leave our bikes in the bar area of the hotel that was no longer being used. We loaded everything up and went out to explore Loano more completely.

We walked across the street to see what was happening under the covered walkway. Scott immediate knew this was going to be great. Several blocks of tables end on end, full of Sunday morning flea market treasures. Pat immediately knew this was going to be painful. It took awhile, but Scott fully perused every table looking for a gem that could fit into a pannier. He came up empty handed. Pat, of course, was delighted.

We then walked one street down to the waterfront. The weather was warm with a heavy overcast and the promenade had a few Sunday morning walkers. We poked along noting that most of the beach bars and restaurants had completely locked up or were being organized to be closed for the winter. Large piles of sand had been pushed up from the beach to create a barricade to protect the low-lying structures against any storm surges. The change in today`s weather seemed to match the state of preparedness of the beach area for the up coming winter. You could envision the crouds of vacationers in the peak of summer enjoying the sand and surf. It will all be back next year now.

The kind of cool stuff you get at flea markets. As kids we loved games with marbles. Times were much simpler then.

Remember these? I bet the coin box never needs to be emptied.

Sandbags to protect against high water. We were also told that many of the establishments buy a finer sand than is naturally deposited on Loano beaches and they do not want to lose their investments!

Playing four rods improves your chances.

We planned to check out the train station on our walk but went right past it as it is slightly hidden away up a small hill. We were focusing our attention on the waterfront. Arriving back at the station, we learned that the train we wanted would be leaving at 12:53 which was 20 minutes away. So, we bought two 3 euro tickets and hustled back to our hotel to grab our loaded and ready to roll bikes. We were still 10 minutes early.

Our train will be 5 minutes late. Also be advised that there may be cancellations due to a possible strike.

Lifting our loaded bikes on to the train we positioned them between the doors and stood with them for the next two stops. We tried to look out the gaps in the windowse not covered with large signage. I guess it is a local train and who wants to look at the Mediterranean coast anyway? The ride was quick and when we arrived in Alassio it was during a heavy rain shower. Scott carried each loaded bike down a flight of stairs to ground level where it was a flat walk out of the station. That was a relief as carrying them up the same number of stairs would have been a chore.

We held up in the station for a few minutes waiting for the shower to pass and made our way about 700 metres to our hotel. With the bikes stored we went to the room and unloaded before heading out again. The weather was still mixed so Pat took an umbrella, and we walked along the beach casually looking for a late afternoon lunch. We had not really been paying much attention to the hours restaurants kept and soon understood that they close after 2pm. We found a larger restaurant on the beach that would make us something simple. We had the place to ourselves as we looked out over the sand and the sea.

Looking west over to a headland and our ride up that road tomorrow. We are hoping for light traffic.

This beauty was part of a display that provided examples of a number of plants. I do not think that I will remember the name.

These were a small version of the ¨swan squash¨picture that was posted the other day. Trombette nostrane - I have not seen these at home. It may be similar to a summer squash like a zucchini - according to the web.

That kind of day. Picture was taken through a plastic curtain that was keeping us dry and warm.

After lunch treat. The Baci di Alassio are biscuits filled with chocolate and composed of hazelnuts, created around 1910.

You can get some here for about 1.50 euros each.

Open for the taking. Small charge for the rental, of course.

Alassio is full of bars, restaurants and shops. It is a big summer vacation hotspot and attracts some high end clientele. But after 2 pm it is pretty much having a nap so we went back to our hotel to wait for the evening show.

Later, we set out again but with the late lunch we were not looking for meal. If we were, there were many many open but empty restaurants here. No reservations would be needed tonight. Alassio is quite an impressive seaside town. We walked out to the end of the pier and envisioned it in the summer with many people heading out to look back at the pretty town. We were the only ones there tonight.

Feeling pretty low key, we called it an early night. Tomorrow, we hope to be back on the bikes and riding to San Lorenzo al Mar, but to be cautious we left the hotel booking for the morning when we can see the weather.

Today's ride: 1 km (1 miles)
Total: 960 km (596 miles)

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