Wednesday 3rd September

Our accommodation: Grand Hotel Aranzano

It was another glorious morning on the French Riviera and we were sad to be leaving but, also, looking forward to our next adventure. We had chosen a halfway spot between Antibes and Florence as our overnight destination, so as to break up the driving, and this ended up being Arenzano, Italy.

There was no rush to get on the road so Mark went for an early ride, I went for a walk and Matt, Annabelle and Teddy hit the beach for one last time. The 2.5 hr drive along the coast went smoothly and we all made it to Arenzano for the 3pm check in.

The hotel has a ‘grand’ view out over the Mediterranean but that’s about where the adjective trails off. It was a very comfortable hotel for our stay and the staff were lovely but ‘grand’ was a tad misleading. I think its ‘grand’ days must have been somewhat in the past but it suited us well enough.

We spent the afternoon lazing by the pool and went in search of dinner at 6pm which was no easy exercise. Nearly every restaurant in the area opens at 7.30 pm! I was rather amused at check in when the Italian concierge excitedly mentioned he had lived in Australia for 4 years and loved it; especially being able to dine early at 6 pm! So it seems we were not the only ones here hankering for an earlier meal time in this part of the world.

We ended up having dinner at Bar Calcagno as their kitchen opened at 6.30 pm and, interestingly, they offered both a sushi and traditional Italian menu. Go figure! Anyway, Teddy had sushi and we had Italian but the best part of the night was the return of ‘snakes’ being offered with pre dinner drinks. (See photos for reminder about Italian ‘snakes’). We all had delicious meals and a wonderful first night in Italy and this is a restaurant I would highly recommend if you are ever in the vicinity.

We were so glad to be back in Italy as the people were so much more friendly and the level of service was just that much higher. I only hope this momentum continues into Florence and Rome!