Saturday 9th September
It was another glorious morning and perfect for our journey from Nice, France along to Diano Marina, Italy. Poor Tom was rather squished in the back of the car but at least we managed to fit everything in. I would not have been too sorry if Dagwood had to remain on the kerb but even he was deconstructed sufficiently to fit into the tight space
Our accommodation for the one night was at the Grand Hotel Diana Majestic that I had reserved through Booking.com. I chose this particular hotel as it was located along the route to our next main stop, at Sestri Levante, and because it had a pool and parking; that was it. We were all pleasantly surprised to find the hotel was very nice and a great spot to rest up poolside for an afternoon and evening after a fairly full week. This hotel was rated as 4* and it was most definitely suited to that rating. The rooms were of a contemporary design and offered either a balcony or terrace with great views over the beach and they had well appointed bathrooms and good quality towels and bed linens.
It was close to 1 pm by the time we had arrived and settled into our rooms so we went downstairs to the poolside restaurant for lunch. This was a lovely setting with lunch tables placed along one side of the pool and shaded by umbrellas and olive trees. It was pleasing to hear a mix of languages and accents being spoken by other guests meaning we weren’t the only non-Italians at this typically Italian holiday area. The waitress at lunch did express surprise when she realised we were from Australia though and wanted to know what brought us to this particular hotel! Clearly, Aussies are a rather rare species around here.
The rest of the afternoon was spent resting and lazing first, by the pool under the shade of the olive trees and later, up on the deck around the pool where we tried to catch some late afternoon sun. When that sunshine left us, we moved moved down to the deck chairs on the beach and Mark and I even managed to negotiate the pebbles for a swim in the ocean. It was absolutely delightful! The pebbles on this beach were much smaller than those on Nice beach and this made it slightly less of a challenge to get in and out of the water.
We stayed beachside until just after 6 pm before heading back to our rooms to shower. It had been a most relaxing and delightful way to spend the afternoon, especially for Mark who found the drive quite stressful. There had been an awful lot of traffic to negotiate and long stretches of congestion but we realised we were in Italy now as every second driver seemed to be channeling Mario Andretti. Mark was well glad to be having an afternoon of complete rest! Our plan was to head back downstairs for a 7 pm aperitif before our 7.30 pm dinner in the hotel. Our Google search for restaurants didn’t reveal anything too inspiring nearby and, when we saw the menu at the hotel, we decided we would give them a try.
Our aperitivo in the garden was a lovely experience as this included very elaborate ‘snakes’ (See photos below for explanation here) and cloth napkins as well! Dinner turned out to be a rather delightful and tasty experience too and we were very thankful my Googling had led us to this place. There was a large inside dining room but given the weather was so delightful all meals were served out on the very large deck overlooking the beach. The tables were set with the most lovely linen cloths and napkins and highly polished silver table wear. The view was amazing and there wasn’t a breathe of wind making this a rather special and memorable evening. This hotel is one we’d highly recommend if you’re ever in the area!
Sunday 10th September
It was another magical morning along the Mediterranean and a most beautiful sunrise. Mark and I went for a walk before breakfast to explore the township of Diano Marina. It was about a 10 minute walk into the port and this appeared to be more of a humble fishing village kind of area. There was a promenade along the beach section and we noted with interest how this area had a sandy beach and not pebbles. It was surprisingly busy for this early on a Sunday morning as there were people out cycling, walking, swimming and fishing as well as a few tour groups emerging from hotels to board buses. Most places we have been around on a Sunday are completely dead until after 10 am but it was quite busy here at just 7.30 am. Diano Marina was certainly no Amalfi Coast but there was a definite charm about the place. Our hotel, however, was a little oasis of luxury along this stretch of coast.
Our check out wasn’t until midday, and that tied in nicely with the 2 hr drive to meet our next host at 2pm, so we headed back up the pool area after breakfast for an hour or so. I spent the time blogging, reading and swimming but I think Mark used his time to psychologically prepare the drive. Next stop for us is Sestri Levante.
