Rapallo, Day 1

It was raining when we woke up, and stayed pretty much overcast most of the day.  And it was also slightly chilly.  We put on our ponchos and found a neighborhood coffee shop - one that served up some Italian donuts.  After that, we stopped by one of the "mom and pop" pasta and pastry shops that serve only take-away.  It's a great way to eat cheaply, quickly, and, on a rainy day, super convenient.  We grabbed some slices of pizza, Focaccia and couple of pastries.  Back at the apartment, we also had some tasty fruits we'd picked up at a market the day before.  We ended up sitting around a few hours until the rain stopped.  Nature really forces you to adjust your schedule!  Rather than let it frustrate us, we rested our weary bones, caught up on clothes washing and read through some of the travel literature in the apartment.  Of course, we also had a WiFi connection, which enabled me to get a grasp on our activities over the coming days.  But, in the back of my mind, I thought, "What if the weather is miserable the whole time?!?"

In the late afternoon, when it stopped raining, we seized the moment by going on our first "hike."  Of all the trails you can take, the walk along the coast, from Rapallo to Santa Margherita, is about the easiest you can do.  It is fairly flat, takes only 1.5 hours (well under an hour if no stopping) and is very picturesque.  Our goal was to get to Santa Margherita for photos, sunset and dinner.  Dark clouds vanquished the sunset, but dinner more than made it for it.  It was fabulous.  Where we ate was one of Pavarotti's favorite spots.  We didn't know that until we sat down and ordered.  Signed portraits of him were on the walls!  After our meal, we took a bus back to Rapallo.  We could have walked it, but it was very dark.  Private taxis were available, but I was skeptical of the service.  We talked to a few taxi drivers, and it seemed they were more interested in charging exorbitant prices over good service and friendliness.  And one driver seemed to be inebriated!  We waited for the bus, and apparently got one of the last ones. The bus ride, and not thinking all that through carefully, ended up wasting some time.  That, combined with the rain, was not the best start.  However, the forecast for tomorrow was supposed to be really good! 

I overheard these ladies speaking Russian, so I made an effort to say hello and couple of phrases in their language tongue.  It was quite funny!

I guess this clearly indicates you've left one town!

That's a Christopher Columbus statue back there.  I saw another one of him in Rapallo, and one really nice later in Genoa, his birthplace.

There was a sign on a fence telling you not to step a fence to get this rocky spot.  I usually and very law-abiding, but I felt this was pretty harmless.  It was going to "make right" the dreary day.  It also helped that there were virtually no people walking by, and no police!