We have arrived - at last!

The airport shuttle bus emptied us out not far from our B&B in Piazza Politeamo. 

The streets seemed empty, but it was afterall a Sunday and it looked to be that some were closed to pedestrian-only traffic. People were strolling down the centre of the roads and there were a few cyclists in this notoriously bike-unfriendly city.

We are right in the "thick of things" here - not quite the original historic centre; more the 19th century area that came afterwards and was built outside the old city walls. And we can see the sea at the end of the street from our balcony. 

It was lovely to have a shower after all that travel. After sorting ourselves out, we went for a walk around the neighbourhood and down to the port where there was plenty of action with huge ships being laden with freight for places near and far away.

It was a lovely afternoon. It had rained suddenly and briefly whilst we freshened up on our arrival; now there was blue sky, warm sunshine with a hint of a breeze. The city is a jumble of concrete blocks in various stages of degradation, some lovely stately buildings but also mostly in some state of disrepair; lots of rubbish in parts: a city that has had a vibrant past but now looks somewhat tired.

After the port we returned to Piazza Politeama (so-called because it translates as 'poly theatre' and was designed as a performance space to boost morale in the late 1800s after a cholera epidemic) - this is where the airport bus had dropped us off earlier. Here is the impressive neo-classic Politeama Garibaldi Theatre.


It was now early evening and the piazza was lit up with a golden glow from the lowering sun; it was teeming with people chatting, walking, sitting, kids chasing each other round on bikes; and up and down the via della Libertà, there was a passiegata in progress: people walking mostly in small groups, often hand-in-hand from one end of the street to the other. The place was completely unrecognisable from a few hours earlier. The town was buzzing with activity.

We were desperately trying to stay awake and, in the process of locating the restaurant that Giuseppe from our B&B had recommended for dinner, we discovered a tiny piazzetta (Bagnasco) near our B&B that was not only pretty but had a couple of attractive-looking food places. We had a drink at one; then at an adjacent eatery (Formangiando) we had a panino each - fresh and laden with pancetta, cheese, artichokes (carciofi) and tomatoes - which we washed down with a couple glasses of a nice Sicilian red wine. It "hit the spot": simple and uncomplicated - and we were by now quite jetlagged so anything else would have had us with our "snouts in the trough", literally.

We had seen what looked like a nice icecream place nearby but it was now shut. However, close to our B&B a friendly cafe owner told us where we could get gelati - the place was knee-deep with people and the choices were amazing. We could have a cono with 3 flavours for 2€ - unbelievable! Even more unbelievable is that many of the locals were having it in a bun (a brioche) - whaaaaat???!