Nov. 7 Sestri Levante

Just before reaching the walkway to our hotel

Our Hotel - "Vis A Vis" - in Sestri Levante

A view from the top veranda of our hotel!!!

A cute Italian I found on the beach!

On our hike up to a "castle-like" hotel

I bet this beach is busy in the summer!

Hiking up a street to the ruins, views and more views!

Ruins of a chapel

The castle-like hotel (Hotel Castelli)

Coffee??? No...this is "hot chocolate"!

This is like hot chocolate syrup. I guess next time we need to ask for hot milk with chocolate!

Here we are on the beautiful Ligurian Coast in Sestri Levante! Sestri Levante is a skinny peninsular town with beaches on each side. We arrived here on the train from Florence (changing trains in Pisa) at about 2 pm. We walked from the train station to our hotel, making it here with no wrong turns! The hotel "Vis A Vis" is lovely and we have a delightful room overlooking the sea. The weather has turned rather cool and cloudy with a few sprinkles, but that didn't stop us from exploring the town. We opted to spend the rest of the afternoon in Sestri Levante, rather than hop on a train again and head to some of the northern towns. Wow...this place is amazing! As you can see from the photos, the views are breathtaking! The town itself is very charming. We walked up the main drag, "Via XXV Aprile", checked out the beaches, and hiked up quite a steep cobblestone road, past ruins of a chapel (bombed during WWII)), arriving at the end of the road at a castle-like hotel (Hotel Castelli). Amazing hotel with amazing views! We ate dinner in a restaurant back on the main drag recommended by the hotel and our guide book, "L'Osteria Mattana". Excellent dinner- Gene enjoyed his pasta with meat sauce, and I had a pasta with pesto. This area is the birthplace of pesto! It was delicious! We sat near a young couple from New York who are working in Germany for about 5 years. He is a shoe designer for Adidas. They were both really sweet and gave us some hints regarding our visit to the Cinque Terre tomorrow. It almost seems unreal that we will be heading for the states in just a few days. This trip truly has been fantastic. We are excited to be coming home, but sad for our European Adventure to be ending! Need to get to sleep for another fun-filled day tomorrow! We send our love to all.............