We got on the road and really did not see anywhere to eat but finally just stopped at a service plaza and got some fruit and yogurt and drinks and we were good to go. Chris is navigating really well and we have finally figured out the navigational system, I think. It is a little bit different that what we are used to but we would be LOST without it!!! And I do mean lost. Today we went through tunnel after tunnel! It was unbelievable how many tunnels there are. The one that goes through Mont Blanc was 7 miles !!! Crazy!!! And people drive like idiots—let me just say that again. People drive like idiots!!! The autostrada has speed limits in some places but in other places there is none so people fly!!! Chris has done really, really well with figuring out where to go and our time in Australia getting used to roundabouts has really come in handy!!!
We were to stay at the Excelsior Palace Hotel in Rapallo, Genoa, Italy and of course the navigation system could not find it—we were driving through these skinny streets, motor bikes zooming in and out and all around us and I was getting a tad panicked but Chris plugged on. He remembered from booking the room what the area looked like and that it looked out over Portofina so he made an educated guess and my eagle eyes (I am not 50 yet!) spotted the hotel sign well ahead so we could make the sharp right hand turn into the driveway. It was a gorgeous place to stay –Chris outdid himself on this one! The good thing was we didn’t have to find a place to park—the hotel had a nice little area that was empty just for us so that was great. We made reservations for the hotel restaurant at 7:30, took a little nap and got ready to go eat. We both had excellent meals—I had a pasta with potatoes, green beans and pesto sauce and Chris had a fabulous fish dinner —the waiter brought the whole fish out and took the meat off the bones for him tableside. Service!!! We won’t eat like that every night of our trip but it was wonderful and a nice way to really start the trip.
Chris watched Terminator 3 in Italian……I read. Tomorrow is a new day and we are off to Florence!
