A little bit of Italy: Sanremo.

Sanremo is a medium size city on the west coast of Italy, known as a tourist destination on the Italian Riviera.  It wasn’t on our initial plans to come here but a fortunate turn of event brought us here to see a little bit of Italy.

We met our host Paolo in the main square and he immediately  took us to see the views from the nearby hill were the sanctuary of Madonna Della Costa is located. From this spot you can have a pretty good idea of the city. The hill sort of divides the city in two different areas leaving the marina on the left and the main part with the old town on the right.

After leaving our luggage at his place we went for a drink in a bar close by. Although the drinks were quite expensive (5€ for a beer), we were served lots of food “for free”: olives, meatballs, cheese, small pizza slices and some fried bread. After a nice chat with his friends we headed back home where we slept in an improvised, yet comfortable bed in the kitchen.

In the morning we dropped Paolo to his work up in the hill and after some bruschettas for breakfast we visited the city center. We walked along the main street, Via Giacomo Matteotti full of, again, small restaurants and shops and ended up in the Casino. The Municipal Casino, built in the beginning of the 20th Century,  has always been one of the main attractions of the town. Many celebrities, kings, actors and singers have passed through the game rooms of the Casino and there are many stories and anecdotes about it. For example it is said that Egyptian King Faruk once claimed he to win a poker game by exhibiting only three kings, stating “I am the fourth.”

The city has an old feeling and seems a bit neglected but organized in its own way. Suddenly we felt people drive like they are in some kind of emergency with hundreds of small motorbikes always trying to cut the traffic on the shortest possible way. A typical, or stereotypical Italian ease and lightness of being…

Magda and Renato