castle

Sunday 17th May 2026 – a day in Vaduz, Liechtenstein….

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A lovely sunny day as we leave Austria behind and dip our toes into Liechtenstein for a night. My overriding impression was the lushness of this small country completely enveloped by the Alps. The road bobbed in and out of Switzerland with little fanfare just the two countries emblems – the border actually running down the middle of the Rhine as it snakes it’s way down from Germany.

We easily found our park up – a rather scenic train station car park bordered by the small captital of Liechtenstein, Vaduz and the Rhine….

We headed straight into Vaduz and enjoyed a wander around the pristine town, an interesting mix of new and old architecture but all immaculately presented….

The stunning church with it’s cool interior…

The main pedestrianised square and an obligatory Lindt Chocolate shop and yes we did….

High above us the Princely home and castle – home to the Liechtenstein Royal Family, is perched on the hillside overlooking the Capital….

It didn’t take very long, exploring the capital in full so instead of returning to the van we wandered along the footpath / cycle path which shadows this stretch of the Rhine….

Stunning and incredibly peaceful an absolute joy to walk, especially on the lower path which is cycle free and Tilly could happily potter off the lead. We ventured across the footbridge, marked with the national borders and wandered along the Swiss side for awhile before returning for a very peaceful and free night courtesy of the kindness of the country of Liechtenstein….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 76
  • Miles walked – 6
  • Countries – 3
  • O/N – free

Wednesday 6th May 2026 – a walk into Sirmione….

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The difference a day makes – having looked set for an unsettled week, the weather has brightened up overnight and another beautiful day has come our way. Good news for us as we have planned a fairly lengthy walk along the peninsula that is Sirmione, one of the most popular spots on Lake Garda.

Again access to the foreshore of Lake Garda is limited but we grabbed each opportunity even if it did add a mile or 2 todays excursion….

As we arrived at the main old town of Sirmione (having wandered through many leafy and affluent residential areas and hotels), this beauty was parked in one of the many car parks on the outskirts…

Rather ruined as the side was plastered with promotional stickers for some Real Estate company – how crass?

Though busy the main entrance to the old town was guarded by this magnificent castle – Castello Scaligero….

We meandered our way through the busy narrow streets lined with shops, bars and Gelateria’s and more typically quieter residential side streets….

Dipping out to check on Lake Garda where possible….

The far end of the peninsula was much quieter and largely occupied by manicured grounds of fancy hotels

At the very end is the Grotto di Catullo a chargeable museum, which we didn’t go into, enjoying the far reaching Lake views instead…

And on the return journey a visit to the much quieter and off the main beaten track, San Pietro in Mavino and its Bell tower dating back to the 1300’s….

On our return we found ourselves a nice quiet spot by the Lake to enjoy a pastry with our coffee and to rest our tired legs….

Before making our way back to the Castle and to prepare ourselves for the long walk home….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 9
  • Pastry – £1.90 (last of the big spenders me)
  • O/N – £24

Monday 4th May 2026 – Cinque Terre (Part 2)…..

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Continuing on from yesterday’s blog, we arrive at Vernazza, one of the smaller villages. It is by now mid afternoon and this small village, again centred around the harbour is very busy, as people continue to arrive – the trains continue well into the evening….

We quickly pass the crowds and head straight down to the harbour, where there is a nice little beach, too busy for us to linger….

A nice walk along the harbour wall, affords great views of this pretty village….

And we do manage to find a way through under a natural archway to a relatively secluded spot of beach (and I mean spot) for us to sit, catch our breath and cool down for a bit….

Going back to late morning, when we ended up at Montarosso, the closest village to Levanto, here we probably spent the most time, as unlike the other villages Montarosso is spread over a larger stretch of coastline with some pretty descent beaches and a combination of time and space meant that the crowds were much more dispersed….

Here we enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the sea front, firstly to Spiaggia di Gigante….

The beach was named after the (mostly) concrete statue of a Giant was sculpted as a feature to the adjoining Villa in 1910, ravaged by the sea and 2 World Wars the Giant was restored in 2021 and creates quite a feature….

Heading back along the promenade, looking down onto Fegina beach….

The far end of Fegina Beach is overlooked by a fortress of some kind (now a restaurant)….

And beyond the much quieter Spiaggia di Monterosso….

A very different experience to the other villages and nowhere near as isolated but a fine beach or two is always good in my experience.

An absolutely amazing day, a long one and both Tilly and I are shattered but enriched!

Thoughts of the day:

  • How amazing that these villages were only linked to civilisation with the building of the railway line in the late 1800’s but much more amazing and laudable is the fact that since then they haven’t been ruined by glassy new builds!

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 8
  • Train – £2.33
  • Cinque Terre entrance – £19.01
  • Food – £6.42
  • O/N – £22

Thursday 30th April 2026 – Rapallo and the mountain road to Deiva Marina….

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Another beautiful morning and we start the day with a walk down to Rapallo sea front just over a mile away from our Sosta. What we hadn’t appreciated was the fact that the weekly market was on this morning down on the sea front and so it was rather busy.

We were however able to walk along behind the market on the sea front, with a brief stop on Spiaggia Rapallo…

As we hav ecome to expect the colourful graceful buildings along the sea front do not disappoint….

And at the far end of the sea front the small castle and it’s small beach is a sight to behold….

Upon returning to the van, we were soon packed up and on our way, knowing that we have a somewhat interesting journey ahead of us. The drive is not far distance wise but after about 10 miles of coast hugging the SS1 coastal road heads more inland as it climbs through the inland hills, the coast, I guess was too tricky to viably construct a road and the few resorts are reached by some pretty steep and narrow declines – if the SS1 is coming inland then so are we. The road is steep and very windy, which makes for slow going but still an enjoyable drive with more distant sea views…

Eventually we reach the turning for Deiva Marina and start the equally slow and windy decline to the campsite we have booked for the next few nights. Unfortunately there is no footpath down to the sea from the site (about 2 miles) and the shuttle bus from the site only takes guests down up until midday, so we just take a wander around the site and relax for the afternoon.

Thoughts of the day:

  • The Wifi and phone signal is much better in Italy than we found it to be in France – so far at least.
  • Supermarkets with ample parking on the outskirts of towns do not seem to be a thing here which makes shopping a little trickier – but we are managing.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 29
  • Miles walked – 6
  • Beaches – 2
  • Fuel – £75.56
  • Food – £7.07
  • O/N – £20.71

Wednesday 29th April 2026 – a stunning visit to St Margherita and Portofino….

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Another beautiful day as we say goodbye to Celle Ligure and continue our journey along the coastal road, after a scenic stint we endure lots of traffic and traffic lights as we drive through Genova – mostly it is a large port with 4 huge cruise ships in dock as we drive passed with terraces of terracotta apartment blocks and lots of construction work taking place in the town itself. They also appear to be working on an expansive promenade beyond the port but unfortunately there were nose to tail cars parked all the way along the front, with not a chance for us stop to get a better look. Eventually we work our way through the town and the coastal road becomes increasingly windy passing high above the few coastal resorts that appear every now and again. We did just manage one brief stop – high above St Margherita….

From here it was a windy and steep decline down into Rapallo, through the town to our Aire for the night – the hospital car park. The were already about 15 vans in the nearly empty of cars car park and we were able to park up without any bother.

We had originally planned, assuming that we would have had a couple of stops on the way, to stay overnight and visit St Margherita and Portofino tomorrow but as it is barely noon we decide to crack on and visit them today. Armed with our roamer bus pass we board a bus, without checking that it is going to St Margherita and it was only as we left Rapallo behind that I realised we were headed east rather than west! Frustratingly this cost us an hour, but no matter we were soon on the right bus and in fact St Margherita is only a couple of miles away….

We alight in the centre of town and wander along the sea front and Spiaggia St Margherita….

Passing the huge Marina and into the Old Town….

On the west side of the old town is Spiaggia Minaglia and heading towards Portofino, Spiaggia Gino e Rino….

We cheat half way to Portofino as the footpath is becoming a bit hit and miss and the road is very narrow (anything larger than a car is only allowed beyond this point for access) and hop on a bus (minibus really) for the last bit, catching a glimpse of Baia Cannone….

Portofino did not disappoint, though busy it is a charming small harbour village, clearly frequented by the cruise ships as the shops are Dior, Louis Vuitton and Missoni and the like but pretty all the same….

We had a good wander around, sat and people watched for a while before catching the bus back to St Margherita and then on to Rapallo and back to a very hot van!!

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 44
  • Miles walked – 6
  • Beaches – 4
  • Bus ticket – £8.68
  • O/N – £10.40