Today, I woke up in the port of Savona in Italy, ready to take a coach trip to the villages of Noli and Finalborgo.
I woke up around 7 am today, showered, and then went for breakfast at one of the ship's buffets as we pulled into the port of Savona, where I took an escorted coach tour to the two villages of Noli and Finalborgo, Noli, on the coast and Finalborgo which was inland in the mountains.
The coach was due to leave at 9 am, and I was sitting on the coach by 8:45 am. Typically, many people strolled down to the coach late, and the coach didn't leave until around 9:20 am.
Noli, Liguria, Italy.
We were soon driving along the coast road to our first stop at Noli. The road was winding and narrow, and in places, there were road works or places where rock falls were being cleared. Our very knowledgeable guide told us that initially, the only way to access Noli was by boat. We passed by some beautiful coastal villages as we approached Noli. This part of the coast is really fantastic. I already wanted to come back to visit here again.
Once we reached Noli, the coach dropped us off, and our guide showed us the buildings along the roadside, explaining that they had formed part of the walls of the village. She then took us across the road to the beach, where fishermen launched their small boats from the beach to fish. The bay and coastline here were genuinely breathtaking. After taking time to take photos and look at what the fisherman had caught that morning, we crossed back across the road to approach the gates of the walled village.
Our guide then walked us through the main gates to Noli and showed us around the village all too briefly. I instantly fell in love with this tiny village and plan to visit it and spend more time here. Our guide told us much of the history of Noli and showed us memorial stones on the inside of the village walls dedicated to some of the people who had lived there throughout its history.
Whilst in the Oratorio di Sant'Anna, I lit two candles in memory of my mum and dad. I am not a religious person in any way at all, but I do like to light a candle in their memory wherever I go on my travels. It was the two of them who first gave me my travel bug, after all. After our short walk through the first part of the village, we were led back to the coach, and we were taken to Finalborgo.
Noli Photos.
These are my photos from the trip I took to Noli. Click on any image to see a larger version and a description.
Click on any image to see a larger version of the image with a description. Use the navigation below the thumbnail images to see the previous set of images, the next set of images, or the previous or following photo albums.
Finalborgo, Liguria, Italy.
Our second and final stop on the tour was Finalborgo. It was only a short drive from Noli, and we again passed through some beautiful coastal villages on our way inland to Finalborgo. The coach dropped us in a small car park outside of Finalborgo, and we walked a short walk across the river to the walls of the village before going through the village.
Unfortunately, many of the people on the coach were asking to be shown a public toilet that they could use. The tour was held up for no other reason than for many people to use the toilet. Even our tour guide was getting fed up waiting for everybody, and after what seemed like nearly an hour, everybody was ready to continue. Because of the delay, our guide only had a brief time to show us the outside of the village walls and the main road entering the village through the fortified walls. She was able to point out a castle on the mountainside that was built by its once-Spanish rulers before telling us that we had 40 minutes to explore and get back to the coach to return to the ship.
I managed to take a rapid walk around the first part of the village, taking photos and planning to come back again for another visit sometime in the future. I noticed that the cafes and bars were all advertising coffee and sandwiches at relatively high prices. While most of the people from my coach were queuing up to pay inflated prices for food, I walked back to a community centre that I had seen whilst everybody was using the toilet. The food and coffee here were very cheap, and I had seen it selling my favourite Ginseng coffee as I passed by. I sat outside in a courtyard and was quickly served my Ginseng coffee. Realising I still had long enough for another coffee, I ordered a cappuccino. Unfortunately for me, the majority of the staff were disabled and a little bit slow. The waiter took my order for a cappuccino and my money, but never returned with my drink. After waiting for a while, I realised he wasn't coming back. I had to go inside with the receipt and ask the lady running the community centre for my drink. She called another waiter who very slowly made me a beautiful cappuccino, but by the time I got it, I had to gulp it down quickly and immediately return to the bus for the return journey to the ship. That said, if you ever get to Finalborgo, go to the community centre and try a Ginseng Coffee. It is to die for.
Finalborgo Photos.
These photos are all from my visit to Finalborgo. Click on any image to see a larger version and a description.
Click on any image to see a larger version of the image with a description. Use the navigation below the thumbnail images to see the previous set of images, the next set of images, or the previous or following photo albums.
Port of Savona.
On our way back to the Port of Savona, our guide told us more about the history of the region and the Port of Savona.
The Port is a cruise terminal built in Savona, co-financed by Costa Cruises, which is also the operator. Inaugurated on November 24, 2003, it was designed by architect Ricardo Bofill. The building has an area of 8,400 m² distributed over three floors, of which 5,000 m² is for departing passengers. On the 8th of November 2014, on the occasion of the first port of call of Costa Diadema, the second terminal of the Port also came into operation, for which the company invested about 9 million euros. On the 14th of November 2019, terminal 1 and the quay underwent significant renovations to allow the landing of the flagship Costa Smeralda.
Return to the Costa Diadema.
After returning to the ship, I went for a quick shower, but when I went to my room, I found that my escorted tour tomorrow to see Civita Di Bagnoregio had been cancelled in English due to a lack of guests. They were able to let me go on the French/Italian tour, and as I really wanted to see this village, I changed my booking to go on the tour in a different language.
I then went to dinner and met Gail. We were joined by an Argentinian gentleman who spoke no English but spoke a spattering of Italian and Spanish and who sat with us for dinner for the rest of our cruise.
For my dinner tonight, I had cheese flan with honey and hazelnuts, leek and potato soup, braised beef with mashed potato and mushroom sauce and hazelnut cake for dessert. The flan was gorgeous, but the soup was nothing special. My homemade leek and potato soup is better. The braised beef was not very good at all, and the hazelnut cake was dehydrated, so I could not swallow it because it was so dry.
After dinner, Gail and I met Val in the Teadora lounge for a few cocktails and to listen to the band that was playing. At one point, Gail went to see what tonight's show in the Emerald Theatre was like, but she soon came back, reporting to us that it wasn't worth leaving where we were to go and see. We sat chatting for a while over cocktails, but as I had a long day planned for tomorrow, I left Gail and Val and went back to my cabin for an early night. Today's exertions had worn me out.