Elephant to Orvieto

Wow, what a brilliant tour.

OK here's something to look forward to... South of Genova, around La Spezia: you will be pushed away from the coast at some point, depending on how hard you stick to the coast there, and over some hills, then down again to cross the marshy delta of the river Magra, toward the beginning of northern Toscana (Tuscany). The bit of coast over to your right there is known as the Cinque Terre and the Golfo Dei Poeti (where Shelley was drowned, apparently). It's really worth detouring there if you can, as the coast will get less interesting after that. Some of the towns on that side of the Golfo dei Poeti are nice such as Tellaro, also Portovenere across the bay, the seaward side of La Spezia. This bay would be a good destination for a stop, swim off the rocks, eat etc. After (i.e. south of) that, the coast will be fairly flat and less beautiful for a while. Cinque Terre are a pretty famous tourist destination there: these five hillbound villages that were for many years only reachable by boat, just up the coast.

I know a truly excellent fish restaurant In Lerici... it'll be just when you're finishing riding hills (Liguria), before entering flatter country (coastal northern Tuscany). Really worth finding. Called Il Pescatore, up a small alley off the little sqaure near the harbour. It'll be a nice carrot to dangle in front of yourself as you're negotiating Genova and Liguria. I tell you this cos I fantasize about going back to this restaurant regularly. I have been going for years when I was in that area a lot. It's the kind of place where they don't ask you what you want to eat or drink, they just bring whatever they're offering. Lots and lots and lots of it. Four courses of it.

Have a bloody great time.

Bloomin heck that restaurant sounds amazing, Ill find out the address and definitely make a stop off there if we can, Ill put some photos up too if we do get to go there. Sounds top.

We cycled through the Cingeu Terre last year, sooooo hilly round there, some of the hills were almost impossible to get up, the descent into Monterrosso al Mare was bloody dangerous. Incredibly beautiful though, it was pretty quiet when we were there as well.