Italian
Riviera on $100 a Day
By
Rubin Carson
Nobody
will stop you from going to glitzy Portofino but do what knowledgeable
Italians, Brits, Swedes, and Germans do—check
into the Aida Hotel in Alassio. That way you get to save about
$500 per day and enjoy everything a small seaside town on
the Italian Riviera offers (in the 19th century, Liguria was
just as chic as it's French neighbor). It is a two-hour train
ride from Nice where Aida's major domo Giovanni Galtiere collects
guests at the station, if they phoned ahead.
Soon
you're at the Aida, which true to its brochure is "a
green oasis in the heart of Alassio, only 100 meters from
the sea." Okay, not so green perhaps but a two-minute
walk and five euros gets you a deck chair, umbrella, and the
cleanest beach you've ever seen. In a few minutes you'll discover
the guest rooms are spotless, service friendly, and the $100
per day tariff for two includes three home-cooked meals. (Be
warned: "home-cooked" in Italy means bring stretch-pants.)
"Show
me the buffet" is the battle cry for any Italian experience
and
Aida's antipasti gets A-plus: stuffed eggplant, buffalo mozzarella,
marinated vegetables, roasted peppers, goat cheese, salamis
and hams, plus every fresh crustacean imaginable. Then comes
delicious minestrone, choice of three pastas, fish course,
veal course, or everybody's favorite— frutti de mare. This aromatic masterpiece is what the fishermen
brought in that day cooked in pasta with zesty sauce. If you
have room for the enormous dessert selection, you should run,
not walk, to the nearest shrine and beg forgiveness.
Alassio
sits in a beautiful bay surrounded by rolling hills. Some
think the name comes from the story of Adelasia, daughter
of Emperor Othon, who had a tragic love affair with a Duke
of Saxony. A few killjoys claim that it derives from "Salacia,"
Latin for "sea-water" because the inhabitants made
their living from the sea. In the second half of the 19th
century, it became known for it's balmy climate and as a favorite
destination for England's great families whose villas dot
the hills. Half the visitors are still Brits who because of
their 300 days of rain per year know how to noodle through
the best sun-inclusive travel bargains.
Beach
lovers will admire the fine sand and gentle waves pounding
against the shore. Besides working on your tan, there's sailing,
windsurfing, beach volleyball, and hang-gliding. Sand castle
building is an ancient tradition and there are tournaments
throughout the year. Many benches line the beach area where
you can relax during romantic walks or serious gelato and/or
cappuccino moments.
There
are beautiful shrines and churches you can visit including
Cappelletta—a
chapel situated at the beginning of the natural harbor. This
lonely edifice is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and to the
memory of those lost at sea. The picturesque Church of Santa
Croce is on the route of an ancient Roman road and dates back
to the 12th Century. There's also a British corner where the
Anglican Church of St. John was built in 1890.
There's
no better place to experience the rhythm of Italian life,
and that's because of Alassio's "caruggi"—the
Ligurian name for narrow streets. They're filled with shoppers,
endless restaurants, quaint buildings, old shops, and ancient
palaces, all against the sound of the sea. I always pop into
Studio L' Imagine (tel: 0182-646703)—a
tiny shop that has the world's greatest collection of antique
travel posters. The originals are expensive, but it's okay
to collect copies. Bring posters back to your room at the
Aida, tape them to the wall, and stare. Nothing like dreaming
about traveling while waiting for pasta.
GETTING
THERE:
British Airways has flights via Heathrow/Nice/Genoa six times
per day
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