This is a short post from our few days in Diano Marina during which we – as in Hyères – didn’t do much else than read books at the beach, eat good food and explore the surrounding area.
Most of what i loved 7 years ago is still here. This is why reading my last post on Diano Marina will give you a full picture of what to expect here.
Ever so often, we head into town and park our TWIKE for the public to see. The Italians are very vocal about their love for special vehicles and we usually get into the usual TWIKE Q&A immediately and then get to ask our own questions about the town and what to do.
Most of the town is free of traffic and the quality of life has dramatically risen compared to the old days. Many bars and small shops have sprung up and walking in the town centre is really nice.
I go to the same old barber shop I found by chance last time and get a haircut and have my beard shaved. This time however, the mood was a bit different, as the old barber told me that he hadn’t found a successor interested in the trade and that he – at nearly 80 years old – was unable to commit to the 20 year extension lease the building owners were asking him to sign. This is why by next June he would have to close his shop that had been a mainstay of Diano Marina’s town centre and in it self a ‘service public’ for the community as people would pop in just to chat and have an update on what was going on in town. An era coming to an end, unfortunately.
I was happy to have made it here one last time as this place gave me the best Italian vibes and made me feel at home instantly.
As always, my wife and I were enjoying late afternoon drinks, this time at Diano Marina’s main square, complete with street musicians and super friendly people around us.
Evenings were typically interspersed with more drinks at the sea and great food – it was hard to find a place that didn’t serve excellent food.
The places were typically not too crowded and we didn’t want to think how this rather sleepy place looks like during the tourist summer season.
Just a few kilometres down the road from Diano Marina is Cervo. A medieval town on a hillside – complete with a massive church and church tower.
Walking along the small alleys, sometimes not much more than 2 metres wide we start chatting with a woman who decides to invite us to her place for the incredible views and some drinks – this is how we like Italy most. Random kindness and curiosity in other people!
The church is incredibly large in comparison to the rest of the village – the main square sports a quaint bar with snacks – perfect to start the evening.
After having a great snack and more very nice drinks, we get back to our TWIKE to find a local woman admiring our TWIKE – she starts chatting with us and gets very excited about the vehicle.
She is a local shop owner and invites us to come back to sample the high grade olive oil her family makes in the hills close by. We shall definitely be back sometime this year!
In Diano Marina itself, I spy a massive quick charging station with a Norwegian Audi GT plugged into it. The charging station must be charging at full rate as the fans are running at a very high pitched whine and the air is nearly to hot to put a hand into.
As a long-time EV driver I find it always very surprising to suddenly find this kind of serious charging infrastructure in places like this. I’m also grateful to be able to quick charge off normal plugs and don’t need 800V 350kW plugs to charge at a quick rate!
Back to having a good time. Always when in Italy, I enjoy seafood and specifically my favourite; Frito Misto. A so many things can go wrong when making this dish, I was very happy to find a very non-touristy local place that makes it perfectly: juicy and fresh inside, crunchy and dry on the outside! YUM!
We like it so much here that we decide to stay on a day more…just to be able to eat another Fritto Misto and have another quiet day at the beach before heading back home.