Another sunny drive from Arles after a much better breakfast buffet than the ibis budget in the same building! The coast road is a series of tunnels and viaducts with views of the sea and deep valleys, cluttered with those mysterious greenhouses, once past the Italian border.

The GPS had said our route choice was not possible but still took us to a tiny street and announced we had arrived at our destination. We clearly hadn’t!  Then followed a frustrating half hour while we tried various streets none of which ‘she’ recognised. Parking up I rang the hotel for advice. The road I was given as not pedestrianised was ‘unknown’ by the GPS. Finding a piazza that was, we parked up and then spotted on the screen the unknown road appearing nearby! Gross mots were uttered!

Proceeding on foot we found the hotel and asked how to get the car to it!  Not easy, we would never have made it ourselves.

Once settled in, a room with a typical Italian view, we forgot our frustrations by doing some exploring.

Being a port city there are similarities to Naples with the very tall buildings in the old town but the alleyways are narrower and glimpses into entrances reveal glossy interiors that contrast sharply with the graffitied facades. We strolled down to the dockside which we had driven along earlier cursing and gave ourselves better memories!

Wandering back through the alleys we found a piazza full of tables and decided to eat there later.

There was a marked contrast as we walked back across the main piazza del Ferreira to find the hotel. Sumptuous buildings and pretty marble underfoot.

Later we took advantage of the aperitivo, a local custom, and ate well and cheaply.  On the way back we walked through the Palazzo Ducale, a magnificent building that nowadays is accessed by all and sundry. Its ancient owners must be positively spinning in their graves.