I was excited to experience the great hotel breakfast again. One of my favorite features was the pate packets. So cute! And not bad tasting.
We then left Genoa to go to Sanremo- another seaside town with clothes shopping and a bike path. Definitely a more touristy area, but still nice and very close to France. In Sanremo, we stayed at another b+b, which I liked more than the first one, called Casa de Rosanna. While simple, the b&b was beautifully maintained and spotless. The breakfast was also pretty bread-centered but the coffee was superb and the jams were homemade also. In Sanremo, we had dinner at a hotel on the water that was nice and simple. I had an ‘exotic salad’ with mango, crab and citrus. My friend had a smoked fish plate that ended up being only smoked salmon that was a little overwhelming but good. She also ordered a gin and tonic which proved to be 99% gin and very little tonic. It was dangerous.
We walked back to the car along the bike path and through the shopping area to orient ourselves for the next day. We also felt the need to stop for gelato. It was excellent. Our day in Sanremo, we walked around and did some shopping. I bought a nice blue romper that was very comfortable and cute, if I do say so myself. I had the best Caprese salad of the trip for lunch and an interesting blended kiwi drink. Then we quickly went for a swim and hopped back in the car to go to Monaco!
We drove to Monaco, which wasn’t so bad. I wore my new romper and was very comfortable. We arrived there mid afternoon and popped in and out of the shops. My friend and her sisters shopped for a looong time at Zara. I didn’t feel the need to shop there because there is one in Montreal. I used this time to people and car watch in the park across from the Hotel Hermitage. 
We then eventually went into the Hermitage for dinner at Le Vistamar. It was funny to see the Panda in line for the valet with Bentleys and Mercedes’. For dinner, we were seated outside on the terrace overlooking the harbor. The weather was perfect and there was a great breeze. We started with a fabulous brut rose which I liked very much. For my appetizer, I had the foie gras which was prepared terrine style (I felt much more confident about this terrine than the previous one) served with lightly picked and spiced plum slices and delicately salted. Fabulous. As someone who loves foie gras, I was perhaps slightly biased, but I finished the very large portion with minimal sharing. I tasted my friend’s octopus Carpaccio which was also excellent. While you can only use the adjective ‘excellent’ so many times before it loses its meaning, I’m really at a loss for other words so you’re going to have to bear with me. For my main course, I had sea bass crusted with pistachio pesto over a bed of rice in a light coconut broth. It was rich, but not incredibly heavy, which I appreciated after the foie gras. For dessert, I had the best soufflé of my life. On the menu it was listed as apricot, which I love, so I was very excited. It came out looking sort of plain and I was a little nervous, but it was definitely fluffy. However, once I cracked the top with my spoon to pour in the sauce, I discovered that it was the most perfect apricot orange color inside, while the scent wafted up and suddenly I was engulfed in a light, airy apri-cloud!! After our dinner at Le Vistamar, we returned to Sanremo for the night.
Interested in more Italian adventures? Travel to the coast of Capri and read about the variety of restaurants offered with a water front view: The Complete Guide to Capri Part I
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