Pulling into Cecina station was a sweet end to a long, drawn‑out travel day, but the Italian travel gods were not done with me yet. Checking Google Maps, my walk to the hotel was 12 minutes, no problem, but updating several minutes into the walk revealed 20 minutes remaining. While it was a straight shot, adding steps to my daily routine was not a welcome surprise.
Arriving in Marina di Cecina was surreal, just as pictured on the Internet and just how I imagined in my mind. A quaint oceanfront community with a boardwalk running the length of the town right on the beach. Hotel Santebello was centered right on the promenade just steps from the water. A classic beachfront hotel suffering a little neglect with the classic smell of salt air, sunscreen, and beach must.
Dropping off my luggage, I quickly hit the main drag to find some much‑needed food. A Vietnamese restaurant was a welcome change from my standard diet of Italian fare; clean, light, and fast checked all boxes on my list of needs. After some spring rolls, pork skewers, and Thai fried chicken breast, it was time for a dip in the Ligurian Sea.
A dark sand folded into a coarse pebble coast with clear ocean water, not as blue as past beaches but thankfully very clean. Keeping to my strict order, I enjoyed a swim followed by a nap before returning to the room, unpacking, and freshening up for dinner.
Spinach‑stuffed ravioli caught my interest on a menu at a nice restaurant just down from the Vietnamese spot. I finished with a café and of course a cup of tiramisu.
My first full day was spent in classic beach‑bum style after a quick visit to the grocery store to stock up on fruit, water, and beer. I initiated a daily Cecina breakfast routine of cappuccino beachfront with an alternating baked item. Now begins a day of coastal people‑watching, naps, and dunks in the ocean; I was in my happy place. Returning to the Vietnamese restaurant for lunch for a Thai fried chicken sandwich and glorious French fries before finishing the sun‑drenched day with more beach time. Dinner followed at a rare upscale restaurant where I enjoyed local fare of mussels followed by fried shrimp, with the heads on of course, and calamari. Café, limoncello, and one of the better tiramisus of my time in Italy. As renting a bike was on my following day’s agenda, I got to bed early after a bit more people‑watching from the veranda of the hotel.
My second day was spectacular, renting a bike after breakfast and quickly heading out to the maritime pine forest that skirts the beach. The seemingly endless network of paths through the woods soon delivered me to the next quaint little town, while not positioned directly oceanfront, still possessing a cool beach vibe with neighboring farms and RV camping lots enhanced by mountains in the distance. After what I believe to be about a 20‑mile trek, I finished on the other side of Cecina down the greenway into town, stopping at the local church to pray the Stations of the Cross. Having skipped lunch, an oceanfront fungi and prosciutto pizza with a chalice of Pinot Grigio was on the agenda for dinner. What do you think was for dessert? Leave a comment and find out.
My final day in Cecina was actually a quick road trip to Castiglioncello (say that three times fast) just a few stops down the train line headed to Pisa. A quaint little town offering cliffside ocean views, a castle, and a string of unique beaches. It didn’t disappoint! While the castle located conveniently behind the train station was readying for an event, only the outside was available to view. From there to the center of town is a short walk, and beyond that are several beach access points scattered about. From small sandy lidos to rocky cliffside playas with random decks, cabanas, and docks scattered along the rocks. Below the main town, a cliff‑base promenade connects the beaches all the way to the marina area, which also serves as a public beach despite the shallow moored boats. Of course I hit them all before jumping a train and returning to Cecina by sunset to finish my stay the same way I began it, with a light fresh dinner at the Vietnamese restaurant down from the hotel. Feasting on shrimp spring rolls, pork and leek stir‑fry with white rice, and Vietnamese beer was a perfect last meal. Hitting it off with the waiter, he talked me into an Amaro del Capo, which I found to be a mellower version of Jägermeister, but I was instructed to finish my café and “gelatin‑like” tiramisu before shooting it. A complimentary limoncello followed that, and after complimenting the chef and getting some exuberant shouts from the kitchen in Vietnamese followed by a fist bump, my night ended with a beer on the hotel veranda and a sound night’s sleep.
With my bus ticket to the station already purchased for my ride to the station, I grabbed my last cappuccino and a donut and received sad goodbyes from the ladies at the café. Jumping the bus that was running behind, I had to run to the train station, but thankfully the train was also behind, and I made it with seconds to spare. It was now time to ride the rails to Florence for a new town filled with new experiences.
fscavullo 