I have had a pretty busy day –  taking care of my guests, a little climbing and bBikingiking, driving the minibus on the tormented roads of the Italian hills, finding good restaurants and having lots of fun in the meantime. When I finally went to my room at midnight I was to bed in seconds, tired but happy. It uses to be at this moment of my day as a guide in my own travel business, that I can relax and perhaps overview the spent hours mostly with a smile in my heart.

Did you know that the Italian Riviera is also a part of the Alps? The Maritime Alps go down to the Mediterranean sea, and you will believe it, when you are in Finale Ligure.

First of all, the landscape of Finale reminds more of the mountains than of the sea. Big cliff walls, green woods and wild birds. Ancient villages clinging at the mountain sides, and it is a place for sheep and wild mushrooms.

Moreover, the people that use to travel to Finale are mostly climbers and downhill bikers from all over the world. you will rather find outdoor gears than swimming suits.

“After an espresso at Atelier Gourmand, the classic Italian bar right under the first ski lift in Champoluc (1568m), we took three lifts to Colle Sarezza (2700). Then we skied for five minutes, put on our skins and started the ascent towards the lakes of Pinter and Perrin – where I have been many times in the summer…

There is a way to beware a feeling of being out in the Wild even in the crowded Alps and on skis: put skins under them and climb to unspoiled parts of the mountain. It is sufficient to go where you don’t have any lifts and you are suddenly drowned in silence again.