There’s something slightly cinematic about driving from Austria down to Italy. The mountains slowly soften, the air gets warmer, and suddenly every second car seems to be a tiny Fiat flying around corners like it’s late for an espresso date.

Now add one more ingredient to this Riviera road trip recipe:
we were doing it all in an electric car.

Which, in Italy, quickly turned into a side quest somewhere between a romantic road trip and a survival game with 7% battery remaining.
At first, we felt very modern and organised. Quiet e-car gliding through the Alps, playlists on, fully embracing our eco-friendly Italian movie era.

Then came the charging stations. Or more specifically: the charging stations refusing to acknowledge our existence.
Many of them required special membership cards that could only be set up with an Italian address and Italian payment details. Meanwhile, we stood there with foreign credit cards, confused expressions, and rapidly decreasing battery percentages like contestants in a reality show called "Survive the Riviera".

And Ionity stations? The dependable European charging heroes? Beautiful. Reliable. Rare. Like truffle sightings. Mostly located near bigger cities while we were happily zigzagging through coastal roads and tiny villages.

But honestly? It somehow added to the adventure.
Because nothing bonds you to Italy quite like desperately hunting for a functioning charger while an 82-year-old Vespa driver effortlessly overtakes you on a mountain road with one hand on the steering wheel.

Once both we and the car had emotionally recovered, it was time for our first overnight stop at Starhotels Du Parc in Parma.

The hotel feels like stepping into old Italy in the best possible way. Classic interiors, elegant little details, and yes, an actual room key. Not a plastic card. A real key. Felt like a tiny time-travel moment.

The room was spacious and waiting with little goodies that instantly made it feel welcoming after the long drive. But the real star? The restaurant’s famous artisan pinsa by Maestro Pizzaiolo Alberto Buonocore. Not quite pizza, not quite flatbread, but dangerously addictive. The dough is leavened for 24 hours, hand-rolled one by one, baked, chilled, and perfected with almost scientific Italian dedication. We savoured every bite.

第二天早晨，终于到了海岸的时候。满怀期待，目的地：意大利里维埃拉的拉帕洛。

说实话？刚到那一刻就像度假疗愈……尤其是在看到酒店的充电站之后。

我们住在埃克塞尔西奥尔宫殿酒店，戏剧性地就座落在海面正上方，仿佛它知道自己很上镜。酒店保留着那种老派里维埃拉的魅力，让你想戴上大号墨镜和宽檐太阳帽，像索菲亚·洛伦那样，即便你平时根本没有这些东西。

迎接非常热情。那种罕见的入住体验，让你瞬间放松，因为每个人都真诚友好。有人亲自带我们到房间，从第一秒起，景色就完全抢了风头：无尽的蔚蓝大海。酒店提供两种房景：拉帕洛的港口与多彩小城，或是全海景。说实话，两者都不会错。

其中一大亮点是酒店的私人海滩俱乐部。你从酒店穿过一条带顶的走道，突然就到了这个小小的海滨世界：泳池、躺椅、海景、SPA角落，还有人们慢慢啜饮着阿佩罗·斯普里茨，仿佛根本无事可做。而在意大利，这也许正是目的。 🍹
你可以在那里消磨数小时，几乎无所事事，但不知怎的仍觉得有成就感。

拉帕洛本身有一种轻松而充满活力的氛围。餐馆延伸进小巷，酒吧热闹至深夜，到处都是冰淇淋，或是某个盛装打扮牵着狗散步的人。