At least we had time to plan our day to Portofino. We took the train from Sestri to Santa Margherita Ligure which is a beautiful seaside town north of Sestri.
We then walked along the road the 30 mins passed some of the most beautiful houses in the world and finally made it to Portofino.
The water was turquoise and stunning, we were in tank tops loving the heat and the sun and the beauty of where we were. The weather was gorgeous and since it is late October, we were the only tourists on the trail.
The houses and castles along the water are to die for and that was before we even arrived in Portofino.
Portofino is a town of glitz and glamour. The houses on the water are literally the houses you see in magazines and movies.
The sailboats and yachts in the harbor made me drool and the restaurants all boasted outrageously expensive beautiful seafood dishes. Even in the off season there were high heel clad beauties walking the main piazza with rich husbands carrying their bags in tow.
This is the town of celebrities and money where there is not a lot to see, but the point is to be seen... Bogie and Liz Taylor frequented Portofino in their haydays and the locals are used to tourists and money.
After wandering Portofino for a bit, we made our way up about 300 stairs on our hike to San Frutuoso. We walked up and up and up past little villas and olive trees until we made it to the ridge above the town.
From there we hiked for 2 hours along the cliffs and hillsides on the most beautiful hike I have ever done in my life.
My new dream is to sit outside on one of the private vinyards drinking homemade wine and cheese while looking out at the beautiful Mediterranean. It is very easy to understand why this area was pillaged and ransacked by pirates throughout history.
I have never been happier to sweat that much in my life. I could go back and die happy. It didnt seem like the Italian Riviera, it looked like the Caribbean and was hot enough to be. People who live there enjoy the slow and simple life and I now want to do just the same.
San Frutuoso was a welcome site for our rumbling tummies. It is a tiny town that you can only reach by hiking or by boat that has an abbey and a tower and some restaurants. C’est tout.
We had lunch on the beach and shared a plate of mussels and Troffie pesto. Pesto originated in this region and troffie is a specialty. It is a type of pasta gnocchi mix that was delicious. And the mussels were caught that day 30 feet from where we were sitting, drowned in white wine sauce and served with bread...
There was really nothing else to do in San Frutuoso, so we hopped on a ferry for a 40 minute ride back to Portofino, and that is the way to see that town.
Pulling into the harbor at Portofino is magical, like a fairy tale, passing yachts with old women drinking wine on the shore. I am completely in love. I will absolutely go back.
Unfortunately we had to keep going to Santa Margherita but that was a cute town too. We ate the best gelato I have ever had and wandered the expensive stores until finally taking a train back to Sestri.
After spending money on lunch, we didnt want to have to buy dinner too, so we bought salad and went home and made risotto with pumpkin and carrots with the meat that Tina had made us and salad. For dessert we had ice cream and lattes and just talked and laughed all night, it was beautiful.
No comments:
Post a Comment