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Month: December 2011

Portofino, Italy

Portofino, Italy was another one of my awesome day trips I did while staying in Cinque Terre. Portofino is an adorable tiny town on the coast of Liguria. The bus ride to Portofino is an experience in itself. It was super busy and I had to stand in the aisle… or should I say, “surf” the aisle because I felt like I was navigating a surfboard the whole ride with all the twists and turns on the skinny roads that hugged the sea. Every time we took a turn, it looked like we were going to fly into the water. haha. We tourists stood out as we clung a little more tightly to railings while locals looked totally at ease. One little kid played video games on a gameboy and looked as sturdy as if he was standing on firm, unmoving ground. haha. I thought the ride was really fun but it was amusing watching the reactions of the other travelers on the bus and hearing muffled yelps and squeals.

When we reached our destination, I jumped off the bus and made my way to the nearest bakery to get a slice of margherita pizza into my grumbling tummy. I then made my way to the bustling pier and munched away while I took in all the sites of fisherman, colourful curving buildings and interesting tourists and locals.

After finishing my pizza I climbed up to Castello Brown, a castle perched high on a hill, overlooking the town and surrounding sea. I had a funny experience when I got distracted taking photos on the way back down and took a wrong turn, reaching a private beach. I had to climb allll the way back up to the castle and down again the right way. hahaha. Good times. A similar thing happened to me on the Amalfi coast but I’ll wait till that post to share it.

Portofino oozes charm and captivates the eye! I had such a happy afternoon meandering around this gem. I even found the cool little public beach/cove that you see in the second photo below. Prime swim spot. Keep your eyes pealed on the bus drive in and you’ll spot this treasure yourself. ; )

How to get to Portofino: To reach Portofino, you catch the train to Santa Margherita and then take bus 82 to Portofino (the stop is just to the right as you walk out of the Santa Margherita station – it says BUS in yellow on the pavement).

Follow the links to check out my posts on nearby Cinque Terre and Levanto or immerse yourself in my posts on all my Italy adventures here. : )

 

 

Levanto, Italy

My Dad and I stayed in the beautiful Ligurian coastal town of Levanto for the last leg of our father/daughter Italy trip while we explored Cinque Terre. Levanto has a convenient spot right next to the last town of Cinque Terre, Monterosso and is even included in the Cinque Terre train day passes. We stayed at the cute Oasi Hotel which has a great location halfway between the train station and the beach (a 4 minute walk to each). We really loved having Levanto as our home base. The town has lots of character (I love how the streets are riddled with old bicycles) and great food! My Dad and I were pretty smitten with the focaccia pizza that was sold in several focaccerias throughout the town. We enjoyed ambling along the pier, swimming in the sea and searching for cool rocks and beach glass.  My Dad had a few days with me in the area and then left home for Canada while I stayed in Levanto for another week. In my week alone, I did day trips to Lucca, Portofino and spent the rest of my time relaxing and drinking in Cinque Terre.

Follow the links to check out my posts on nearby Cinque Terre, and Portofino or immerse yourself in my posts on all my Italy adventures here. : )