Portofino

The first planned destination of the Italian birthday adventure was Portofino - rumoured to be one of the most timelessly beautiful scenes in all of Italy.  Because it was near the other planned destinations, I slipped this in for one quick visit ... why not?

We stayed two nights in the nearby town Santa Margherita - a bit more financially reasonable than Porto, known for regular visits from the rich, famous, and lavishly large-boated.

After our unplanned visit in Pisa we arrived via train in Santa Margherita our first evening.  We strolled a bit through town and couldn't resist a larger than life pizza we eye-balled along the way.

This region, known as the Liguria coast, is the source of several local products - anchovies are one Jonas was a bit more thrilled about than I.  We stopped later that evening at an adorable restaurant near our hotel for a nightcap and had a plate of anchovies that were quite fresh and delicious.  I am a convert!

The next AM we were up to catch the boat to take us along the coast and into Portofino.  The weather ended up being quite a bit warmer than anticipated and I was thrilled the boat trips were still running in October.  What better way to ride into lovely Portofino than on the crystal turquoise water to see the sun shining onto the golden buildings?

We spent the day exploring town, hiking up to the top of the opposite hill to check out the views, and then a lunch on the water consisting of a typical dish of pasta with pesto sauce and filet milanese.  Molto buono!

On our return to Santa Margherita, the restaurant with the anchovies looked so good we decided to head back there and had arguably the best meal of the trip (only one other competes - to be mentioned in the Piedmonte chapter).

The antipasti was an octupus / potato salad that was so simple, but so well-prepared and tender ... yum.  However, it was the seafood risotto - so rich, fresh, creamy, and seafoody - that won best prize for best single dish.  The taste alone had me convinced they it undoubtedly took hours of simmering shells and vegetables to make the stock alone.  Amazing ... Jonas and I had to roll out of there to our room!

The trip was off to a perfect start!   << slide show on this one! >>