Nostra Grande Avventura Italiana~Portofino

OK, so we knew it was bound to happen it was only a matter of time…we finally took a wrong train on the way to Portofino.  We got off and lugged our suitcases down the stairs into the subway to cross under the tracks in order to get onto the other side…and hauled said suitcases back up the stairs to the correct train tracks.  We have very few regrets from this whole trip, but one of them was that we wished we would have thought to have worn pedometers or Fitbits to track OUR mileage on this journey.  I will tell you we both lost weight on this trip and you will understand why near the end of our stories when we reveal exactly how many miles we traveled on our adventure.  So, back on the correct train to Portofino where you actually have to get off in Santa Margherita Ligure and go by either ferry, bus or cab to Portofino.  We chose ferry as Daniela had hinted to us how beautiful it is to see these small fishing villages from the waters perspective…and she was right!

The Ligurian Sea

Entering Portofino

It was a very short distance from the shore to our hotel.  And once again, steps, and plenty of them.  Marie chose to wait at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the hotel front.  I ventured up and into this grand old hotel, Hotel Eden, to check us in.  I was greeted by a very nice short Italian man named, Francesco.  I was informed we had reserved “the cheapest room in the hotel which is on the roof and up those stairs” as he points to a spiral staircase leading up to who knows where as I couldn’t see the end of it!  Francesco then tells me if we would RATHER have a room right on the first floor by the desk and not do those grueling stairs we could, but for a higher price of course.  I told him to wait a moment while I went and spoke with my friend outside.  Well it didn’t take even one complete sentence out of my mouth before Marie gave me the green light to fork out the big bucks and NOT have another STEP MASTER set of stairs to climb.  So two happy weary ladies checked into the Hotel Eden in the comfort of the first floor!  As was the case with a small room it was very hot so we tried to get the AC to come on, but it didn’t seem to be working right.  I went to ask Francesco about it and he followed me back into our room saying, “Senora, eeets weentur out there…you no need this…I open windows for you” as he grabbed the remote from my hand and threw open the windows.  I guess October 30th is “weentur” in Portofino and there is no way you can use the AC.  Lesson learned.  (Smile)

Stairway to rooftop!

Beautiful Gardens of Hotel Eden

We spent a beautiful day/evening walking the cobblestone pathways around the shore line, browsing in shops and people watching.  Such an array of people in these little villages.  We heard many languages besides Italian being spoken.  We saw tour groups following their leaders. We saw one very happy group of people participating in a wine tasting event.   We saw dogs of every size being walked about.  We saw people simply enjoying the ambience of such a beautiful place.

Castle overlooking village

Portofino becomes magical at night

Dinner at a sidewalk cafe

The next day we took the city bus back to Santa Margherita to connect with trains to get us back to Milan.  On this bus we met a fun couple from Cananda, Frank and Mary, who were celebrating their 20th Anniversary!  They were on a cruise ship and had just gotten off to spend the day on shore.  Marie told them about the Flight Crew, gave them a card and invited them to come on to the site as we would say a special hello to them from here!  We really didn’t run into too many American or English speaking people on the entire trip.  It was always fun when we did.

Happy Anniversary Frank and Mary!

So back to Milan we go…  we are very excited about our day coming up with Daniela in Brescia!

 

~~Jane~~