Sunday 25th June 2023
Portofino : Santa Margherita
Today we are going to Portofino, the well known exclusive village on the Ligurian Riviera. Firstly we have to get a train to Santa Margherita and then a ferry which will take us directly to Portofino.
Unfortunately, the train that we had planned to take is full. It is a beautiful sunny Sunday morning and therefore both locals and tourists are travelling along the stunning coastline. We should have thought of this and booked our tickets yesterday!
The route of the next available train means that we have to change trains at a station further down the line. We are now not expecting to reach Santa Margherita until just before 11am, there is a ferry that leaves there at 11.15am, hopefully we will catch it!
Santa Margherita has a beautiful long seafront with palm trees and lots of ornate large residences. Some of which, are probably hotels.
I snapped a couple of photos as we walked quickly along the promenade to the small ferry terminal.
Luckily for us, we reached the ferry in time and were soon on our way to Portofino, home and holiday destination of the rich.
Some sources say that many people left here, to purchase properties in Saint Tropez, the up and coming place at the time.
They say that only the truly refined, rich and elite people remain here in Portofino.
The ferry took just 15 minutes to reach Portofino. The approach to the small place is extremely pretty. Pastel coloured properties, a couple of steeples and green hills are the backdrop to this small marina. There is no beach; a few luxury sailing vessels were moored outside the tiny harbour.
Everyone got off the small ferry and walked one way so we decided to walk in the opposite direction.
We noticed a sign for a sculpture park which is in a terraced garden on the hillside and continued walking and saw the small working fishing boats.
When we came to the end of the small harbour, we walked the other way and started to pass the many restaurants.
Naturally, we had a peek at a couple of the menus, as expected prices were high! A mixed salad was five times the price that we are accustomed to paying.
It was a lovely walk around the crescent bay, flower boxes or hanging baskets decorate most of the buildings.
As we left Portofino, Dave took a couple of black and white photographs.
As we were approaching Santa Margherita, we spotted an area in the sea cordoned off where a game of water polo was being played.
Our lunch was freshly made focaccia sandwiches. We ate them sat outside the small eatery, at a small table with tiny stools down a steeply inclined cobbled street.
Afterwards we wandered along the pretty promenade. Most of the beaches are private but they aren’t sandy, the surface appears to be more like grit.
At the end of the promenade, there is a rocky area where many folk were sunbathing and swimming. A large placard warned ‘Dangerous-No Lifeguard!
Our travel costs today were the equivalent to an excursion we saw offered, but we did it at the times we wanted and stayed at each place as long as we wished as opposed to being stuck to a timetable.
The trattoria we had intended to go to was closed so we wandered along Via Balbi and then down some of the alleys. Many of the shutters were closed and most had graffiti on them.
They could have been closed due to it being a Sunday or it may have been that the Saints Day yesterday meant that a lot of people weren’t working the whole weekend.
After a while we settled on a small trattoria. Our starter was delicious, spinach ravioli with gorgonzola and walnuts. Dave chose salmon for his main course and I ordered a pizza.
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