A Short Break in Italy - Portofino and Cinque Terre. A Scenic and Culinary Dream !
Hey Steempeeps,
I admit it, I always wish I had been born in Italy. It's a place that speaks to me on almost every level.
The food, the culture, scenery, the architecture and the people, all light up my brain so much that I forget everything when I'm there. Put me in Italy and all I can do is stand there and drink it in like some sort of grinning idiot.
So if I may, I'd like to upload some images of an amazing short break we recently took in north west Italy.
It was without doubt one of the best breaks we've had in a very long time. Breathtaking scenery, great weather and glorious food. What else could you possibly want ?
During the trip we stayed in a relatively small town called Rapallo,which was a very pleasant and relaxed town, perfect for sight seeing the local area.
I chose Rapallo because of it's location to Portofino and Cinque Terre ... two places I've been yearning to visit for a long time.
Image taken from the rooftop bar of our Hotel in Rapallo.
From Rapallo seafront, tourists can quickly jump on a boat and make the short 20-25 minute trip to Portofino which lies just round the head-land. The bus trip takes 15 minutes, but it's always nicer by boat. Especially in Italy.
Portofino is relatively well known as a favorite haunt of Hollywood celebrities dating back many years. And it's easy to see why.
It's a stunning little fishing village which gets it's name from the Dolphins that can often be seen just 100 meters offshore. The original name was Porto Delfino.
Dolphin and Whale watching tours operate in the summer months (the real sea creatures not SteemIT Dolphins and Whales), but sadly it was not in operation during our visit. My 7 year old Daughter was most upset about that. She loves Dolphins.
If I were to give you any advice on visiting, despite the obvious attraction and picture postcard looks, Portofino is very small. It's not a day trip. It's way more of a "Went for 3-4 hours and saw it all" kinda place.
One thing that isn't to missed is the food. WOW. That was nothing short of spectacular. I ate a plate of mixed fried seafood - Calamari and Sardines. the kids had Spaghetti with prawns, and my wife had seafood Spaghetti.
During the meal nobody said a word. That was of course only after we all said "Ohhhh my God, you have to try this", and "Wow, this is the best food I've had in a long time".
The meal will be remembered for a long time, as well as the Coffee Portofino I had after we arrived, which was ridiculously good.
Portofino
Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, regarded as a place of great scenic and cultural value which comprises of the five villages Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso.
Cinque Terre translates into English as “The Five Lands”. It's made up of five small villages dotted along the coast next to each other on the western side of Italy's coast.
It's very difficult to get there by car, as car parks are hard to find due to the nature of how the villages are situated.
From Rapallo it's a bit of a trek by train to reach Cinque Terre, and during our day trip we had to miss Corniglia due to time constraints. But what we did see was breathtaking.
Riomaggiore
Manarola
Vernazza
The small town of Monterosso was a bit of a nothing compared to the other CT villages. It was quite an ordinary seafront town and not particularly remarkable. In fact I was very sorry that we missed Corniglia and went to Monterosso instead. In fact I am not even uploading any images of Monterosso because I found it a bit bland to be honest.
Of of the four we did see, I'd say we enjoyed Vernazza the best. Manarola was breathtaking to see the houses appearing to cling to a vertical rock face, but somehow Vernazza had a very nice relaxing vibe to it.
If I had to offer advice to any one visiting, I'd definitely advise to miss Monterosso and see the rest.
Cinque Terre is a very special place indeed.
Final Impressions
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend anyone visit that part of Italy. In fact I'd even say that you should make a huge effort to go. The food was stunning.
I don't know how those Italians do it, but they turn the most simple of dish into something that tastes nothing like you get outside of Italy.
Our favourite restaurant in Rapallo served the kids a plain old Pizza Margherita, which is nothing but dough, tomato sauce and mozarella. But this Pizza Margherita was absolutely delicious. Incredible in fact. How do they do that ?
And the seafood ..... wow. I never had seafood like it. Every single meal we ate while we were there was stunning. Yes, every single one !
You must go see it for yourself and you must visit Portofino and Cinque Terre at least once in your life. I can guarantee you'll love it.
Thanks for reading. It was even a pleasure writing this because it brought back so many great memories of an amazing short break.
Will we go back ? Hell yes. At the drop of a hat.
Thanks for dropping by.
