Here’s the latest edition of ‘travels with mio marito’ 
The word ‘riviera’ is derived from the Latin word ‘ripa,’ meaning coast. Most of us think of the riviera as the Mediterranean coast of France, thanks to old movies and publicity over the years. During the late 1950’s, there began a barrage of racy movies filmed on the French Riviera, with several starring French actress, Brigitte Bardot (‘B.B.’, now 89). Never in a thousand confessions would I have ever been allowed to see any of those movies, but that didn’t stop me and my 12 year old friends from passing around our anecdotal embellishments, based on publicity at the time. It must have been the cover photos on Look and Life magazines at our local supermarket displayed near the comic book section…
Allene and I finally made our first visits to the Riviera about thirty years later, when our cruise ship stopped in Nice, France for a couple days. It was a wonderful scenic stop but the beaches didn’t look too different from California. Today however, our knowledge of ‘Riviera’ now encompasses the much larger Italian Riviera, with possibly less glitz compared to the French version (and places such as Cannes and St. Tropez), but unsurpassed in scenery.
If you think of Italy’s long boot shape, at the top is the boot’s large folded flap. The eastern, right-hand portion of the flap is Venice and the upper Adriatic coast. On the left, western portion is Genoa and the region of Liguria, on the upper Mediterranean. All of the Ligurian coast is referred to as the Italian Riviera and is shaped like a crescent. The crescent is split into two sections by the city of Genoa, with the western side called the ‘Riviera di Ponente” that extends to the French border. The eastern side is the ‘Riviera di Levante’ extending past Cinque Terre to the port of La Spezia. Allene and I have visited both coasts but have mostly concentrated on our recent Italian visits to Riviera di Levante. Our home-away-from-home is the quiet seaside town of Sestri Levante, about an hour drive down the coast from Genoa. We have rented the same apartment in Sestri Levante many times.
By far, the most popular tourist destination of the Riviera di Levante is Cinque Terre, the spectacular five villages located at the southern end. Further north on the coast and closer to Genoa is Portofino, another stunningly beautiful and quaint Italian gem, and also popular with visitors. The crystal blue waters, colorful buildings and panoramic views make Portofino a ‘do not miss’ on any visitor itinerary. You can’t help but get that ‘la dolce vita’ feeling strolling its seaside promenade. We still have fond memories of a visit where we had a Portofino cafe table outside on a sunny day and sampled the ‘pasta al pesto.’ It was one of the first times we had tasted true Italian lasagna, that is served unlayered compared to the Americanized version…simply wide lasagna pasta noodles on a plate topped with pesto sauce and parmesan. Mmmm!
The town of Portofino sits on the shore of a large geographic promontory, the Portofino Peninsula. Most of the peninsula comprises the Portofino Natural Regional Park, with 50 miles of hiking trails. One of the most spectacular trails and a favorite hike of mine, is a 5.6 mile, 3 hour hike from the town of Portofino to San Fruttuoso. People rate it as an excellent, uncrowded hike. You follow the trail above the coastline and get spectacular seashore views, arriving at the remote cove of San Fruttuoso, a Benedictine abbey dating to the 1200’s. San Fruttuoso abbey is surrounded by a tiny, isolated village, with access only by trails or boat. The hike from Portofino is not strenuous, except for 15 minutes at the beginning, when you walk up from the seashore. The trails through most of the park are mostly flat and well marked with signs. The best part of all, as I’m always looking for the easy way out, is the passenger ferry that stops at San Fruttuoso hourly and will take you back to Portofino. A perfect one-way day hike excursion! Or, if you would like a full day hike, you can hike on to the large town of Camogli, which also has ferry service. While in San Fruttuoso you can have lunch and sip a beverage, or enjoy the beautiful swimming beach.
Public Transportation and Hotels: The best part of the Portofino Peninsula is experiencing breathtaking scenery and easy, uncrowded trails without the need for tour buses or rental cars. The whole thing is accessible by public transportation. The same coastal train route that provides stops further south to places like Cinque Terre and Sestri Levante, runs down to Pisa, where you can get connecting trains to Florence and Rome. Or, it continues north to Genoa, with connecting routes to Milan and Venice. The train stops south of the Portofino Peninsula in Santa Margherita, just 2 miles from Portofino, then stops just north, in Camogli. Hotels in Portofino are pricey but a bit more reasonable in Santa Margherita and Camogli. Get a hotel room for 2 nights in Santa Margherita , hop on the passenger ferry for a 15 minute ride to Portofino, and you are ready to hike. Or, if you aren’t interested in hiking, take the passenger ferry from Portofino to San Fruttuoso, enjoy it for an hour or so, and return on the ferry to Portofino.
Santa Margherita: We enjoy taking an easy train ride from Sestri Levante (where we are based) to Santa Margherita for the day. It is an enjoyable walking town and there is great shopping, restaurants, and outdoor cafes within feet of the seashore and beach.
If you don’t relish the feeling of being packed like sardines in a tin, you may want to escape the crowds and visit the Portofino Peninsula. Maybe that other Italian saying can be appreciated…’Il dolce far niente…’ the sweetness of doing nothing…’
Buon Viaggio!
