Monday came around way to quickly over here…but then again, when doesn’t it?! We had a fun weekend celebrating my sister’s baby news, and stuffing our faces with my stepmom’s amazing cooking. It was hard to come home last night and prepare for a new school week, so let’s escape to the sunny coast of the Italian Riviera today, shall we?!
Genoa, Italy was the fifth stop on our Mediterranean cruise (after Sitges, Cartagena, Marbella and Provence), and I knew immediately we’d spend the day in Portofino. In fact, I even had a dress set-aside just for this day!
Our Royal Princess ship arrived to the port of Genoa (a big, bustling city carved in the cliffs) early, and we took a bus down the coast to Santa Margherita. From there, a water taxi took us to Portofino, Rapallo, and back to Santa Margherita. If I had it my way, I’d have spent my whole day in just Portofino. Heck, I’d spend a whole week there!
One of the pros of cruising is the number of places you’ll see in a single trip (without having to pack and unpack, or haul a suitcase!). One of the cons is the limited amount of time you get to spend in each place. For us, the stops were either enough to satisfy our desire to see that area, or fueled our passion to return again.
A few hours was definitely not enough for the pastel-colored fishing village of Portofino! As soon as our ferry arrived, we walked in the opposite direction of the crowds, and explored the area far above the main harbor, with views overlooking the town and Ligurian Sea.
For lunch we split a huge bowl of homemade pasta, while overlooking the blue waters and mega-yachts. Correction: We inhaled a huge bowl of pasta that had first been tossed in a giant cheese wheel! Really, does life get any better?! I had to refrain from rubbing my face in it.
We bussed back to the ship late in the day, and watched from our balcony as we sailed away from Genoa. Until next time, Italian Riviera!
Oh my goodness! I love Portofino! Beautiful pictures friend!
Wow! Beautiful! And congrats to your sister and her baby news.
Thanks so much!!! xoxo
GORGEOUS!!!!!! And that blue dress was made for you!
So pretty! Do you have any tips on taking photos while traveling? Your landscape photos are so gorgeous and colorful!
Thanks so much, Tasha! It's been a lot of practice…and learning to shoot in Manual mode made a huge difference. But honestly, the 'landscape' mode of my camera takes a darn good scenery pic! Some shots are quick grabs, but others I take the time to really frame it out…I will usually wait for people to clear out, or crouch down to get a different angle, too. I hope this helps!! xo
I love all things Italy! Northern Italy is a different kind of beautiful and is a must see if you can make it happen. Como, Stresa are super dreamy.
Wow! I want to go here so badly! Gorgeous photos and that dress is killer!
Suck a lovely place and that dress! If you go to como, stay in como. The trips on the lake, so many castles and gardens, and to just sit at a square and absorb the atmosphere and become one with the surrounding… Maybe check in a night at one of the superfancy villas for some old world luxury, I would recommend spending at least four days in como. If you want to visit switzerland, I would recommend vienna-bratislava-budapest, the old austro-hungarian empire has some pretty amazing history.
That sounds just lovely!! Thanks for the great tips! xo
Loving that Cornflower Blue dress – a real design classic 🙂
We are going this summer- do you remember where you ate? I LOVE your blog!
I’m so sorry, Heidi, but I don’t remember!!! But honestly, I’ve never had a bad meal in Italy, so it’s near-impossible to go wrong anywhere!!! have so much fun! xo