Last Sunday for about the cost of a T ride in Boston, or €2.20 we took the train to Santa Margherita Ligure, a costal town about an hour south of Genova along the Costa Levante.  It’s also the jumping off point for reaching Portofino.  In Santa Margherita Ligure we climed onto a croweded bus full of tourist and day trippers to make the windy, 20 minute drive out the Portofino peninsula to Portofino.  The bus dropped us off in a small parking lot.  From there we wandered down the gently sloping main pedestrian street, shaded by three or four story buildings on either side, until we found ourselves in the scene from all the postcards – Portofino cove.

What makes Portofino so beaufitul is that it has a row of a few dozen brightly colored houses, which is the typical Ligurian style, lined up along the side of the small cove.  The houses stretch from the mouth of the harbor to a little beach at the inner harbor where small boats and fishing net are piled up.  Along this side there is an abundance of open air cafes where people sit for hours enjoying the sun, the cuisine and the atmosphere. On the opposite side of the cove you can stroll along a walkway built a few meters above sea level next to the steeply sloping hills to get a picture perfect view of the cove. 

From this side of the cove there is a stairway that leads up to a walkway to Chiesa di San Carlo and Castello Brown, both of which have amazing views of the cove from a hill overlooking Portofino.  The walkway continues past Castello Brown, winding further out on the Portofino peninsula past locked cast iron gates and security cameras that undoubtedly lead to georgeous, though hidden villas of the rich and famous, until finally it ends at il faro, or the light house.  From here there are sweeping views of the Costa Levante including the towns of Santa Margherita Ligure and Rapello further south, and maybe even the hills and cliffs of Cinque Terre.  Down below the rocky cliffs we saw scuba divers and kayakers enjoying the crystal blue water.

There is a little viewing area at il fano that fills up with hikers who made the walk out to the point.  This is where I had my first real taste of the Italian “bella figura,” or custom of always looking your best.  Spinkled between the 20 or so hikers who made the walk to il faro were a few Italian women decked out in skirts and high heels.  True, the walk isn’t all that strenuous, but with the stairs, hills, and cobblestone pavement in some places, I was glad to have left my heels at home.