Santa Margherita

More like the French Riviera than the Italian Riviera, Santa Margherita is a bustling small town just south of Portofino.  John and I made this our base ten years ago so it was good to see it again.  Large expensive hotels line part of the shoreline and the busy little town buzzes with traffic.  My son, daughter in law and I were all amused to find that we had eaten at the same pizzeria on separate occasions a number of years ago...and the town has dozens of pizzerias.  I spied out the hotel John and I stayed in and the restaurant where we had enjoyed our best meal in Italy.  It was a real trip down memory lane.  We strolled out to a small restaurant on the marina ready to enjoy a leisurely lunch but the rain came together with a chill wind so we had lunch but it wasn't leisurely.

Santa Margherita on a rainy and wind swept day

 Catherine was keen to revisit a fine 500 year old villa on the hill overlooking the town and since the rain had stopped we made our way up there.  Unfortunately it started to bucket down when we reached the top of the hill, and the villa was shut.  Everything looked bleak so after a quick glance at the stunning but rain swept view and  sheltering for a long time under the trees we made our way back down the hill again.  An english wedding party were at the villa having photos taken and having to shelter under umbrellas in the rain, their romantic ideal of a wedding in Italy rather spoilt by the weather. We felt sorry for them  but they looked joyous enough. We caught the train back to Camogli to find glorious sunshine, no sign of rain and another perfect evening to hang out around the boat harbour.

A glorious evening in Camogli