Portofino, Italy

Michael was on a tour and I was on my own today in Portofino.  I only had the morning to explore before work; today I was on my own to run the game.  I debated getting off the ship because the past few days have been entirely exhausting.  As I have said before, being a tourist is hard work, and then you add being an escort on top of that.  A cruise enables you to see a little bit of a lot of places, so you do what you can to visit and see as much as possible in such a short time.  Plus we have to fit in work.  Feeling sorry for me yet??  LOL

Portofino is a delightful seaside village with about 800 permanent residents.  The population swells to 8,000 in season as visitors throng to this seaside resort on the Italian Riviera that had once been a fishing village.  Fishing boats called "gozzi" were anchored in the sheltered bay next to their big brothers and sisters, the mega yachts.  Surrounded by steep mountains, the journey here by boat is the preferred way to visit this village that was named for the dolphins that visited these waters in olden times.  Like most of the towns and villages on the Mediterranean Sea, the area has been occupied by one group or another for about 2,000 years.   

The ship anchored outside the bay, necessitating a tender ride to shore.  On the ride in, we could see buildings and a castle perched high upon the hills.  Turning into the bay, I saw a quaint town with brightly colored yellow, pink and orange buildings that were no more than four or five stories tall.  Insigna flag banners were strung from pole to pole around the harbor as a welcome to seafaring visitors.  Walking on cobblestone streets under grey skies, it was time to explore.

Portofino is tiny.  A stroll around the waterfront is quite enough for most visitors.  If you are feeling energetic, you can climb up to see the castle and the church, or you can take a hike.  I did the stroll.... and actually looked in some shops.  No husband around means ample time to look around without someone calling out, "aren't you done yet?"

Clothing and trinket shops were everywhere on the first floor of the buildings.  Outdoor cafes completed the rest of the promenade.  Pizza pizza pizza -- everywhere was pizza for consumption, plus a few seafood places completed the menu.  I took a side street and found a delightfully different shop that was about four feet wide but had an incredible selection of embroidered and lacy clothing items.  Since I am not buying souvenirs anymore, what harm could come to me for buying an unusual piece of clothing?  So I made my first purchase of the cruise -- one for me, and one for ....... yes you can guess who.  

Happy with my purchases, I continued my walk along the back streets and the promenade.  The skies were threastening rain, so it was time to head back to the tender for a ride back to the ship, and some pizza.