Day 6: Rapallo, Santa Margherita, and Portofino

In the U.S., traveling is simple: you hop in your car, follow directions on your phone, and you’re on your way. Easy. I love public transportation, though, and I wish the U.S. had better trains and subways. But figuring out public transit when we travel always feels like a big puzzle.

Today, we found the bus stop at a sports bar. Is this really it? There’s no sign. It doesn’t look like a bus stop. Oh, well. We wait, and soon our bus arrives… and drives right past us. Were we supposed to signal it to stop?

Okay. The next bus arrives in 15 minutes. This time, some other tourists arrive just before it does—they already have tickets. Are we supposed to buy tickets beforehand? Turns out, yes. We try to get on the bus, and sure enough, there’s no visible way to pay. Luckily, a kind man helps us download an app and buy tickets onboard.

It’s a lot of work, but in the end, it’s worth it. We connected with the locals and felt a great sense of accomplishment. We did it!

One thing I was really looking forward to was simply wandering, sitting down to enjoy a coffee, and not having a list of sights to check off. We spent a delightful, leisurely hour in Santa Margherita Ligure doing just that.

Then we had a gorgeous 1 1/2 hour walk along the coast to Portofino. Last time I came here I took a bus, and I’m really glad I walked it this time.

Jim and I have been watching Hotel Portofino on Amazon, and it was fun to recognize the places from the show. Portofino is a small, picturesque town popular with the wealthy, made famous by various Hollywood stars in the 1960s. It’s magnificent—truly beautiful.

We had a nice meal watching the fishermen and the tourists.

More wandering. More eating.

We are staying in Rapallo, which we chose because of its central location, and it also has a lot of charm.

We are having so much fun and I feel like I’m in a dream every day here.