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Pesto Pizza

 Today we got an early 8am start (for us) for our day trip to Portofino!


We had a nice chat at breakfast in the hostel with an older French couple who were driving through Spain, and then with a lady from California who, after finding out we were Canadian, immediately said “I’m so sorry, we hate him too”. After finishing up in the cramped kitchen, we caught the train to Santa-Margherita Ligure. 


This is a small Italian resort town along the beautiful Ligurian coast. It was absolutely bustling with bathing-suit clad Italians enjoying the sunshine! 


We didn’t stay in town long, as we started a hike to Portofino. Our hike was more of an upward walk through the countryside and forest on mostly paved paths. It was lovely and quite shady, which was great considering the heat!

Starting our hike

Views over the countryside

Puppy encouragement!

Nearing Portofino

Beautiful hike views


After 2 hours of walking, we reached our destination: the iconic port side town of Portofino. 

The marina in Portofino

Colourful houses

With our momentum, we kept walking to the tip of the peninsula, to the lighthouse! Turns out you can’t actually go to the lighthouse, and it’s just a restaurant at the end (with no place to sit unless you buy food) but the view was still lovely!

Walking to the lighthouse

We meandered down to a tiny beach, Spiaggai dell’Olivetta, and we were lucky enough to get a seat in the shade. Here, we enjoyed our well earned focaccia and other lunch snacks while enjoying the Mediterranean breeze. 

The little beach where we had lunch

An absolute must in Portofino is to visit Castello Brown. It’s an old fortress with lots of history, but the views are really the selling point here. Although it did cost 8 euros per person, it’s so worth it for the stunning panoramic views of the coastline. 

Views onto Portofino 

Looking over the coast

Looking over the beach bay where we had lunch

You wouldn’t be able to tell the views are this nice from the castello, so generally it’s not too packed!


We enjoyed the beautiful views and the huge yachts of all the rich folks who make Portofino their seaside vacation spot. It’s very expensive here! 


Our walk back to Santa Margarita was just as nice as the hike to Portofino. We walked along the Passeggiata dei Baci, or “walk of the kisses”. This is a nice walking path right by the coast. Occasionally it spits you onto the road, but you really don’t mind with the beautiful views. 

Starting the Passeggiata dei Baci

Overlooking our future vacation house

Looking back at the yachts in Portofino


There are small beaches hidden along this coast, separated by stretches of rocky cliffs. And all throughout there are spots where you can stop for a swim! We chose a small beach just by Pedale. 

Our swimming spot

Although the ground was very rocky, the water was fantastic. So warm and such a nice relief from walking in the hot weather. 


We had to hustle back for our train, but we made it back in time to catch the train back to Genova. 

Made it back to Santa Margherita 


For dinner we tried to go out to three restaurants, but everywhere was full with reservations! Who knew that you had to reserve for a pizza place. Luckily, we were able to order takeout from the last place we tried, La piazzetta del Pisacane.


On an impulse, I got a pizza with Genovese pesto, potatoes, and green beans. It was good and I’m glad I tried it but honestly it was waaaay too much pesto! I’m now really convinced that red sauce is king when it comes to pizza. 

Pesto Pizza


Don’t get me wrong, I still ate the whole pizza. After today’s 34 000 steps, I deserve it.

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