Sexy Italia

On our first full day in Italy, Russ found an energy drink named “Sexy Italia” and it quickly became our slogan for our short time in Italy. After dropping off our rental car in Nice, we took a series of slow moving trains meet up with our friends Natalie and Michael in Santa Margherita Ligure. This was the first of our 4 night/5 day stay in Italy. We arrived later than expected (10:30pm) and immediately set out to fill our empty stomachs with delicious Italian cuisine. As we walked out of the restaurant, we noticed Michael and Natalie walking 5 meters away down the sidewalk. Wow! Meeting up was easy…then we headed out for a drink.


We started the next day with a trip to the nearby town of Portofino. Portofino is a small wealthy town. There is a harbor full of boats (ranging from huge yatchs to tiny two person boats) and gorgeous mansions perch above on the lush, green hillsides. Afterwards our early afternoon excursion we headed back to Santa Margherita’s centre for some food, drinks, and to watch world cup soccer. Italy was playing New Zealand so we wanted to sit amongst the locals and cheer for the local team. After months, maybe even years, of anticipation, Lee-Anne finally got to do some shopping in Italy. Lee-Anne finally had the chance to try on real Italian leather boots, and grope at finally tailored handbags, both that became valued possessions.

That evening we enjoyed our best meal in Italy (and one of our top meals ever!) at a small authentic, non-touristy restaurant that our hotel’s concierge recommended. Also, after our meal, one of the owners had a puppy that Natalie and I fell in love with. On our walk home we ran into the uber-friendly, Argentinean (and extremely handsome – think a young Antonio Banderes) waiter at the bar where we watched the soccer game. We had a long philosophical and political conversation with him and then decided to have a drink there. Another perfect day.

After taking advantage of the beach and rooftop sundeck of our hotel in Santa Margherita, the four of us ventured on to Vernazza, one of the towns in Cinque Terra. The scenic, yet much longer than expected drive, to Vernazza was a tad challenging. First, we had difficulty finding Cinque Terra. After an hour navigating the windy, mountainous roads to Cinque Terra we noticed the one road into Vernazza was closed due to a rockslide from the storm we have unwillingly have been chasing. We had to drive to a nearby town and lug all of our baggage (no wonder why it’s called lug-gage) in by train. Of course we took the wrong train, had to back track back to where we needed to go.

Cinque Terre is one of the reasons why Lee-Anne has always wanted to travel to Italy, and it did not disappoint her. Vineyards, olive trees, and luscious gardens cover the terraced mountains maintained by the same sturdy families that have lived there for centuries. Our full day there started by going to the bakery and getting breakfast to eat on our semi-private rugged terrace over looking the Mediterranean. Natalie’s knee and foot were in pain from the travel the day before so we took our time getting to the first of the five villages that make up Cinque (“five” in Italian) Terre. Russ and Lee-Anne split up from Natalie and Michael and went off to scamper up the top of the town of Riomaggiore to take scenic photos. We walked between the towns stopping for more delicious sea-side pasta and seafood (where Lee-Anne fell in love with Anchovies marinated in lemon). The last of the hikes was a bit more of a hike than a walk. Sore feet called for a bottle of excellent Italian wine (Brunello di Montalcino) with friends on our terrace before we shared one last dinner with Natalie and Michael. After dinner, Michael and Russ couldn't resist the urge to join a handful of people playing soccer on the small Vernazza beach.