Rapallo

Where is it?

Rapallo is a beautiful coastal town in Liguria, Italy, where the mountains sweep down into the Mediterranean. It’s excellently located as a gateway for both Portofino and the 5 towns that make up Cinque Terre. It has excellent transport links as it’s just off the main toll road and has frequent rail and ferry services*, with specific tourist ferries running during the season. Due to the mountainous terrain it’s often easier, and certainly more scenic, to travel by boat rather than by car. In fact, many of the more popular towns are best appreciated by approaching from the sea, as they would have been historically.

*Unfortunately, at the time of our visit, Rapallo harbour was being dredged so the ferry to San Fruttuoso was not running from there and the ferry to Cinque Terre was not yet running again. This wasn’t too much of a problem as we could get everywhere we needed to by train, or train and reasonable walk, but it would have been the cherry on the cake.

A close up of a map

Description automatically generated — Rapallo to La Spezia (Genoa is to the left just off picture)

From Rapallo you can walk to Santa Margherita, but it’s only one stop on the train if you prefer. There is a fabulous waterside boardwalk that runs from Santa Margherita Ligure along the coast and then you can take the “Walk of kisses” to Portofino. Some nearby towns can only be accessed by ferry, so make sure you check the return times. The ferry that usually runs from Rapallo goes to Portofino. As the ferry to Cinque Terre was not available we took the train, which was easy and relatively inexpensive.

What’s there?

A palm lined seafront, a reminder that the French Riviera is just up the road, extends along the length of the town, from one side of the castle (now exhibition space), though Piazza IV Novembre where Christopher Columbus points towards his home town, Genoa, and on to the main harbour. Like many Ligurian towns it has some excellent examples of Trompe L’oeil, which is a French painting technique but for the reasons outlined in the link has been made a Ligurian feature. Fake windows and ornate faux plaster details are common.

Rapallo remains more of a normal working town than a tourist destination and so has all the amenities that you would expect from a residential town. It has excellent shops combining the usual high street stores more inland and independent stores in the narrower lanes by the seafront. Restaurants and bars are scattered throughout. You can buy excellent local produce at the many grocers, bakeries, pasta shops, fish shops, market stalls and butchers. This made it a great choice for us because we had the option of buying things to cook at the apartment or going to a restaurant. The produce market is open most days (not Sunday) in Piazza Venezia, but there is a general market on Thursdays which runs along the sea front road (which is closed for this purpose).

The cable car will take you up to a monastery in the mountains. It takes about 30 minutes to make the ascent and the views over the sea and surrounding countryside are stunning. It’s reasonable priced and runs frequently. We recommend getting the cable car up and then using the pilgrim path (donkey track) to walk back down.

Where to stay?

Our online search returned great accommodation in good locations, in fact given the global pandemic we were spoilt for choice and much lower than usual rates. We wanted the option to cook for ourselves, so we opted for self-catering.

The Air B&B we booked was centrally located in a residential block set back from a main esplanade to the castle and the sea. It had a lift, aircon, Wi-Fi and views of the mountain behind Rapallo. As we were the top floor apartment we had a balcony/terrace which included a BBQ so we could admire the setting sun and the mountain view while we ate. Parking was in the private road, if you could get a spot, which we did. Joe, our host, was very friendly and helpful.

Where to eat and drink?

The food and drink options are so good in Rapallo we put together a short selection of our favourite places.

Breakfast (or lunch) and coffee

We only have one entry here because we went here on the first day and were not tempted to deviate.

Tossini

This pasticceria is a local institution. The brioche (pastries) are amongst the best I have ever eaten. The coffee is excellent and the staff are friendly. If its breakfast you are after they have a range of brioche displayed under the glass counter, there are also other sweet treats. If it’s lunchtime they serve focaccia col formaggi as well as salads, panini and pizzette. You order and pay at the counter. It has seating inside and out. We liked the seating in the back porch overlooking the piazza.

Aperitivo

As many of you know we are big fans of the Aperitivo and Rapallo has many great options. In this area a second round of drinks is likely to result in a second round of nibbles being delivered to your table. They don’t always ask if you want more when you order your drink, but they won’t be offended if you turn food away. In one location we had so much Aperitivo we scrapped our plans to go out for dinner and just had some snacks back at the apartment. As we usually cocktail with our Aperitivo, I have used the cost of an average cocktail as an indicator of price.

Bar Enoteca Il Castello

Cost: €6-8 for a cocktail from a fairly comprehensive list.

Features: As this is an Enoteca they have an impressive wine list with some wines available in the half bottle. Tables inside and out both provide sea views. It’s on a little parade of bars overlooking the castle and is a great place to watch the sun set over the bay. Staff are friendly and accommodating.

Special knowledge: Ask inside if they have a “tavolo sotto” and if there are any available you will get shown downstairs, under the main bar, and to a table on the waterfront rocks. You can’t book and people will wait outside the bar for a table to become available.

Taverna Gallo Nero

Cost: €6-8 for a cocktail from a good list, with special seasonal cocktails.

Features: Tables in one of the narrow lanes close to the seafront, also more inside if you prefer. Very friendly staff who made the effort to chat with us. Great beer selection including craft ales from around the world and a good wine list.

Bloody Mary Enoteca

Cost: €6-8 for a cocktail from possibly the longest list I have ever seen.

Features: As they are an enoteca they have a good wine list and they sell craft ales including their own. The bar itself is quite small so it has mainly outside tables along a narrow lane towards the back of the sea front area.

Sky bar Royal 8

Cost: €14-20 for a cocktail (be aware there is a €15 pp minimum spend) from a sophisticated list. Probably the best cocktails we had but by far the most expensive.

Features: It’s a hotel sky bar with views over the Marina and the rest of Rapallo harbour. The best quality nibbles we had but this was reflected in the price. You will probably need to book, which is done through the hotel reception. We were gratified that the clientele were not quite as snobbish as we have seen in similar UK establishments. All in all, a fabulously decadent treat.

Dining

Along the seafront there are the more touristy restaurants who sell everything from Pizza to regional dishes such as trofie and pesto, or seafood pasta. There is also a Chinese restaurant and a Japanese all you can eat buffet which has a robot waiter! In the lanes immediately behind the front there are more restaurants and bars with shops mingled in. As this is Italy all restaurants sell the regional cuisine. In more touristy places you will find Spaghetti Bolognese on the menu (see previous post). Our favourites were:

O Bansin

Great for quality Ligurian comfort food. Al and I shared the focaccia with cheese and the marinated anchovies for antipasti. Trofie and pesto for primi and we shared a braised rabbit dish. We were too full for pudding, but I am sure it would have been delightful. We ate in the back of the restaurant in what looks like a converted boat shed. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable.

Hosteria Vecchia

Combining traditional Ligurian cuisine with innovation. This is the most fine dining restaurant in our selection and was an excellent choice for my birthday meal. They serve regional dishes with a high quality finish and taste and at the same time are not afraid to add a twist. We had the ravioli con salsa noci (ravioli in a walnut sauce) to share after our antipasti. Al’s beef tartare was prepared tableside which added a theatrical touch. My main course was less glamourous but no less delicious. We drank a bottle of local wine recommended by the sommelier, which was fresh and lovely. The staff here were professional, accommodating and friendly.

Ristorante Vesuvio

This is the only sea front restaurant in our selection, with views across the bay and one of the least touristic menus. The daily menu does not include pizzas so you may need to ask for their pizza list, which is comprehensive. However, their seafood pastas are great examples of the regional cuisine. The staff are friendly and it’s in a great location for you to get a feel for the town and find your bearings. The prices are reasonable given the location, but there is a cover charge.

The end of the holiday

We enjoyed our time in Rapallo immensely. There was something different to do everyday, but at the same time, there were places we returned to again and again. We were very lucky with the weather and that we were able to take advantage of the absence of tourists. We were welcomed everywhere we went and found all the people we met to be warm and friendly. We definitely plan to visit again as there are some things we simply didn’t have enough time to do.

July 20, 2020

Liguria

As I mentioned in my last post, we decided to take a holiday in the Ligurian region of Italy. Each Italian region has its own unique cuisine, features and identity so I put together this short, and incomplete, guide. I will post more about our specific trip and the locations we visited over the next couple of weeks, but I wanted to provide an overview of this spectacular area.

General Information

Liguria is one of Italy’s smallest region. It’s situated in the north-west of the country and borders with France. A region of mountains (Apennines and Alps) running into the sea, forming beautiful coves and where towns cling to the cliffs and valleys. It’s home to some of the most beautiful beaches in Italy, the picturesque towns of the Cinque Terre (5 lands) as well as the jet set’s favourite Portofino[1]. Genoa is the capital city of Liguria and is Italy’s biggest port so it combines a heavy current industry with the ancient harbour and the largest medieval centre in Europe[2].

Activities

There seem to be activities for everyone. There are the Apennines and the Alps for keen walkers offering all levels of mountain trekking and several parks and reserves form part of the landscape. There are fantastic beaches to explore, many of which are blue flag, with some offering water sports equipment hire. You can view an array of yachts and working boats or hire a boat for the day from the many harbours. There are beautiful, colourful old towns and villages stuffed full of churches, galleries, museums and historic architecture as well as Etruscan archaeology. If you want the hustle and bustle of the city you can go to Genoa, with is ancient harbour and famous aquarium as well as the medieval centre and an area of merchant palazzi (now mostly banks) which form a UNESCO world heritage site.

Poets and artists

The romantic landscape of Liguria, with its cloud covered mountains and sparkling sea, colourful towns and small harbours have long since attracted a literary crowd. Byron famously swam from Porto Venere to Lerici. Percy Shelley drowned here while on holiday with Mary Shelley, indeed, this area is now called “The Bay of Poets”. D.H. Lawrence recuperated from tuberculosis in Spotorno and was allegedly inspired to write “Lady Chatterley’s lover” while staying there. Even Ernest Hemingway was a regular feature and had a noted spot in a Genoese bar, and that’s just some of the writers! If I am feeling mean spirited I would add that this is in part due to its long associations with the well to do and the fact that many literary and artistic figures were either themselves wealthy or given patronage by those that were. However, the landscape here is unbelievably beautiful so it’s no surprise so many people should have been, and continue to be, inspired by it. The quality of the light reminded us of St Ives, the artistic enclave in the UK, which seems to conspire to make everything incredibly picturesque.

Weather

The sea and the mountains combine to provide slightly cooler temperatures than we were used to and less humidity but it felt much hotter in the sun. The fresher conditions were just what we were looking for as Bologna is always humid but becomes increasingly so as the summer progresses. Another benefit of the weather conditions seemed to be a reduction in the number of mosquitos.

How to get there and get around

By Air

There is an airport at Genoa, which is probably the most convenient if you are travelling from overseas.

By Train

Trains run frequently throughout the region, including intercity trains to/from Milan etc. Regional trains are cheap and cheerful, intercity and Freccia trains are air conditioned and luxurious but cost more.

Tickets and seats

You need to buy a ticket before you travel and, where indicated, you must validate your ticket at the machine (usually at the entrance to the platform) before you board. You can book a seat on the intercity and Freccia trains, but not on the cheaper regional ones. During the corona virus restrictions you were required to provide some additional information when you booked your ticket and there were clear instructions on the platform and on the trains themselves about what you needed to do, where you could sit, where to get on and off the train carriage etc.

By Ferry

You can usually travel around the Cinque Terre and between coastal villages by ferry, particularly during the high season. Tickets can be bought in a ticket booth at the ferry departure point. Sadly during our visit Rapallo harbour was under maintenance and the Cinque Terre ferries were not running, however we were able to get the ferry from Santa Margherita Ligure to Portofino and San Fruttuoso.

By Car

The main roads are toll roads and run through many tunnels and across viaducts. You are issued a ticket when you join and are required to insert the ticket and pay at the pay point when you leave. It can all be done by credit or bank card. It cost us €18 for the whole stretch from Bologna to Rapallo. The more minor roads are twisting and winding up and down mountains and valleys, which can be more physically demanding than you may be used to, they’re also sometimes single track and you can’t help notice that there are bus stop signs either side of the road here so you need to be vigilant for passing points. These roads take longer to navigate than their length might suggest as it’s not often possible to drive them at, or close to, the speed limit, however they also offer some of the best views.

Parking

Each town or city in Italy is likely to have a ZTL (Traffic limited zone), you need to keep to the main through roads and look for parking outside the ZTL if you want to avoid a fine. Fines are done by traffic camera not wardens so you are not likely to find out if you have received a fine immediately. However, we have always found ZTL maps and parking locations easy to find on the internet so as long as you check ahead you should be fine free.

What to eat

Ligurian cuisine truly reflects its location with dishes from both the sea and the mountains. On many menus you will find:

Antipasti (appetiser)

Focaccia col formaggio/pizza (focaccia with cheese/cheese and tomato) – very thin focaccia with cheese/cheese and tomato inside, toasted and served in squares. This is gooey and delicious, but portions can be large so be careful!

Acciughe marinato (marinated anchovies) – butterflied fresh anchovies in a light marinade. Served with a lemon wedge. A breaded and fried version is also common.

Primi (pasta)

Spaghetti allo scoglio (spaghetti with seafood) – pretty much what it says it is. Served in a tomato sauce. The seafood is served whole with a bowl for shells. Fingers are licked clean with a moist lemon towelette to finish up.

Spaghetti agli scampetti (spaghetti with local scampi) – served in a tomato sauce shell on. Again, comes with a bowl for shells and a towelette.

Trofie al pesto (local pasta shape coated in pesto) – a local kind of pasta that resembles a square of pasta rolled up on the diagonal, the pasta is coated in pesto (N.B. some place may make the pesto authentically with the necessary ingredients in a pestle and mortar but this would be expensive so on a menu you are likely to be getting a pesto with less premium ingredients and made in a blender. However as discussed, fresh pesto is a beautiful thing). This dish is also often served with potatoes and beans (patate e fagiolini).

Ravioli in salsa di noci (stuffed pasta with nut sauce) – meat or fish stuffed pasta with a sauce of crushed walnuts.

Secondi (main)

Coniglio (Rabbit) – Often quartered and braised with vegetables.

Fresh local fish – depending on the season and what is available that day. Restaurants may also indicate on the menu where they are using frozen fish.

General eating

Genoese Pesto

I cannot over emphasise what a difference in taste you get from pesto made using artisanal processes. Some of you may have made pesto before and if so, you will have found that freshly made pesto tastes infinitely, well fresher, than anything you can buy in a jar, that’s true here as well. However, the version available in Liguria is infinitely better still. It is all made in a pestle and mortar. When you eat it you can taste each component part as well as the whole and it is incredibly fresh and light. As you can imagine this is a labour intensive process and so a tub of the genuine stuff is expensive but well worth it. As always with Italian food, it’s the quality of the products that make the dish, simple but irresistible. Here is a link to the “official” pesto recipe.

Olives

Famous for both the olives themselves and their oil. Oil here is often bottled and consumed young so you can find bottling dates and best before dates on the labels. They are considered among the best olives and olive oil in Italy.

Basil

Specifically, the DOP basil (grown in a specific area in a certified way). They use this in their famous pesto and many other regional dishes and drinks. Basil granita is not an unusual sight in Gelateria (Ice cream shops).

What to drink?

Cocktails

Many bars offer cocktails as part of their Aperitivo. The lists vary in length and complexity. They may also feature local twists such as basil or local spirits such as Nocino (a nut liqueur)

White wine

Pigato – An old local variety[3] that seems to be closely related to Vermentino, but the grapes have duskier skins and the finished wine has a drier taste. It’s thought its freshness comes from the grapes growing close to the sea.

Cinque Terre – a wine from the local Bosco and Albarola grape varieties[4]. Its fresh and light tasting.

Vermentino- Although a dry white wine, this is the sweetest and most aromatic of the local wines.

Red Wine

Dolceacqua – A red wine produced from the indigenous Rossese grape. A fresh red with scent of the sea, wild berries and Mediterranean flowers[5]

Summary

As you can see, there is plenty to do and eat in this region and it’s well worth the visit. We will certainly be returning to experience some the things we weren’t able to squeeze in on this occasion as well as revisit the places that we really enjoyed. More information on where to stay and what to do can be found here.

[1] ‘Liguria’ (Italian Tourism Official Website, 2020) <http://www.italia.it/en/discover-italy/liguria.html> accessed 3 July 2020

[2] ‘Liguria’ (En.wikipedia.org, 2020) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liguria> accessed 3 July 2020

[3] ‘Pigato, Vendita E Prezzi Pigato | Callmewine’ (Callmewine.com, 2020) <https://www.callmewine.com/pigato-V216.htm> accessed 19 July 2020.

[4] ‘Cinque Terre Bianco | Callmewine’ (Callmewine.com, 2020) <https://www.callmewine.com/cinque-terre-bianco-V79.htm> accessed 19 July 2020.

[5] ‘Rossese Di Dolceacqua | Callmewine’ (Callmewine.com, 2020) <https://www.callmewine.com/rossese-V247.htm> accessed 19 July 2020.

July 11, 2020July 11, 2020

High days and holidays

I must admit that when Al first suggested going on holiday a mere two weeks after returning to work and with me still looking for a job, I thought it was a bit indulgent even by our standards. He made two strong and valid points.

We had been in quarantine, not on holiday. We hadn’t chosen to stay in nor to be furloughed/have our contracts lapsed. It was not relaxing or without stress and it impacted negatively on our sleep and mental health. There was and remains a level of fear about the virus, but as there were less need for restrictions we could move forward.
There were no tourists and a once in a lifetime opportunity to see some places empty in a way they probably never will be again. This in itself would enable us to take advantage of places that were usually too full of tourists or too expensive, whilst also supporting those local economies adversely impacted.

High Days

When I thought about it, I knew it made sense. Many of you are probably also feeling bored of looking at the same four walls and streetscapes, no matter how lovely they are, after 3 months of lockdown. Just as we visited Ravenna and Modena when the within region restrictions were lifted to give ourselves a change of scene and a chance to do the exploring we came here for, so we also began to look further afield as the Regional restrictions were lifted. We have a renewed hunger for the outside world and all that it has to offer.

Holidays

We had previously planned to go on holiday for the end of June/beginning of July for my birthday and to attend an outdoor festival in Milan to watch Faith No More. Although the festival was not officially postponed immediately, Faith No More had already begun to cancel and reschedule the tour and the writing was on the wall for live music generally. As we were still in lockdown at this time thoughts of our holiday drifted from our minds, until now…

As we started to look there seemed to be a lot of deals and discounts around, which meant we could search in areas that are usually completely out of our price range. This included the beautiful Cinque Terre on the Ligurian coast. We had looked at this area for our honeymoon and even with that expanded budget it was far too expensive for us. However, at the moment, many holiday operators and holiday homeowners are desperate to rescue their summer season and so bargains are aplenty. We found a very reasonably priced air B&B with air con in a central location, Rapallo.

Having taken the leap and decided on a holiday in Liguria we were delighted that although some things were not open or not running this was more than made up for by the fact we pretty much had all the main sites to ourselves, give or take a handful of brave French or Swiss adventurers. There was so much to see, do, eat and drink that I am putting the details in separate posts which I will upload over the next couple of weeks and link here.

In fact, it was so successful that when we returned, we immediately booked a shorter escape to another of Italy’s usually tourist stuffed treasures. If you are thinking of new adventures and a change of scene, while boosting a local economy and taking a silver lining of sorts from the last few months, I highly recommend it.