Rob loves boats. So when a visit to Portovenere was
suggested, he only heard the word “Port”. We’re off to visit this lovely
seaside town where you can catch a ferry to Cinque Terre. The road runs through Massa which means a
drive through the mountains. Villages are perched on the edges of cliffs and boy,
it’s a long way down. The view is simply
staggering.
So is Portovenere.
Churches hang over the sea. There is a cemetery with the
world’s best view. Looking over the brightly coloured houses is a castle. It’s
stuff straight from a fairy story. We rode on a boat to a little island called
Isola Palmaria where we found Loconda Lorena…a superb restaurant on the sea.
The owner (Giuseppe Basse) happily displays pictures of him with his guests
which include Rod Stewart, Gwyneth Paltrow, Warren Beatty, Michael Jordan,
Kylie Minogue (and now us). He is a large smiley man who knows how to throw a
mega wobbly when things don’t happen as they should (you can hear his
displeasure all over the restaurant). Very funny and so Italian. We were served
a fantastic seafood lunch with varieties of seafood cooked 20 ways. My Uncle
Antonio was in raptures and told me nine times how good the seafood is. By the
tenth, I said “you know Zio, we also have wonderful seafood in New Zealand and
Australia”
Zio looks at me and ponders. “Yes” he said “you do. It is
simply a pity that your chefs do not know how to cook it!”
I could not argue with that.
Bon Gusto.
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