Portofino, Sidewalk Cafe

The drive to Portofino was entertaining — a narrow twisty level road, right at the waters edge, following the coastline exactly, through more than one nice coastal town or village. Some rich and powerful people occupy the private villas that surround this little city, coexisting right alongside all the tourists who pour in by the busloads during the day. And they do pour in -- Portofino is almost too beautiful for its own good. The crowds can be amazing in the high season, filling the dozens of sidewalk cafes to overflowing. Our first visit was late October, long after the busy tourist season, so there were plenty of empty seats at this Cafe.

We had spent the night in our RV, hidden behind an apartment building. The next morning we watched a policeman walk slowly across the parking lot and approach our camper. With a smile and a wiggle of his finger he let us know camping was not permitted in Portofino, and we should not do it again.

Typical for Italy, some of the buildings appeared to be in need of paint, while other buildings were painted to look more fancy than they really were. Usually when Italians do paint a building, they do it with what must be “faded” paint, so the building looks like it was last painted many years ago. They paint Trompe-l’œil (made to deceive the eye, and it does) pictures on the outside walls, pictures that look like very realistic window shutters, with decorations, etc. Sometimes they even “create” windows on a blank wall, complete with window panes, shutters, with curtains blowing in the wind — it’s a work of art.