Saturday, December 15, 2007

Leaving San Gimignano for Liguria (10 of 10)

San Gimignano reminds me of a slice of heaven.

This last morning dawned - a rosy-pink, mist tipped day. We went downstairs to our bar for a cappuccino where we had the bright idea of asking if we could each buy a cup and saucer. To our surprise the barista said we could. They have the name of the coffee shop on the cup and it was only 3.5 euros each! Now in my house in Canberra, I have a cup from the famous Lavena bar in San Marco and also one from my favorite San Gimignano bar.

When the breakfast room opened at 7.30am we went to have breakfast then we went back downstairs to the square. As it was Thursday, it was market day again. What fun! We each bought a new handbag and mine was the color of a cafĂ© latte in butter soft leather. When it comes to handbags, I really think it’s true to say that, “Italians do it better”.

By this time it was almost 10am; check out time for Albergo La Cisterna. We took our luggage down to the foyer and my sister got the car and drove it up to the door of the hotel in Piazza La Cisterna, right up to the edge of the market. Then we drove down through the narrow streets, side mirrors tucked in of course and we set off for the long drive north to Liguria, where we were to spend a week at the wonderful Lido Palace Hotel on the beach in Santa Margherita before leaving from Rome.

Our room there was a large one, with a big living room attached and a wonderful balcony, all in the center of town, overlooking the beach. What a way to spend our final week in Italy. Strolling along the painted facade of Camogli, sipping a cappuccino in Portofino, photographing the views from Castle Brown, driving down to Portovenere… I can’t wait to go back!


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Walking up from Portofino to Castle Brown

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