Portovenere

This morning I was up quite early and had breakfast at the B&B again, then I found the post office and paid 10€ to post four postcards to Australia.  I don't think I'll be posting too many of those going forward!  People will just have to content themselves with updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Blog....!

Then, even though I had eaten breakfast, I went to a local cafe/bar where the other day I had seen the most magnificent pastries being fresh delivered.  I ordered a cafe latte (flat white) and one of the doughnuts that were filled with vanilla custard.  The doughnuts (no hole in the middle) were not dense at all, rather, almost 'empty', and there wasn't too much custard in the middle.  It was bellissima!

The plan for today was to get a ticket for a scenic boat tour to Portovenere.  It is a large boat that travels between all five towns of Cinque Terre and then goes on to Portovenere, and there is also an option to take a smaller boat to three nearby islands.

I got on the boat and took a seat downstairs because upstairs looked full, but I sat on the bench on the side of the boat so that I was facing into the seats in the middle of the boat.  People watching is one of my favourite pastimes after all.  The boat was filling up quickly, and imagine my delight when four strapping young dark haired men walked on, and the seats immediately in front of me were vacant.  Alas, they walked on by and settled elsewhere.  However, you can then imagine my elation when the fattest woman on the boat, (wearing only a bikini I might add) parked her fat arse in that very seat!  Managgia la miseria!

But I digress... I had never heard of Portovenere before now but it appears you could throw a dart at the map of Italy and you wouldn't be disappointed.  Once again I was delighted at the rows of colourful apartments lining the esplanade on arrival.

(Note how blue the waters are.)

Now I know you don't care to know every time I have to go to the toilet, but I have to tell you that when we docked in Portovenere I found the first 'pristine' public toilet I have ever seen in Italy.  Most have been nothing short of disgusting.  I had to pay 0.50€ for the privilege, but I gladly would have paid more!  It was as clean as my own toilet at home!  A pleasant, pleasant surprise.

Then I made my way to the castle ruins, but I didn't follow the crowds of tourists on the slow incline up, I chose another more scenic route, up about 150 stairs.  So pretty.  The castle was nothing short of spectacular, and looking around you just have to wonder what poor bastards had to slave away to build it, and how, and also how the darn thing was engineered in the first place.  Amazing.  

The castle sits at the peak of a bay, and so from most corners of the castle you have spectacular views of the ocean, nearby islands and Portovenere itself.  Obviously that was by design, in order to have good visibility of the enemy approaching, but by golly gosh what a sight for travellers to enjoy!

After exploring the castle, I made my way to the little church at the peak of the bay, then wandered back into town.  I stopped for lunch in a little authentic restaurant, and enjoyed a hearty plate of spaghetti con pesto.  The flavours in this pesto were fantastic.  I savoured every bite.  It is a great thing knowing that you can literally go into any restaurant in these little towns and be assured you're going to get the real deal.  (I rarely eat at Italian restaurants in Australia, because you can usually be guaranteed a better meal at home.)  At the end of the meal they gave me a complimentary dessert wine with biscuit.  Winning.

I ended up spending so much time in Portovenere that I missed the boats to the three islands.

It was such a pleasure to stumble upon this little delight today.  Usually when I travel I know what I'm going to be doing when.  But I had no plans for Portovenere, so I think that makes this little gem all the more stunning.

On the boat back, I decided to stop at Riomaggiore again, just to remind myself of the place.  And then I got the next boat back direct to Monterosso.  I made my way back to the B&B and showered and rested (because I've clearly exhausted myself on this trip so far), before stepping out for a quick light meal.  After today's spaghetti, I didn't want too much, so I just had an Insalata Caprese.  It wasn't as good as the one from yesterday, not too mention that about four flies wanted to be my friend and share my food.  I spent most of the meal waving my hands about... I think the least the staff could do was wave a palm leaf over me... Jaysus...

I then went into a shop and finally purchased a leather bag I had eyed off when I first got here.  And managed to get 5€ off the price.  Is that good?

Tonight is my last night in Cinque Terre, and I am so very sad to have to leave in the morning.  I can feel my heart breaking.  I even had fleeting thoughts of re-organising my travels so I could stay longer, but that would mean missing out on something else.  So I must leave.