English is the preferred language at the Villa Gnocchi, by the proprieter, staff, and certainly the guests who seem to be mostly Americans, with little Italian facility. This is somewhat disappointing, but we amuse ourselves with the travels of an American woman from table to table on the terrace in an attempt to find a spot unbothered by the bees. This specifically territorial trait of bees is unknown to me, and apparently unknown to the bees themselves, who doggedly pursue this woman and her tray of food.
Our plans for the day are to stroll down to town, continue on to Portofino, and get a ferry to San Fruttuoso for some swimming. We have asked Villa Gnocchi’s proprieter, Roberto Gnocchi, to get us reservations at La Puny in Portofino for dinner, but upon arrival, he assures us that they are unnecessary.
Off we go, down Via Romana, a gorgeous little footpath that takes one down to town in about 15 minutes through olive groves and villas. We stop for a little restorative coffee at Caffé del Borgo on Piazza Mazzini in town. This café provided the only bad service experience of our visit. We have no explanation for the pointed rudeness with which the waitress treated us, but it was truly over-the-top. Every request (for 2 coffees and a pastry, made in Italian) was greeted with a frown, while those at neighboring tables with served with good cheer and smiles. We were pleased to finally get the check (after waiting some time, during which another couple arrived, had coffee, asked for their check, received it, paid, and LEFT!), and leave. Inexplicable.
(A villa along the route from SML to Portofino)
We continued onward to the shore, and checked the ferry schedule. The earlier stormy seas had abated and the ferry was running on schedule, so we set off on foot for Portofino as planned. Lovely villas lined the way, and it was a delightful walk, though strangely long for the 2 miles we were told it would be! After walking for some time, and seeing a sign for Portofino, “the jewel of Italian tourism”, in 2km, we coined a new slogan: “Portofino—it’s farther than you think!”.
(Finally, Portofino!)
In any case, we finally came upon this little town, and indeed enjoyed it’s jewel-like nature, though it didn’t seem to have much reality about it.
We had some lunch and some people-watching at Lo Stella, in Portofino. Very tasty, and very pricey, just as one would expect! We decided to forgo hiking up to Castello Brown, where the movie Enchanted April was filmed, and instead simply enjoy the view over our food and drink while awaiting our ferry to San Fruttuoso. We checked in a Da Puny restaurant, and found that it was closed all day, certainly news to us given our communications with our B&B host, Roberto! We decided to wing dinner in SML, and continued on our scheduled trip to San Fruttuoso.
(A mosaic at the San Fruttuoso ferry landing)
San Fruttuoso is a lovely old abbey, accessible only by sea or by foot. Its position and its charming little beach has made it a divine swimming hole for the fortunate, and pricey restaurants have sprung up alongside the abbey to serve the needs of the water and sunbathers. It’s a lovely spot to while away the afternoon, and we do exactly that, accompanied by not too terribly many people, and several patient beach cats.
We hop on the 4:30 ferry back to SML, passing through Portofino on the way again. The fresh sea air is a good antidote to the sun and food we’ve taken in all afternoon! However, this detoxification is followed immediately by retoxification upon landing in SML- we make the rounds of the waterfront cafés and try out several different cocktails and compare their spreads of nibblies.
We then toddle off down the streets of SML, in search of La Paranza, described in a guidebook to be considered by locals one of the best restaurants in town, though not necessarily elegant. Sounds great to us, but when we arrive there, it seems a bit empty and a bit gloomy. A perusal of the menu reveals not much intriguing, so we move on. I have made a cryptic note in my journal of “Trattoria Cesarina”, so we follow up on that, track it down, and come upon a delightful little table-filled sidewalk as we turn a corner on Via Mameli. We go for it, and couldn’t be happier. Course after course arrives, after a consultation with our enthusiastic waiter, who has final say on what to bring! We start with some prosecco, accompanying our salami with baked whole figs. That’s followed by an octopus salad, a novella (baby octopus)/shrimp/shellfish salad, then a stuffed anchovy dish (the waiter proclaims that the delicious filling is “TOP SECRET”!), a pesto-filled ravioli with walnut sauce, a baked “ricciola” (a lovely fish, whose English name I don’t know), a pear cake, some cream ice cream with pralines and cookies, and finally some watermelon. Accompanying the main meal was some Vigna Intrigoso Vermentino 2002 Bisson. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! I recommend this place whole-heartedly. I also looked into the interior- an artful (but not too “arty”) interior design with canvas hanging from the ceiling vaguely evoking sails, and subtle swirls of blue paint on the walls evoking the sea. Just perfect!
And then, we toddle off, UP the via Romana to Villa Gnocchi. It takes more than 15 minutes in the upward direction, and in our condition.
