Plans changed this morning: Instead of driving to Portofino first thing, I walked my painting gear down to the Recco harbor to catch a ferry to points south along the coastline. I’m especially interested to see the San Fruttuoso harbor, and today is the LAST day the ferry runs this season. Unfortunately, because of the heavy rains last night, the ferry was canceled. But here’s the silver lining: while waiting, I met a wonderful woman named Julianna and her pup, Willie. Turns out Julianna is the mother of Elena, who works at my Hotel Elena (first names coincidental). Julianna’s English was excellent and I was thrilled to chat with her for awhile.

After determining that the ferry wasn’t coming, I returned to Plan A and readied my gear for a 30 minute drive south along the coastline to Portofino. What amazing views! And Portofino is ALL THAT – a clean, quaint harbor surrounded on three sides by pastel colored buildings, restaurants and upscale shops. The colors of the harbor took my breath away…don’t miss the photos!