It is easy to settle into a good life in Italy. Everything from the view off the balcony to the food we eat makes us feel good. We can walk to everything we need, including the trains that can take us all the way across Europe. We got into a routine of going to the local pool for swimming - the ocean is still very cold - and mom and dad have invited us to their exercise class and even Tai chi.
During the day, we hang out at the beach, go shopping at the market or go explore a nearby town.
The weather has been mostly wonderful and at the end of ever day we go for our passagata (a slow walk to see friends and enjoy the sea) with mom and dad along the promenade. This usually ends with a spuntino (before dinner drink) and more socializing with friends. Tim and Angela look younger every time we see them and we are feeling younger just being here.
Tall, brightly painted buildings separated by narrow, winding cobblestone paths faced the ocean. Unlike Chiavari, whose wide streets lined with portacis (covered walkways) are built around a central plaza, Camogli is built right into ocean cliffs. As the story goes, Camogli was an ancient shipbuilding town (they built the boats that made Genoa great) and all the buildings face the sea so that the wives could wait for their husbands to return. Not sure how true it is, but it's a nice story.
We worked our way through the narrow streets and alleys of Camogli, moving south until we found ourselves on a steep and narrow path leading out of town and up into the surrounding hillside. Soon we were hiking along the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean.
The air was warm, the skies clear and down below us the blue stretched seemingly forever. Every so often a power boat would cruise by, leaving a bright, white wake behind it, etched in the azure water. The trail led up and over rock outcrops, many of which were exposed to the 300' foot cliffs below.
To keep wary hikers like us from losing their footing and finding themselves plunging towards the ocean, some very kind and intelligent people bolted stainless steel chains into the rock face. This via ferrata, or iron trail , came in handy - pun intended - many times as we inched our way along the route, peering over the edge at the depths below us.
After the kids had left 
After a few hours, and a couple well-deserved breaks, we arrived at San Fruttosso. As an American, it's hard to describe San Fruttosso; we lack a sense of history deep enough to comprehend a one thousand year old monastery nestled into a cove smaller than many of our backyards. Not only is there one thousand year old monastery (one that has it's own art gallery), but there are several restaurants, a ferry dock - we could've taken a boat from Camogli, but the views from the cliffs were better - and a beach filled with about two hundred school kids on a field trip. Nothing against American public schools, but we never had anything like this when I was growing up. The beach was teaming with kids playing games, splashing in the waves and generally have a fun time. Moreover, they all seemed to get along and the teachers didn't need to do any disciplining in the two hours we stayed at the beach. Not bad for 10 year olds. We caught the 5:00 pm ferry from San Fruttosso to Porto Fino. Tim continued on while Giovannina and I got off to explore this famous little community.
Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. Porto Fino has earned a reputation for sheer class and glamor and it certainly deserves it. It's a perfect little harbor nestled between two sheer cliffs, one topped by a castle AND a cathedral. The harbor is filled with multimillion dollar boats moored alongside small, one-man fishing vessels. The streets of the town are charming, taciturn pathways that stretch up into the hills above the harbor. Movies - glamorous movies - have been filmed here (James Bond films even) and walking around we felt like we were in one of them. But it was getting late and we had a ferry to catch. We got on the 6:00 pm boat and made our way back to Rapallo where we caught a train back to Chiavari. We were home by 7:00 pm, just in time to have a delicious meal prepared by Angela.
Now that's what I call a good day.
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