Paradiso
Located in Liguria, Northern Italy, on the aptly named Golfo Paradiso, Camogli is beautiful little fishing village. It lies on the west side of the peninsula of Portofino.
The name of the village apparently came about when the Captains of the ships set sailed, putting their wives (mogli) in a kind of home (casa) all together, hence the shortened 'Camogli.'
The story has been disputed over the years, and while I can't tell you where the truth lies, I can tell you we had a horrendous journey getting there.
Despite remaining in one car - a brand spanking new one with tray tables at that (although completely useless when the car goes round any sort of bend) - at times it felt like we were attempting a remake of the 1988 film 'Trains, Planes & Automobiles.'
The journey incurred an extra hour due to having to return for Mabel's passport (made worse by the fact that nobody looked at it either time we crossed the border.)
Despite our good intentions of travelling over nap time, Jude woke after just 20 minutes, utterly beside himself and refusing to go back to sleep. How can any child of toddler age remain awake through three hours of car motion?! Ours, apparently.
I had to pull out every toddler entertainment trick I had up my sleeve to distract him from the fact he only wanted his Dada, who was naturally driving.
Later there was car sickness (mine) and a slightly delayed Airbnb host.
But we arrived... can there be a more pleasing sight than that first glimpse of the sea?
While Camogli is a tourist destination, it is far smaller than nearby Portofino or the much renowned 'Cinque Terre' but it is no less special. It is less crowded than surrounding villages and really does have an incredibly beautiful charm about it.
The curiously painted facades (we had a great game of spotting the painted on shutters - one complete with curled up cat) and the basilica di Santa Maria Assunta jutting out into the sea, make for a breathtaking sight.
Sunsets
The sea is quite a magical place to be as the sun goes down and Camogli is no different. We were lucky enough to experience some of the loveliest sunsets we've ever seen - only briefly interrupted on our first evening by Mabel getting pounced on by a German Shepherd dog, and knocking our drinks flying everywhere.
On our first evening, we shared 'aperitivo' before heading back up the hill for takeaway pizza and wine on the balcony.
It may have been the wine (the owner of the restaurant informed me it would leave us legless and wasn't a good 'driving wine' as he opened it for me with a wink...) or it could have been be the setting, but whatever the case, these pizzas were up there with the best we've eaten. Bliss.
There is no shortage of lovely places to eat out though, and if you can get down early enough to find a table, the aperitivo at Il Barcollo looked amazing - as did the gin & tonics. We settled for lunch there - a no less amazing focaccia al formaggio e pesto.
On our second evening, we ate calamari at one of the seafront restaurants - so fresh that even Jude enjoyed a small plateful. No chewy rubber bands here. Just a light batter and loads of lemon.
Breakfasts included the typical caffe, brioche (actually a huge filled croissant) and spremuta (freshly squeezed juice) to the not so typical breakfast burritos and pancakes.
I know I am writing this a lot - but the pancakes at Anelli's were seriously THE BEST I have ever eaten, even if I did look like a lunatic when I ordered them: nobody has anything other than a pastry and coffee in Italy.
Santa Margherita
Camogli is perfectly formed, but since it is so small, Day 2 took us to nearby Santa Margherita: a bigger and more traditionally touristy resort.
This is where we had originally tried to find an Airbnb (sadly they were all chintz palaces) and if you were to stay here, you could easily fill your days - and evenings.
What you might not so easily be able to do is park your car - unless it is a vintage Fiat 500 or a Vespa.
However, it's worth the effort. There is a small port here, where you can get the ferry into Portofino (magnificent), hire a boat or go diving.
Beach huts line the pebbled beachfront and in the town behind it, you'll find a maze of narrow streets filled with beautiful shops. These sell anything from fresh pasta and groceries, to clothes, bags and jewellery.
Pavement cafes are in abundance and it is a wonderful place to just sit and watch the world go by.
If it's a warm day, I'd fully recommend a caffe shakerato - the Italian answer to iced coffee. It looks fancy and Mr W kept asking if it had booze in it.
A stunning church sits in the middle of the town. Just make sure you take all noisy toys out of the basket of the buggy before you enter, unlike us. Up in the surrounding hills there are abbeys and castles galore.
Sadly we only had a couple of hours here, which flew by in a mix of Trofie al Pesto, gelato and coffee.
Overall we spent late Friday to Sunday afternoon among the gems of the Ligurian coastline, and there is plenty more left to see.
If you have a little longer to spend here than we did, you will definitely leave a little piece of your heart among these cute fishing villages with their glorious colours and pebbled beaches...
...and thankfully for us, the journey back to Lugano was far less eventful than the journey there!
A dopo,
Rach xxx