Bella Italia - a love affair begins!

Portofino

Lake Maggiore

Red Renault 4

Cannobio street

Cannobio Patisserie

Cannobio patisserie

Church in Cannobio

Memorial

View across the lake from Stresa

View across Lake Maggiore

Cannobio harbour

Cannobio view

Italy has been so high up on our places to visit and as we crossed over the border from Switzerland at Lake Maggiore, we felt completely elated. The lake side road, often very narrow in places took us to our first destination of Cannobio, which can only be described as an unspoilt gem on the Lake Maggiore. Everything is rather quaint and laid back in this charming town, with a row of handsome pastel coloured townhouses which overlook the tranquil lake. Italians love their coffee and after arriving, we were soon enjoying a strong coffee and a Sicilian cannoli - a crisp wafer filled with limoncello butter cream. The perfect accompaniment to our strong coffee.

It was not our first visit to Italy, we have been to the Amalfi coast and Milan before, but it was the first time we had arrived by motorhome.

We camped up by a fast flowing river and only a few moments from the town centre and the quayside. To call it a town is giving it a vision of a large metropolis which Cannobio is not. It is low rise and quite compact, a warren of back streets, alleyways and handsome Italian houses with vegetable plots and chickens which roam around the quiet streets.

The centre of the town has the essential shops- a few coffee shops, a (fabulous!) patisserie), a few high end restaurants and various other businesses selling clothes, food items and the town's beautiful hotel. For some, it would probably be very quiet but for us, it was the perfect tonic after exploring the busy cities of Stuttgart, Strasbourg and Zurich. The pace of life is very slow here and we really used our stay in Cannobio as an opportunity to unwind.

From our riverside base in Cannobio, we explored the larger lakeside town of Verbania and the quiet town of Stresa, both deserving of a visit if you are in the area. Cannobio remained, to us at least, the jewel of the lakes!

We also stocked up on some wonderful Italian food and wow, the supermarkets are full of some lovely items! Herb infused focaccia, creamy mozzarellas, huge basil plants, organic chopped tomatoes with herbs, fresh ham off the bone and of course, fresh pastas. We ate well in Italy and it really is a wonderful food experience for foodies.

Sadly, we left Cannobio and headed to our next stop of Genoa, which is a large port city. Out of all of our stops, Genoa was our least favourite. You could make out the beautiful architecture, grand Italian buildings covered in gold and with ornate architraves. All of the ingredients were there for what should have been a beautiful city to visit, but for us, we didn't enjoy our stay and left after a few hours. The city was full of dog poo, all over the place. It was difficult to actually walk freely without having to constantly scan for obstacles. There seemed to be a high number of drunks on the prowl and some of the areas, especially in the beautiful side streets felt unsafe. There was a lack of anywhere nice to eat but we managed to find a coffee shop where we enjoyed a croissant. We decided to then call it a day with Genoa and travel the 40 minutes or so to Portofino.

It is a close race between Portofino and Cannobio as to which one stole our hearts the most. I would say that Portofino was a close second. It reminded us very much of Cadaques in Spain whereas Cannobio was quite unique (for us).

You arrive in Portofino along a twisting coastal road with breathtaking views out to the Ligurian sea. Rows of different colour townhouses line its tiny quay - they are mostly restaurants serving seafood. We walked down from the car park, through the cobbled streets and the expensive boutiques to the quay. We spotted a gorgeous restaurant where the dining room is on a floating pontoon and it bobs around in the bay.

We enjoyed a fabulous meal - John had squid ink spaghetti with king prawns and clams cooked in vermouth and I had freshly made green spaghetti with a slow cooked ragu. It was fun watching the waiting staff climb onto the pontoon with their hands full of plates and trays of drinks! It was mostly calm but there was the occasional swell when a boat motored in or out of the bay.

After dinner we walked around the quay and took in the beauty of this tiny fishing village. It is now mostly a high end tourist destination - fishing has long since been replaced by the hoards of tourists who head to Portofino in the summer. However, on a relatively warm November afternoon, it was peaceful and we had the place mostly to ourselves.

Italy has been fantastic- the food, the people and the countryside. There is so much more of it to see, but we shall be back in the future to explore other areas of the beautiful country.