Our cousin, Deb, nailed it.

Unless you are dying to do something like see the Northern Lights from the Arctic Circle, go dog sledding, or even hike Killamanjaro, Rapallo is by far a top must-do destination. We have visited Rome, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Naples, Capri, Sorrento, Positano and now Portofino. Rapallo is THE place to visit. It is breathlessly beautiful. Each one of our photos is better than the last. There is so much to be curious about, so much architecture, so much nature, stone, water, sky, sun, blue skies and clouds. We really like this place. I mean we really like this place. There is enough tourist-type attractions to have plenty to do and lots of places to shop, but more than that, there is a real town here, real neighborhoods, mountains, history and that glorious Mediterranean that provides so much to the local people . . . beauty, fishing, work, leisure, sport, and unbelievably magnificent seascapes, perfect for photos, artists' subjects, simple gazing or meditation.

Ok, back to reality, it was time to plan ahead. We already have transportation via train and air to Paris, but we needed to book Chunnel tix from Paris to London for May 10. It is amazing how much time doing a simple thing like this takes, but it does!!! Things are not exactly cheap and you can never change a reservation once it is made, so taking care pays off.

One more thing, this place on earth reminds us so much of the Bay area in California. In the morning, the air is cool and a little damp. The mountains have clouds or fog rolling over the top. It forbodes a rainy day but a little later in the morning, the sun burns the clouds away and the day is clear and amazing!

We enjoyed our hike/trek so much yesterday that we decided to do it again except in the opposite direction - I think east. We simply found a walk most close to the seaside and began walking. We walked up and down. We walked through a park that once was a fabulous seaside villa, Villa Tigullio with huge manicured grounds but now is owned by the City of Rapallo and is the National Library and Museum. We are learning that once owners of grand villas from the 17th century no longer have peasants or cheap labor to maintain the place, often the families cannot afford to keep these grand places. In many situations, we see that a city or state has taken over ownership of these beautiful properties and tax payers maintain them for posterity. Thank goodness! Otherwise they would fall into the sea, and some do.

We walked 2 hours in one direction and then back. We found spot after spot to photograph. Along the way we simply ran out of sidewalk and had to walk along the narrow road between tight walls checking for on-coming traffic of tiny fast-moving cars and motorbikes. When we found a clearing in traffic, we'd said, "run like hell!" and would tear-out running the next safe spot.

This day was so good.

We met two women sitting on a park bench. They were from Canada. One of them has lived near here for 8 years. We chatted a good bit. We always love meeting English speaking folk. They advised us to take the Funivia to Monteallegro. We never heard of this!! But as we walked back into the city, we decided to give it a try. We found the ticket office and bought our tickets to the top. The ride was longer than we expected but it was completely astounding!!!! It was 6,000 meters from ground level to the top of the mountain!! What a gift! The views were fantastic . . . we could see for miles!! We could see the town of Rapallo below, Santa Margherita and Portofino in the distance and mountains behind us to the north. I am so happy, so incredibly we did not miss this! Thank you to our Canadian friends we met today!

We had lunch on the mountain top, and it was the best we have had in a while! We sat outside in a stone/moss yard overlooking the Mediterranean next to an ancient rock wall. The air was warm, yet crisp and clear. The waiter, i.e., owner visited us and told us what he and his momma had on hand today. We sat at a small wooden table next to the stone wall. Pots of flowers were sitting at just the right points on the wall. We ordered a half carafe of red wine, spaghetti with mushroom sauce, ravioli with butter and fresh sage plus one small green salad. Oh Lord, it was so very good!!!

Now, here I sit tonight, finishing this blog and I look out the door of our charming apartment to see Stan's silhouette. He sitting in the chair, with his feet propped on the wall below the arches. He is looking out over the city . . . I think, "thank you, God! I love this man!" I hear the bird chirping outside who often says, "Free bird!! Free bird." I see lights coming on in the houses across the bay. The sky at this moment is gray, but darkness is coming.