Santa Margherita Ligure/ Portifino

The train ride was much more that I had thought, it took for ever and ever and ever, I think I picked a bad route in fact I felt bad for the kids. 

We had enough of the big city so we decided to jump a train out of Geneva Switzerland, and go to a small town in France then make our way to the coast from there.  We started our day at 8:30 am left the hotel in Paris and arrived at what we would consider our destination at 7:30 pm it was  the wrong town this town had 2 hotels both were sold out we met some lady in the train station and she drove us around Henry thought that was weird, we decided to get the hell out of this place and had 12 minutes to make the train, we made it made it to the correct town and started walking around with backpacks looking for a hotel 3 sold out so far finally we find one and by the way they are 2 star hotels which is like 1 star in the USA the kids are freaking out no A/C, the halls are dark it is dark when we get there and everything is scary to them, I told them this was preparation for youth hostels they both determined this would be the last youth hostel experience we will see.  Actually the hotel was clean, our room was on the 6th floor and had a beautiful view you just have to bend your neck to get to it.  The city is a beautiful place was host to the 1988 winter Olympics, our next destination Torino Italy, host to last years Olympics. 

The train ride is long, the country is beautiful and we can't find any brochures that have all the schedule information even the local people seem to question when where and how to get out of this place, you just know where you want to go get to the next train station then look for the next train, in general the trains are very dependable run often although it is easy to get off on the wrong stop or the train just terminates and you have to figure out that you need to go to another station which is what happened to us at least a few times.  We figured it out, no one on the trains spoke English but were trying to be helpful, there were cops with guns, gypsies, beggars all kind of stuff going on all day including some of the most beautiful scenery through the French alps, the Italian Alps, overlooking hill covered vineyards with castles over looking them just amazing.

We are on a single mission get to the coast find a nice hotel and chill for a few days.  7:30 pm the excitement builds as we get closer to our destination.  We are all concerned no reservations, where well we end up, will there be a room, what will the town look like.  The train drops us off and WOW, the Italian Riviera, a beautiful crescent shaped bay, villas and hotels and boats bougainvillea everywhere. Sweet now a hotel, the cab driver hands me a book with a list of hotels, a pay phone is 10 feet away I called 3 hotels and jack pot! You can see the hotel a pictures of the town if you go to bestwestern.com,  Italy then santa Margherita Ligure hotel is regina elena.

I think we will hang here a few days. 

Santa Margherita Ligure (info)

A beautiful old resort town favored by well-to-do Italians, Santa Margherita Ligure has everything a Riviera playground should have -- plenty of palm trees and attractive hotels, cafés, and a marina packed with yachts. Some of the older buildings here are still decorated on the outside with the trompe-l'oeil frescoes typical of this part of the Riviera. This is a pleasant, convenient base, which for many represents a perfect balance on the Italian Riviera: bigger and less Americanized than the Cinque Terre; less glitzy than San Remo; more relaxing than Genoa and environs; and ideally situated for day trips, such as an excursion to Portofino.

Portofino (info)

One of the most photographed villages along the coast, with a decidedly romantic and affluent aura, Portofino has long been a popular destination for foreigners. Once an ancient Roman colony and taken by the Republic of Genoa in 1229, it has also been ruled by the French, English, Spanish, and Austrians, as well as marauding bands of 16th-century pirates. Elite British tourists first flocked to the lush harbor in the mid-1800s. Some of Europe's wealthiest lay anchor in Portofino in summer, but they stay out of sight by day, appearing in the evening after buses and boats have carried off the day-trippers.

There's not actually much to do in Portofino other than stroll around the wee harbor, see the castle, walk to Punta del Capo, browse at the pricey boutiques, and sip a coffee while people-watching. However, weaving through picture-perfect cliff-side gardens and gazing at yachts framed by the turquoise Ligurian Sea and the cliffs of Santa Margherita can make for quite a relaxing afternoon. There are also several tame, photo-friendly hikes into the hills to nearby villages. Note the meticulous upkeep of streets and public flora in what is surely Italy's cleanest town.