Portofino & driving part of the Mille Miglia route

Our destination after Modena was Portofino so we decided to drive part of Sector16 of the Mille Miglia route (in the oppositie direction) between Parma and La Spezia. The journey takes you over the Ligurian Apennines with stunning scenery and challenging winding roads. Hmm.. it really got us thinking about whether we could actually do this in our 1953 DB2.... We stopped at a small bar in a village en-route where they rustled up some pannini with prosciutto and cheese. Local people were dropping by, chatting and chilling out. It seemed like another world.

We had two nights in an apartment in Portofino on our last stage in Italy before enjoying a week of down-time in France. Portofino in August was hectic and we felt like we were being ripped off the whole time. This detracted a lot from the beauty of the place which is unquestionable. For example, a drink will cost you at least 20 euros (that's at least AUD40). A plate of pasta was around 37 euros (74AUD). We had an unhappy experience with Portofino Homes who were managing our accommodation - trying to double charge us for city tax, a dangerous steep, dark staircase entry that had no lighting, (we had to use our mobile phone torches to access the apartment each time), a need to take away all our rubbish or we would be charged 50 euros (no instructions on where to take it), no internet for our entire stay, cupboard doors that did not close and loose taps. We appreciate that we were staying on an old building but for the price charged and the lack of safety on the staircase and the outstanding maintenance issues on the property we had concerns. We had paid a similar price per night in Venice at a five-star hotel with a canal view, full daily room service, breakfast, WIFI that worked, a turn-down service and much more. Get real Portofino Homes!

We walked to the lovely beach at Parraggi Bay but 90% of the beach is privately owned, including Dolce & Gabbana and Chanel taking over more than 50% of the beach. Most of their sunlounges were empty. I understand that a lounge in one of those places will cost hundreds of euros per person for the day. We read in the newspapers that local politicians are starting to complain about these arrangements which exist across Italy. I hope they succeed and can make beaches more accessible to ordinary people, including families on holidays. Aussies would never let this happen. Our beaches are our beaches, so this whole concept was challenging for us. Here in these photos we are stuck in the middle of the empty private lounge spaces.

We caught the ferry from Portofino to Santa Marguerita Ligure where we visited an amazing Villa and walked along the promenade.

All in all, we probably won't be rushing back to this part of Italy. It is definitiely very beautiful but is being very exploited which we don't want to be part of. Italy, get your act together! Give us a reason to come back!