Tag Archives: Camogli

Going nowhere quickly

Posted on by
Reply

It’s Monday midday and I’m writing this from the fast lane of the main motorway between Genoa and Florence. I’m able to do this because the traffic has stopped due to an accident ahead. I’m not sure when we will move – already we have sat here for 30 mins.

We’ve experienced this before and know that after 20 mins or so everyone will simply get out of their cars, have a drink, eat lunch and talk about what the delay might be.

Time passes …

We have now waited 40 mins and the line of traffic tails back a kilometre or two behind us. A couple of lads from the highway company have turned up with bottles of water for us all and while they are handing these out the traffic starts to move again.

There is much delight and running around as hatchbacks are closed, kids are wrangled from the side of the road, meals are curtailed and people return to their assigned seating positions.

Colazione – “breakfast” doesn’t do it justice in Italy

Posted on by
1

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day – well it certainly is in Italy.

In most hotels it consists of a massive buffet featuring everything from pastries through to fruits, fruit juices, cheeses, cold meats, multiple types of bread, eggs whatever way you want – including cold hard boiled eggs, bacon, did I mention cold meats, and all washed down with multiple cups of cappuccino.

There is a massive staff that constantly keep things replenished and who can also cater to special requests – like “cappuccino decafinato con latte di Mandorla” – which is Jeans current coffee of choice.

Our favourite hotel in Camogli is no different with a room that seats around 100 people serving breakfast from 7am to the very civilised time of 11am.

We are well acclimatised to Italian time now as we barely make it in before 11am and today we were the last in the room with everyone very politely packing up around us.

Elegant, even at breakfast
The ubiquitous breakfast buffet
Jean’s breakfast hit – cold hard boiled eggs

An evening at the terrazzo bar

Posted on by
1

This post is a blatant attempt to justify sitting at the terrace bar at our hotel in Camogli for a couple of hours drinking and nibbling on bar snacks – by saying it was all an excuse to take this series of sunset pictures as the afternoon transformed into evening.

Yes, we have reached that point. There was no locked off tripod or set exposure – just me waving my phone above my head every so often and taking a picture. Half of the shots were out of focus the rest wobbled around to the point where Photoshop was the only way to vaguely line them up.

But we really need no excuse to sit there – we love the terrace bar, it’s excellent staff, perfect drinks, the tasty bar snacks that arrived unprompted, and it’s ever changing view.

Camogli life

Posted on by
Reply

We have been in Camogli for just under a week and life has settled into an easy routine. Time by the pool, time in the village and time doing bugger all else.

Camogli from our hotel window
First night dinner in our room
Other visitors to Camogli will know these steps – all 95 of them
Dining at Le Camogliese restaurant
Jeans sampling Liguria’s finest
Exasperation after repeating previous shot 4 times
Jeans dinner cover up
Dressing to blend in – with the wall
Local fish caught that morning
Hearts on a fence
Beach day
The sand on the beach is quite coarse
The public beach
Waterfront buildings lit at night
The marina at Camogli
Dinner accompanied by the sound of the sea

This week we are getting away from it all

Posted on by
2

After travelling by train to Firenze we picked up a rental car and headed north to the Ligurian coast and the small coastal village of Camogli.

We have visited here a number of times before and love the relaxed nature of the town and the lack of tourists – except those from Italy. This is a place where those from Milano and Torino go for their holidays.

First off though, a shout out to the lovely Fabio who manages the Avis rental depot on Borgo Ognissanti in Firenze where we picked up our car.

Fabio took one look at the size of our bags and gave us an immediate upgrade to a larger vehicle – for free. He said we simply would not have fitted into the car we booked. He also gave us his email so if we had any problems we could contact him personally. Excellent customer service Fabio and the best way to start any driving experience in Italy.

Two and a half hours after leaving Firenze we were driving through Camogli. It was not our finest effort as we drove through the controlled part of the town – which is barriered off – and arrived at our hotel via a one way road the wrong way. The valets at the hotel thought this was hilarious.

We agree as we’ve been here many times before without incident – we blamed it on Covid and the 4 years it’s been since our last visit.

This is our home for the next 6 nights – a chance to relax, eat great food, drink some of the local wine and wander through the village. After the bustle of Rome and Venice, this is a welcome break.

Our itinerary

Posted on by
1

I’ve had a few requests for the itinerary for our Italian odyssey. So here goes:

  • 24 July – Depart Wellington
  • 25 July – Arrive in Rome, stay 3 nights
  • 28 July – Train to Venice, stay 4 nights
  • 1 August – Train to Florence, collect rental car, drive to Camogli, stay 7 nights
  • 7 August – Drive to Radda in Chianti, Tuscany, stay 5 nights
  • 12 August – Train to Naples and then driver to Positano, stay 3 weeks
  • 2 September – Train to Rome stay 4 nights
  • 6 September – Depart Rome for home
  • 8 September – Arrive in Wellington – recover from jetlag

So there you have it – 7 weeks in 9 lines. Simple.

Last day in Camogli

Posted on by

Today we leave Camogli and head south to Positano. We have thoroughly enjoyed both our time here at Cenobio Dei Dogi and our time exploring the village.

Would we come back – like a shot.

As always it’s about the place but also the people you meet. After 6 days of turning up at the same places for meals and drinks, exploring the village on foot (it’s not a big village so there’s not much walking involved) and generally settling in we are starting to be recognised. The fact that we are from New Zealand is a surprise and the start of a conversation. And that’s what it’s all about.

A trained seagull

Posted on by

It’s a first for us – a trained seagull. Every day this bird turns up at the same window of the building across from the hotel at the same time and waits for its dinner. We know it’s the same bird because he’s clearly lost a foot sometime in the past.

The apartment owner leaves the window open and the bird stands there and waits. Eventually it gets something to eat – much to the disgust of the other seagulls – and then it leaves. Until the next day.

Camogli – pronounced Cam-oh-yee

Posted on by


We have stayed twice at Camogli in the past – but only for a night each time and in the off season. We stumbled across the hotel Cenobi Dei Dogi on Booking.com when we were travelling from England to Italy in 2011. The reason we picked it was two fold – free parking and dog friendly – two things that were important to us at the time.

We always said we’d come back and stay longer in the high season – and that’s what we’ve done. We have a week here to relax, swim, lie in the sun and explore the local area.

Camogli is on the coast about 40 kms south of Genoa. It is a favourite Italian summer holiday destination for people from Genoa, Milano and Bologna so this week it is very busy in that laid back Italian way – no rush, no fuss, just people getting on with the hard task of enjoying themselves.

 

Cenobio del Dogi in Camogli

Posted on by

On the way north we stayed at Cenobio Del Dogi, the same hotel on the Portofino Coast as we did heading south in April. Our conclusion after a second visit was much the same as after our first visit.  This is a grand hotel in the spirit of the 1950s or 1960s and it’s easy to imagine Sophia Loren or Marcello Mastroianni sweeping down the main staircase on their way to drinks and dinner. The owners have resisted the temptation to modernise the hotel and have maintained (at considerable cost I suspect) that wonderful historic feel of a classic grand hotel.

We had drinks and dinner in the bar, surrounded by persian rugs and big easy relaxed armchairs. We had breakfast in the formal dining room with hand painted friezes on the walls and full length windows that showcased the view along the coast. We left wanting to return and spend longer than a night – a week would be a good start.