#2918 three things about Rapallo: where, why, and what

 

Hi! I'm ready to write about my trip to Italy! I'll start with three little things about Rapallo, our home for the first week we were in Italy. 

1. Where is it? Rapallo is in northwestern Italy in the Liguria region. The closest big city is Genoa, although we flew in to Milan, and took the train to Rapallo. The train takes a couple of hours from Milan. Rapallo is a great "home base" on the Italian Riviera, because it is quick and easy to get to a lot of cool places. 

Rapallo

2. Why was I in Rapallo for a week? Lizzie and I were there to participate in an art walk vacation with Jill the Artist. Jill teamed up with Suzy and Jeannette from The Blue Walk to give us a fantastic week on the Italian Riviera, seeing a bit of the area and doing some painting and writing every day. We stayed in Hotel Astoria, right across the street from the beach. The hotel was really nice; we had a great room on a corner with two windows to let in the fresh sea air. I thought it was really comfortable, and I loved the location. It was an easy walk to the lungomare (beach walk), or into the historic center of the town. The staff was wonderful, too. I just can't say enough good things about Hotel Astoria. I would definitely stay there again if I ever found myself planning a trip to the area. 

ready to do some art!

3. What is there to do in Rapallo? Like I said, Rapallo is a good base for exploring the area. I thought Rapallo was charming, too. The cable car to the top of Montallegro is a must. (I'll be writing about that excursion on Sunday.) There are lots of restaurants and bars, including many with sea views. Rapallo isn't very touristy. You won't find lots of little souvenir shops there, which is kind of nice. I loved walking along the lungomare every day and looking at the water. It was pretty rainy while we were there, so there was quite a bit of seaweed and sea debris on the beach, and we didn't even dip our toes in the water. I think it is quite different in the summer.

Oh yeah, there is a little castle in the sea, too, easily reached from the lungomare. While we were there, the castle was having a beauty treatment or something. It was covered with scaffolding and netting (as many things in Italy were, especially in Rome.) I bet the castle is pretty when you can see it. 

Here's a pic of the main piazza in town. It's just a cool, chill town.