The Beach~Italian Style

I love going to the beach. Or to be honest, anywhere I have a view of water. However, I don't think I will ever live on the beach. Maybe a 2 mile bike ride away. That way I can walk or ride my bike & stay in shape. Also, I wouldn't have to worry about the salt air turning everything rusty-that would drive me crazy. Yep, 2 miles away sounds good to me (and hubby, too).  He wants to blow glass when he retires. So we have a few things on our list. 


A few years ago we went on a vacation to France & Italy. In planning the trip, I did a lot of research. Can you say TripAdvisor? There were some bumps in the road, but it was an incredible trip. As we were traveling in the July, I wanted to make sure that we visited some beaches. In my Italian Riviera travel guide, it had great info on all of the towns & which one had beaches. This gave me a general guideline to what cities we would try to visit. Did you know that in many places you have to pay to go to the beach? The rates are per person & you can rent an umbrella, as well. Also, if there is a pool, it is extra to use the pool. Below is a picture of a beach & pool just a few blocks from our hotel. It also had a diving board into the ocean, which the kids enjoyed! This was taken in Rapallo, Italy across the bay from Portofino.

Here is  a view looking at the beach & toward our hotel, Hotel Italia e Lido Rapallo. The hotel had its own private "beach" as well. You had to go through a bar & a narrow dark hallway to get to the beach. There were a few chairs that rested upon rocks that jutted out into the ocean. With 3 young kids in tow, we opted for the beach down the road. Our hotel is the yellow building with green shutters & awnings. 

This is a closer view of our hotel. Our room overlooked a small beach & the castle. Also, we looked out onto the bay toward Portofino. It was incredible! 

One of my favorite memories of this trip was watching my kids play ball with the Italian children on the small beach outside our hotel room. I didn't get a picture of it (bummer!). Hope you enjoyed dreaming with me today. I'll be back soon with more "beach" photos:)

**My good camera with the zoom lens wasn't working on this trip. I was so happy to have my 2nd camera with me, just an inexpensive Kodak. Be sure to have a backup camera on important trips!**