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La Marinella - Portovenere/Cinque Terre Area
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Accommodates 4 - 2 Bedrooms, 1
Bath
La Marinella is a charming,
not-at-all-fancy little cottage right across the street from
the seafront in Portovenere, one of the true jewels of the
entire Italian coast, lying at the southern end of the Riviera
within spitting distance of the legendary Cinque Terre.
Where the hell is Portovenere
anyway? It’s not one of the Cinque Terre themselves.
Instead, Portovenere is a truly beautiful fishing-village-turned-elegant-summer-resort.
Located on the other – that is, on the southeastern
– side of the Gulf of La Spezia from the Cinque Terre,
Portovenere is gorgeous, with its characteristic castle, Romanesque
churches, little harbors and coves, and narrow, multicolored
3- and 4-story houses. And it’s big enough to have all
the services you’re likely to need or want, like restaurants,
elegant boutiques, banks, drug store, post office, grocery
stores, and so on.
Portovenere makes a great base
from which to visit not only the Cinque Terre, but also up
and down the coast from Genoa, Portofino, and Santa Margherita
to the north, to Lerici, Carrara and Pisa to the south.
But we want to emphasize one
thing: Portovenere in itself will capture you in the same
way Capri does. Even if you sit down at home before your departure
and plan a weekful of excursions “out”, one day
after another, we guarantee that you’ll find Portovenere
so seductive that in the end you’re going to want to
be staying close to home and getting immersed in the ordinary
life of a real Italian seaside town.
Obviously, however, you will
want to do some touring. Can you get around without a car?
Yes, you can, but we believe you should probably have one,
if only to run errands, food shop, and for inland excursions.
Renting a car isn’t cheap, especially when you consider
that there will almost certainly be several days when you
won’t use it at all. For example, let’s say you’re
staying at La Marinella and you want to go to the Cinque Terre
for the day. How do you get there? Even if you have a car,
you’d be insane to use it. The best way would be to take
the frequent bus from Portovenere (about 15-20 minutes) and
from there to the Cinque Terre (20-30 minutes depending on
which of the Cinque Terre you’re going to). Another beautiful
alternative: again take the bus, but this time into Portovenere
itself, and from there by boat to the Cinque Terre. Otherwise,
you’re looking at minimum 90 minutes of stressful driving
and, in the season or on any nice weekend, probably much longer.
In fact, all of the coastal
destinations you’re likely to want to explore are reachable
most easily without a car: Far easier are the train from La
Spezia and the boat from Portovenere. But if you want to go
to Lucca for the day, we think the car is best. Also Pisa.
Also Carrara. Also the lovely hilltowns inland.
La Marinella itself is the immensely
appealing, completely detached guesthouse of its owners’
much larger villa perched above. It has a direct uninterrupted
view of the sea from both inside and out: there’s only
the little road between the cottage and water’s edge
where you can take a swim if you want. Furnishings aren’t
fancy – we must emphasize this -- and proportions aren’t
large, but it’s a very comfortable place. Living/dining
room with TV (Italian channels only); matrimonial bedroom;
smaller single bedroom, with extractable “trundle bed”;
kitchen with dishwasher and washing machine; bath with shower.
Outside, delightful private garden area with olive trees and
table and chairs for lounging and outdoor dining.
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Tentative
rates:
|
Jun
4-Sep 24; Easter/Xmas/NYear |
Apr
2-Jun 4;
Sep 24-Oct 29 |
Other
periods |
1,750
euros
per week |
1,390
euros
per week |
1,100
euros
per week |
| Extras: |
80 euros final cleaning
|
| Arrival: |
Saturday generally, but inquire
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| Minimum stay:
|
1 week
|
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