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Day in the Life (of Morgan)

Hey there, fam! I’m back to share a recent day in the life during my three-month stay in Italy!

If you have no clue who I am, check out my intro post and figure out what I’m doing in Italy!

Last week, one of my besties and forever travel buddy, Chandler, came to visit me. You may remember her from my posts about Peru. I took FULL advantage of having someone else with me to snap pics, which is why I decided to do a “Day in the Life” post this week. If we’re gonna be completely honest, most days are spent in a coffee shop getting work done and taking advantage of WiFi and really good Italian coffee. But this day, Chandler and I traveled down the western coast of Italy from Genoa to Levanto!

7:00 AM 

My alarm went off because I had to pack for a two-day getaway. I was supposed to do this yesterday afternoon, but I was so tired from showing Chandler around my city, that I took a nap instead. We left the apartment around 8:30 to head to a coffee shop.

8:45 AM

One of my favorite coffee shops, Gelatina, also functions as a gelateria, bakery, and a book store filled with Italian cookbooks! It’s such a dreamy space and I always end up picking up a cookbook to flip through. I enjoyed a cappuccino, Chandler got an espresso, and we both enjoyed a croissant with homemade orange jam!

10:00 AM

We caught the train from Genova Piazza Principe around 10am to head 50 minutes south to a small fisherman’s town called Camogli! I never would have found this city if it weren’t for an Italian friend, Lorenzo, who actually has an apartment there.

11:00 AM

Upon arrival, we realized that none of the restaurants opened for lunch until noon. So we walked around for a while and got an espresso at a coffee shop. Once it turned noon, we ate lunch (gnocchi with pesto for both of us!) and snuck away into the bathroom to change outfits. This is one of the most colorful, picturesque towns I’ve ever been to and Chandler and I were determined to get some cute pictures. We also got some really weird looks, but it was so worth it.

1:45 PM

The goal for the day was to stop at several cities along the coast on our way to Levanto. Majority of these cities are only accessible by boat, so we bought a ticket for the boat taxi and headed to our next city – Portofino! Being able to sail along the coast in the Mediterranean was an absolute dream. The huge waves and motion sickness that same along with it was not. Before we got to Portofino, we stopped in a little town called San Fruttuoso. I’ll definitely be headed back here for more exploring.

2:45 PM

We finally arrived in Portofino where we had an hour to explore (and get over being motion sick). This included getting gelato, doing a little bit of shopping, and drinking an espresso on the coast while we people-watched and waited for our boat to leave again.

3:50 PM

We thought we were headed back to Camogli, but when our boat turned south towards the next city we shrugged our shoulders and went with it. We ended up in Santa Margherita, which is the closest train station. One of the boat staff told us it would be best to get off here if we were trying to reach Levanto and pointed us in the direction of the train station.

6:00 PM

We arrived in Levanto around 6pm. Levanto is the city directly north of the famous Cinque Terre – a cluster of 5 coastal cities popular among tourists. I’m familiar with Levanto because I got to spend 4 weeks there during a study abroad in the summer of 2014, which is also where I met Lorenzo! His family has a small apartment below their house that he was so gracious to let us stay at. 

7:00 PM

We met Lorenzo around 7 for two rounds of aperitivo (aka happy hour where you get free food with it!) before he took us to a local pizzeria. Apparently the owner, Riccardo, was just in Los Angeles for an international pizza convention! The pizza you see here is made with shaved truffles – a delicacy in Italy and HOLY SMOKES it was so good. The rest of the evening was spent bar hopping and meeting new friends and a good nights rest before having to wake up early the next morning for cooking class!

Have you ever been to Italy? Dreaming of going to Italy? Tell me below because it’s so fun sharing stories and dreams of my new favorite country!

19 comments

  1. I discovered Camogli by accident back in 2014, ended up getting married there last spring!! My favorite little town in Italy, absolutely lovely. I tell everyone to go there instead of the Cinque Terre

  2. Super jealous of your travels right now! The colorful houses are so so pretty

  3. Beautiful photos! Thanks for letting us travel vicariously through you. :) Haven’t been to Italy before, but the sights, espresso, and gelato are making a strong case…

  4. Ahh this all sounds amazing!! I went to Italy for a couple weeks when I graduated high school and loved every second of it. We hiked the cinque terre, swam in the ocean, visited cafes and ate amazing food… I want to go back!

  5. I love these posts! Italy looks so dreamy. Currently wishing I took all the money we just spent on buying a house and used it to travel instead!

  6. What a nice place to work remotely from!!! Also love that suitcase, how cute! Where is it from!? I loveee Italy you’re really making me want to go move there. enjoy it !!

  7. Wow, that sounds amazing! I spent a summer in Italy (I think around the last time you were there … 2014) and it was an incredible experience. Cinque Terre was definitely one of my favorite places! Your journey is definitely inspiring, and I’m glad you’re having a fabulous time!

  8. My husband and I went to Italy on our honeymoon in 2015 and our favorite place was Lake Como! We stayed in Varenna, and you can take a ferry to other towns on the lake. It was beautiful!! 

  9. What a cool opportunity, Morgan! My heart lies in Rome, as much of my family lived there. These posts make my heart ache–I gotta go back asap!

  10. This went to my spam, so I’m just now reading it. I can’t wait for our “Day in the Life” adventures and my first trip to Italy. See you soon!

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