Relay Shared Album: Portofino

Italian ABCs: Aperitivo, Aperol Spritz, Baci Baci, Buonasera, Ciaoooooo

If you’ve been following Every Friday, you’ll know that Relay + the Girlfriends just got back from a week in Portofino (shoutout again to Benni for being such a great host). Below is another rendition of our Shared Album, this time on the coast of Northern Italy. It was a week full of Aperol Spritz, pesto pasta, and la dolce vita.

The photos are presented unedited, freshly back from the lab, roughly in the order they occurred in. They’re shot through 3 cameras this trip, maybe that’s a top signal on film cameras. Unfortunately it was also the last trip my Olympus Infinity Stylus Epic will make. It fell victim to a long happy hour at a Greek wine bar in NYC and now has developed a strange light leak; pour one out for the fallen soldier.

Travel!

The trip started for Benni and I (Zach), with a 2:45am wake up and Uber to London Gatwick from Zone 1, a 6am easyJet flight, and the 2 hour drive to the coast. Ian missed his initial flight completely and had to reroute on a double layover route through Germany. Opposite of the group, Jack and Tina had a relaxed 1 hour train ride from Milan.

Safe to say we were glad to have the scooters delivered to us and ready for learning upon our arrival. The afternoon was well spent taking our first dip in the sea and making the classic mistake of going too hard on Night 1 of the vacation (read: we didn’t need two bottles of wine at dinner).

If day one of the trip was a taste of the trip, then on day two we doubled down.

✅ “MEGA-SUP (Stand-Up Paddleboard)” rental.

✅ Cliff-side apperitivo.

✅ A too early in the vacation sunburn.

The amount of marine wildlife identified this day is/was unfathomable.

One elevator induced panic attack followed by a walk through the garden.

Hiking & Towns Only Accessible by Foot or Boat

Benni, our Italian host, had a “small” hike planned for us. This hike was from Portofino to San Fruttuoso, a small town on only accessible by ferry or mountain trail. We had no idea what was in store for us and were thankful for that. It totaled out to 4.5 miles, 1k feet of elevation gain, and two-hours of good-spirits hungover bantering - it’s shocking we didn’t lose someone over the cliff, *Ian*.

Upon arrival to the town, see below, we were greeted to a reservation at potentially the single greatest table on earth. Down the cliff from the restaurant sits 1 singular table, for which we could only reserve because of knowing a guy that knows a guy.

It’s hard to describe how much of a vibe this lunch was. It is hard to describe how cool a town is that is only accessible by foot or ferry. It is hard to describe how full the beach was. It is hard to describe how many beverages were drank.

Someday, I’ll be the keeper of the San Fruttuoso Abbey.

We drank every bottled Raffo they had.

Rainy Days

You cannot control the weather. Don’t look at the forecast on vacation.

It’s a mantra I need to tattoo behind my eyes. The entire week of vacation was supposed to be raining, we were lucky to only have a day and a half of storms.

The art of not letting the rain ruin your vacation, or insert too much anxiety into the preparation for it, is tough to master. Luckily, good friends, better card games, and an Italian grocery store haul made it easier.

Tina Tip: Always buy more wine then you think you need ‼️

Benni brought us on another hike. 1 hour, 1250 steps.

You could tell the sea was mad.

This thing is called an "ape" (IPA: /ˈa.pe/). It means bee.

Italian Beaches

Italian beaches are a thing of chaotic beauty. I hope to some day be a perpetual Italian beach bum.

Commitment to the game on that busted table.

Unbelievable flow.

Faro Aperitivo Chill

The last day of the vacation is uncomfortable. Everyone knows its coming or here, but no one wants to acknowledge it. We didn’t let it ruin our night. Instead, we had one of the best nights of the trip.

Itinerary:

1. An aperitivo at Faro lighthouse

2. A candle-lit public serenade

3. A second aperitivo at Ugo’s

4. A sneaky expensive dinner at the Belmond Hotel, Splendido Mare

The man with glasses was bitten by a thief. His million dollar watch was stolen.

If you made it this far, thank you - you’re a real one. Italy is truly the best. Benni and I (Zach), spent another full week near Milan for her sisters wedding following this trip. Stay tuned in to upcoming Every Fridays to catch some photos from then.

We’ll be back to Nashville in a few weeks for Octoberfest. You can bet you’ll receive a Shared Album: Nashville Part 2, with James back in the mix.

Ciao Ciao.

Thanks for mega scrolling all the way down here.

The internet is an overwhelming mess of headlines, ads, and mid takes from the worst people you know. Big Tech owns our attention spans. Everything is content. Nothing makes sense.

We’re not here to “fix discourse” or “build a better internet.” Relay is just our attempt to riff on what we’re already talking about at happy hour without feeling like we’ve been hit by a content truck. Some analysis, some memes, call it a day.

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We also have Essays you can check out:

• Who you choose to move forward with

• Refusal to quit

• Requiem for Travel

• On Forward Momentum

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