Isola di Giglio - Getting There

On a tip from our friend Leonardo, we decided to spend the Labor Day weekend on Isola di Giglio, an island off Tuscany that Leo billed as a mini-Sardinia.  A few Internet clicks and we had a tiny house booked in the little beach town of Campese.

Ashley, James, Alexandra, and I set off Friday morning and drove to Porto Santo Stefano to catch the ferry.  We chose the slow, scenic route, which took us by Pitigliano, a town built on the edge of a gorge.

Pitigliano - Check out those cliffs!

We got to Porto Santo Stefano in the early afternoon break between ferries, so we had just the right amount of time to catch lunch.  The parking-lot attendant recommended a place a couple of doors down that looked a bit like a tent in a gas station parking lot.  It turned out to be fantastic!

Alexandra chose a salad described as shrimp, fresh fruit, fennel, and mint, on the theory that such an unlikely combination that makes it onto the menu must be good.  It was!

We walked out of the restaurant, grabbed our bags, and got on the ferry for the 45-minute ride out to the island.

Goodbye, Porto Santo Stefano

James chilling

Hello, Giglio Porto*

Can it get any more classic?

Absolutely not!

From there, it was a 100-meter walk to the "bus terminal".  Understand that Isola di Giglio is only 28 km in circumference and the bus line has one stop in each of the three small towns on the island.

30 minutes of vertiginous roads and one rental agency visit later we were "home" in our little place in Campese, all in time to see the beach, get the lay of the town, make dinner reservations, and plan our Saturday.

Michael

*Side note: Giglio Porto was where the Costa Concordia sank.  The red harbor marker you see in our approach is the same one in this classic photo from the morning after the wreck.