An afternoon in Vernazza

I took a little solo trip to Vernazza this afternoon. I'm starting to get better with understanding the train schedule and ticketing system. Today I hit things just right. I arrived at the stations just before the trains did so I didn't have to wait around for very long.

Vernazza was hit with a tremendous mudslide this year. There was a lot of damage and I believe some deaths. I didn't know what to expect when I got there. I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived. While a number of the shops were closed and being repaired, some were open. I left the train station and started down toward town and the harbor.



Once you reach the harbor it's easy to see why so many tourists love this area. The water looks so refreshing in the heat and the waves create a nice mist as they crash into the rocks. There were lots of swimmers and sun bathers. I took some time in the shops and enjoyed the sights and sounds before grabbing a calzone and gelato. After my snack, I headed back up to the train station.

While there is a 90 minute hike between Manarola and Vernazza, I just didn't feel like getting that tired and sweaty when I already had train tickets left from yesterday. So I took the easy way. Tomorrow we're off to Florence, so a little extra rest might do me well.

Too good to be true

Dinner was at Billy's tonight, which luckily is not far from the apartment. So it was a short walk for Charmelle. I had made reservations earlier in the day so we had a great table looking out at the sea.
We ordered our wine and heard the specials. Then our server came in to show us three fresh sea bass and explained if any of us would like that special he would hand pick a fish for the number of people that wanted the special. They were beautiful fish and it was tempting, but I was looking for pasta and seafood, not just fish.
We all went back to looking at the menu and chatting. Suddenly our server appeared with three small dishes. He explained what each one was, left them and was gone. One was polenta, the other two had different types of seafood. We happily started eating. We commented on how nice it was to get a sample like this. Our server was very rushed when we arrived and had apologized. We all assured him we were fine. So we figured this was a thank you for being patient and nice.
Then he appeared again with more dishes, explained them and darted away. Again, we thought, "this is really nice" and dug right in. By the time he came back a fifth time, we started to think maybe I had accidentally ordered something when I made the reservation. We started looking in the menu for something like this. He came back again to take our order and then it all made sense.




Even with a language barrier, the look of "oh shit" on a person's face is understood around the globe. About then is when we found this feast in the menu. He had just given us something that was meant for another table. He began to apologize and got a little stressed for a couple of reasons.

1. What he gave us was a €15 per person starter.
2. There was a table some where that was waiting for their order.

The photo above is the aftermath of this starter. We told him we would happily pay and to go deal with the other table. He was off like a shot. Through this process of food arriving and the server leaving, we were all thinking, "this seems a odd," however we were too busy trying all the samples to really worry about. By the time all of this was done, we had eaten a lot, so we had to go back to the menu and rethink what we were having for dinner. We finally did order and enjoyed a truly wonderful meal. Great wine, desserts, amazing seafood and pasta.

Off to Corniglia

Charmelle & I went down to the station and planned to go to La Spezia and then stop at Riomaggiore and then home. However, our train was delayed 40 minutes, so we went to Corniglia, which is the next town up.
I guess I should explain Cinque Terre a little. There are 5 villages along the shore of the Ligurian Sea. The villages are connected via trains and trails. With Charmelle on crutches trains are the best option. Going from north to south the towns go in this order:

Monterosso: A big beach town and very tourist focused.
Vernazza: Slightly smaller town and has lots of shops. Just suffered huge mud slides this spring.
Corniglia: Sits high atop the hill above the train and the water. Great little restaurants and views.
Manarola: The city is build into the hill side and seems to rise up from the sea.
Riomaggiore: The least tourist focused town with murals and a little more of an outdoor focus, kayak and bike rentals, etc.

We were really happy to see there is a shuttle that will take you up the very steep hill to town from the train station. €1 each was worth every penny. I wish they had this in Manarola. It would make Charmelle's life a lot easier.
We had more great views of the sea and the vineyards. Then we wandered up into the narrow alley filled with restaurants and a few shops. What a wonderful day. We made it out to a lookout for a photo op, and then headed back in for lunch. Manarola is between our heads.




We stopped into a little place thinking we would have a starter (appetizer) there, then continue down to another for another course, but we were happy and full after our starter. We had an anchovy medley. They are caught fresh each day and prepared in ways that would make all of us that are used to really salty canned fish rethink them. These were unbelievable. We enjoyed them with fresh bread and Charmelle had an Italian beer.




The doors of Corniglia caught my eye. So for some reason, I started taking pictures of some of them. Here are a few that I just found interesting.

Our first Italian meal

Even though the trip down to the marina meant another trip back up to our apartment, it was worth every step. Even Charmelle felt that way and she was working hard up and down on crutches. From upper left and going clock-wise, here is what we ordered.

Charmelle and I shared our dishes, she wanted pasta so we thought we should go for something that was not pasta for mine. So I went with the mixed grilled fish. I'm not sure what species the actual fish was, I think it might have been red fish, but I'm not sure. All that really mattered was it was yummy. Then there was octopus. Yes, fresh octopus on the grill is a buttery delight. Then the were prawns done with some different spices and finally a lobster tail. Fantastic treat.

Charmelle went with black linguini with squid ink (I know sounds a bit scary, but was great)! It also had some fresh clams. There was a light garlic and olive oil sauce. It was excellent.

JJ had a traditional pasta with red sauce that was outstanding. Simple, fresh, and wonder are words that come to mind. Jo had a pesto dish that ruined any future pesto dishes. All of us fell in love with it and we're trying to figure out what we needed to do to make pesto this good. The answer is simple, move to Cinque Terre!

Of course we also enjoyed a couple of bottles of fine local wine. One red and one white and they we a hit too. All we can do now is think about tomorrow's dinner!