For the longest time, I had always wanted to to go Cinque Terre. I knew it was super touristy and probably not what it used to be, but still, I had to check it out. While the throngs of tour groups wasn't thrilling, it's still an incredibly gorgeous place in Italy that's still worth checking out. My two favorite towns were Manarola and Vernazza (the town where I stayed in). If you're fit and adventurous, you can hike all 5 towns or you can also take the train/ferry as well. For lunch, my mom and I just grazed on snacks while walking around, so I don't have the names of the exact places but we had some great focaccia bread pizzas and cannolis while we walked around.
After hiking and walking for an entire day, I decided to treat myself to some sunset wine. I had spotted this cliffside bar while hiking on top of Castello Doria and was determined to seek it out. Apparently it's part of the Gianni Franzi hotel, one of the few hotels in town and it was a perfect way to end the day. It's quiet with lovely views of the water - unfortunately you won't be able to get in a good view of the sunset because of the cliffs but that's only a minor setback for an otherwise fantastic experience. In the evenings, they only have wine tastings - no other beverages, so if you don't drink wine, don't come here. I opted for the wine flight and the sommelier did an excellent job picking a prosecco (brut), white wine and one of the most amazing full bodied Barbera wines I've ever had in my life. Looking back, I wished I had taken a picture of the bottle because it was simply magical to drink. While you're there, you can get some snacks and I opted for the marinated anchovies. Anchovies totally get a bad rap and I probably wouldn't eat them anywhere but in Italy because they were outstanding here. Not too fishy and they were soaking in delicious local olive oil which made a huge difference. If every bite of anchovy was like this, I wouldn't mind eating it all the time The whole experience was 20 euros, which I thought was a great deal for amazing wine, fresh nibbles and a stunning, peaceful view. It's a nice respite away from the town square and if you go at sunset you'll get to mingle more with cool people who are staying in town instead of the massive tour groups passing through.
Trattoria Da Piva Via Carattino 4, 19018 Vernazza, Italy 3.5 Forks
After spending all day grazing on food, I wasn't especially hungry for dinner but in a sleepy town where there's not much else to do, you might as well eat while places are still open. I stumbled upon this place while randomly walking the cobblestone streets of Vernazza. It seemed like a cute off-the- beaten path place nestled in the hills since it wasn't off the one main drag in town. I liked that it seemed seafood focused, so I figured we'd give it a try.
Since it was off season, there weren't a ton of people inside, which was fine by me. We split sauteed spinach with garlic, mussels and a pesto gnocchi (I had to get at least one pesto dish since that's what Cinque Terre is famous for). Everything was good and it was a solid meal but nothing really wow'd me. The mussels were soaking in a nice garlic white wine sauce that wasn't too buttery, which is always delicious to sop up with bread. The pesto gnocchi was a nice change from the squid ink pasta we were getting in Venice but not as delicious as the bolognese and ragu pasta of Bologna. Overall, it was a nice casual place away from the crowds that was a step up from the pizza dinner from the previous night for about the same price. Total bill: $47 euros for 2 people with wine
Photo Credit: Yelp
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