Category: Italy/Slovenia/Austria/Liechtenstein/Switzerland, Fall 2021

We notched our 4th Cinque Terre village via train, and walked down to the waterfront.  After Vernazza this appeared to be the 2nd most beautiful village.  Here is a shot from the train station.

You walk through this long tunnel to get from the train staion into town.

The streets of Manarola are very narrow.  Actually I should say street, as every other walkway is more like an alley.

At the end of the main street is the picturesque waterfront.

There is a restaurant here that is very well known for the quality of the food and the incredible view, Nessun Dorma (which is the name of an opera aria).  They have a class called the Pesto Experience, where you make pesto and learn about the history of the location.  I’m generally not big on taking classes, but this was informative and fun, and to top it off, it includes lunch and wine!  Even better, at the end of the class you are already seated for lunch.  By the time lunch started, the line to get into the restaurant was about 100 people long, and this is a daily occurence.  Here is a view of the restaurant from the harbor.

Kim is about to rip apart this poor basil plant.  Basil….tasty tasty basil.

The owner of the restaurant, Simone, explaining the process.

The leaves are chilled with ice water so they retain their color after being crushed.

Waiting for the pine nuts before we can begin.

Ready to commence crushing!

Kim hard at work!

Eric and Chris, barely breaking a sweat on their end.  Thank god we have wives!

The finished product.  I was working too hard to get a shot of them adding the pecorino and parmesan cheese, and then the olive oil.

The pesto was pretty good, but the effort was a bit much for a small amount of product.  The lunch was excellent, and the fact we didn’t have to wait in line for over an hour just to get a table was well worth the 50 euros each to take the class.  Highly recommended!  The owner, Simone, is pretty entertaining as well.

He told a story about how he won the chance to start his restaurant when the Mayor of Manarola ran a competition to operate at this location.  The place, despite it’s incredible location, had sat idle for several years.  He presented his vision, and out of just three competitors, his was the best.  He was just 24 years old.  He had to open just two months later.  He created the Pesto Experience to fill the time while his mother was busy cooking in the kitchen.

He advised that his success has angered many of the local residents of Manarola, particularly since he is not from Manarola, but from a city nearby.  Success always seems to breed contempt…it’s not just an American thing!

 

 

 

The hike from Vernazza to Corniglia (the “g” is silent) was slightly shorter than to Monterosso at 2.2 miles.  It’s also easier as far as total altitude gain, but it’s still got plenty of stairs on the way up!

We left at 0830 this morning to avoid the crowds and the heat.  While it was still a little warm by the end of the hike, we saw a small fraction of the number of people on the trail, so I highly suggest starting early.  There is a perfect overview of Vernazza only a few hundred meters from the start of the trail (with Monterosso way in the background).

More stairs!

At the half-way point you come across Il Gabbiano, where they are known for their fresh orange juice and lemon slushies, which really hit the spot on a hot day!

This is the view from just above Il Gabbiano.  There is a large patio area for you to enjoy your slushies (or food if you are hungry) before finishing the hike.  This is a great spot for a picnic if you want to pack your own food.

All the trails have these informative signs so you know exactly how far you’ve come, and how far you still need to go.

You get a nice view of San Bernardino above the trail.  Ahh, San Bernardino, such memories!  My knees will never forget it!

Nearing Corniglia.  This is the only village that’s not on the water, so the downhill hike into town is much easier since they are 100 meters above the ocean.  You walk on a trail right through the vineyards to get into the village.

We found an excellent little restaurant that has an ocean view on their patio.  They had a nice selection of local wines.

They also had a resident cat which found me immediately.  I never knew cats loved burrata cheese!  No, I didn’t use the fork again.

To get to the train station you need to hike down 33 flights of steps.  Looks like the Italian version of Lombard Street.  Glad we were going down!

To hike the trails between villages you need the Cinque Terre card.  You can also buy a card that includes unlimited train rides for the day.  We purchased these cards for two days since we were going to be using the trains so much.  We took a train to dinner in Monterosso, and these villages are so close the train takes about 4 minutes to get there.  One of the better restaurants in Monterosso is L’Ancora della Tortuga.  Here is the view from the tables.

The weather was perfect, and the waterfront views never get old.