Vernazza – Day 2: The hike to Monterosso (5/16/2007)

So, we finally reached our breaking point and had to find a place to do some laundry. In the Cinque Terre, there are only 2 villages with machines – Monterosso and Riomaggiore. The one in Riomaggiore opened earlier, so we hopped on the train and headed in that direction. Like everything else in Europe, washing clothes in Europe is expensive – 3.5 Euro for each load to wash and 3.5 Euro to dry.

While waiting around for the clothes to dry, I walked up through the little town and snapped these pics:





After coming back with clean clothes, we had lunch at a place just down the steps from our apartment called Da Piva Trattoria.



We had Aschiughe al Limone again for an antipasti (same as last night). Believe it or not, the anchovies here taste nothing like they do in America. Here they are caught fresh the night before right in the waters of the Cinque Terre and they are served fresh – and they are delicious! Candice had spaghetti di Mare and I had tennette (?) pesto – which was basically linguine with pesto. Pesto is a local specialty and is on most restaurant menus here – and for good reason – it’s great. ¼ liter of white wine to share.

The highlight of the day was the hike to Monterosso al Mare from Vernazza. The trail that links the 5 villages is pretty easy to walk between the first three villages, but gets more difficult once you reach Vernazza and Monterosso. The trail picks up in the middle of village across the street from the internet spot and down the steps from our room. The first section is a climb of about 200 stone steps to the trail head where they validate/check your pass to the park. At this point, the views are pretty good:



We continue on up, up, up, up, up – it never ends! Every turned corner reveals a new set of stairs to climb.



But with each step, the views get better and better:



We wanted a picture together, so we asked this German couple to take a picture - but first we took one of them. I asked if they wanted the view of Vernazza in the picture - to my surprise, they said no - just take the picture of them - the town isn't interesting! Whatever.

So they took one of us - and I couldn't tell at the time, but Candice's eyes were closed - oh well - I'll have to make her do the climb again!!



Here’s a far away glimpse of our destination:



Along the way, we see some interesting signs:



and people:



The man above was on the trail selling water, wine, lemons, and limoncello – a home made lemon-based alcoholic treat sold all over the area. We didn’t catch this guy’s name, but he seemed to take to Candice, as after we bought some water and limoncello, he gave her a free lemon.



After a while, we came to a point where looking back we could see this view:



In the foreground is Vernazza. Just beyond on the cliffs is Corniglia and then Manarola – and then way beyond that you can just see parts of Riomaggiore. Amazing.

Monterosso is right at sea level, so all those steps we climbed as we left Vernazza have turned into steep descents. Luckily, most of it is stairs like this:



But occasionally, the trail is very narrow (about 1.5 feet wide) with cliff wall on one side and nothing on the other.

Getting closer:



As we neared Monterosso, Candice had a minute to take a seat at the top of the world with her legs hanging free:



The trail leading into Monterosso:



And finally – our destination:



Monterosso is the most resort-like village of the five – with many hotels, the beach, more nightlife, better access to other cities in Italy, and of course, higher prices.

One look back at the coast line:



and our ride home:





The day was capped off by a fantastic dinner at Gambero Rosso – located at the harbor in Vernazza.



Although they have a huge section of outdoor seating looking over the harbor, it was a little chilly, so we asked to sit inside. We were sat in a room with 4 other occupied tables – all seemed to be locals, which is a nice change as there seem to be so many Americans here. Every once in a while, you kind of want to get a flavor of the local scene – this was perfect.



The meal was outstanding. We had another local white wine made and produced by the Cinque Terre Cooperative – a 2006 vintage. For our anitipasti Candice and I shared Muscardini – mini Octopus served in a tomato sauce with parsley and fresh bread. For our Primi Piatti, we shared Paccheri alla Gambero Rosso – which was a Ligurian pasta (like fettuccini) with fish sauce and tomato. For secondi piatti, we had a dinner for two of baked fish of the day in sea salt. The fish was brought to the table by the chef right on the baking pan – and was covered in sea salt. He placed the pan on a stand, scraped off most of the salt, peeled back the scales, and expertly plated two dishes of the most tender delicious fish you’ve ever had. It was served with a bottle of I Dolia olive oil by LVNAE for us to drizzle over the fish. The salt and olive oil mixed perfectly and the taste was unbelievable!

Candice had an espresso and we shared a slice of Dolce Della Casa – which tonight was a slice of cake with hot fudge and whipped cream on the side. The cake was really good – kind of a cornbread/pound cake consistency, but with a sweet taste.

On our walk back, we go by Da Piva Trattoria, and Piva, the owner/chef, is out on the steps with a guitar holding court to the late eaters there – and singing "I Did it My Way" which we can barely understand through his broken English and perhaps a few drinks. Apparently, the singing is a regular occurrence, as it was mentioned by Rick Steves in his book on Italy.