We had another great breakfast at Locanda il Maestrale.
The hikers - Marco, Giovanni, Principessa, Caterina and Laura were ready to go around 8. Our host Giovanni was knowledgeable about how the “closed” trail could be navigated, so they headed off.
The rest of us left Monterosso at 10 or so, heading to Vernazza on the local train. The hikers beat us there, and we all had cannoli, in shifts, at Il Pirata.
Il Pirata is a fun restaurant up at the top of Vernazza. No view, but 2 very entertaining Sicilian brothers run the place. The food is great too, and the cannoli is wonderful. One of the brothers recommended a place for dinner near the train station in Monterosso.
Vernazza was packed with tourists on this nice, sunny Saturday.
We walked down to the bulkhead, with the idea that we’d grab some pizza and wine and sit and enjoy it, but no one was really hungry, so we decided to take the train back to Monterosso and have lunch there.
We scoped out the restaurant for dinner, and ate lunch at another place, La Barcacci, where we had good pizza. Then back to the hotel, where some people rested, and some shopped.
Principessa, Giovanni and il Padrino put their swimsuits on and headed down to the beach. It was a warm afternoon, and there were lots of people swimming and sunning. After I did a little shopping, I headed down to see how they were. We all ended up chatting with a young American family living in Switzerland, and vacationing in the south for spring break. They knew they'd go back to the U.S. before long, and were determined to visit as many places as they could while living in Europe, in spite of the fact that they had 3 little kids.
We headed back to the hotel, where we had beer and wine before dinner, then strolled over to the other part of town for a great dinner at La Taverna. They served great bruschetta before dinner, and a nice little shot of limoncello after. In between we had a wide range of seafood and pasta dishes. Il Padrino's pasta carbonara was the only dinner that wasn’t great. We all had some kind of dessert too, whether food or beverage. Service was fast, and friendly, and dinner took about 2-1/2 hours. The bill was 358 euros. After dinner we went back to the hotel and had another drink or 2. Buona notté (good night) at about 11.
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| The painted ceiling in one of the rooms at Locanda il Maestrale. Notice the cat peering over the railing. |
The hikers - Marco, Giovanni, Principessa, Caterina and Laura were ready to go around 8. Our host Giovanni was knowledgeable about how the “closed” trail could be navigated, so they headed off.
The rest of us left Monterosso at 10 or so, heading to Vernazza on the local train. The hikers beat us there, and we all had cannoli, in shifts, at Il Pirata.
 |
| Coming into Vernazza on the trail from Monterosso |
Il Pirata is a fun restaurant up at the top of Vernazza. No view, but 2 very entertaining Sicilian brothers run the place. The food is great too, and the cannoli is wonderful. One of the brothers recommended a place for dinner near the train station in Monterosso.
Vernazza was packed with tourists on this nice, sunny Saturday.
 |
| At a souvenir shop along the main street in Vernazza. We'll take 1 cat, per favore. |
We walked down to the bulkhead, with the idea that we’d grab some pizza and wine and sit and enjoy it, but no one was really hungry, so we decided to take the train back to Monterosso and have lunch there.
 |
| Marchesa is taking the photo of the other 9 of us waiting at the train station |
We scoped out the restaurant for dinner, and ate lunch at another place, La Barcacci, where we had good pizza. Then back to the hotel, where some people rested, and some shopped.
 |
| Plenty of cute shops in Monterosso |
Principessa, Giovanni and il Padrino put their swimsuits on and headed down to the beach. It was a warm afternoon, and there were lots of people swimming and sunning. After I did a little shopping, I headed down to see how they were. We all ended up chatting with a young American family living in Switzerland, and vacationing in the south for spring break. They knew they'd go back to the U.S. before long, and were determined to visit as many places as they could while living in Europe, in spite of the fact that they had 3 little kids.
 |
| Monterosso is the only town along the Cinque Terre that has a real beach. |
We headed back to the hotel, where we had beer and wine before dinner, then strolled over to the other part of town for a great dinner at La Taverna. They served great bruschetta before dinner, and a nice little shot of limoncello after. In between we had a wide range of seafood and pasta dishes. Il Padrino's pasta carbonara was the only dinner that wasn’t great. We all had some kind of dessert too, whether food or beverage. Service was fast, and friendly, and dinner took about 2-1/2 hours. The bill was 358 euros. After dinner we went back to the hotel and had another drink or 2. Buona notté (good night) at about 11.
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