Day 19 June 10, 2023 (Manarola)
We were up early today, around 6 a.m., and decided to grab a few groceries and then take the train to Vernazza for the day. We took a brief walk around the town before the crowds and snapped a few pics. We caught the 9:30 train and walked all around Vernazza and then the rain decided to spoil it for us. At that point, we were already wet because why would we bring our umbrellas or raincoats when they can just stay dry in our room???? We managed to find a place to wait it out and then continued on. Here in Italy, we have found that it’s hard to find a place to eat (restaurant, not take away food) before noon. We wanted to do a sit-down meal as we are eating breakfast in our room every morning (though we only had fruit and yogurt) and then heading out to do whatever. Lunch has become a big meal for us, so we have to explore until they open. We found a GREAT place that opened at noon, and it was a hike to get to it (basically 200 steps on the way to Corniglia hiking trail, what else is new…), Ristorante La Torre. It sits high up so you get great views!!! We started with shrimp, prawns, and lobster and was not sure what to expect. It was great, but I’m sure we did not do it justice as for getting all the meat out and sucking the legs, etc. like you’re supposed to do. We then ordered the Spaghetti al Mare, which was spaghetti with mussels and clams in a red sauce – DELICIOSO!!!!! The flavor was phenomenal, and you could sop up the sauce with the bread they gave you. Of course, we had to have wine with lunch, I mean we just walked up all of those stairs! I love that the Italians do not rush, and we were there for at least 1 ½ hours, which gave us a chance to just sit and enjoy.
We headed back down, stopped in for a gelato (basil and strawberry, yummy!) and then headed to the train station to head back home. By this time, it’s almost 2 pm and it was flooded with people. We have found that leaving early to do things is the best as after 10 am, it gets VERY crowded FAST. Back to the room to get some work done, showered, and then decided to cook dinner in tonight. We bought zucchini, potatoes, onion, and sausage. The plan tomorrow is to go kayaking for a couple of hours in Riomaggiore.
Miles walked – 4.19 (but most of them going up steps!) Ciao!
Some history of Vernazza
- Is considered one of the quaintest and most beautiful of the Cinque Terra villages.
- First records of Vernazza date back to 1080.
- On October 25, 2011, they had a devasting flood that buried the main street in 13 feet of mud. If you Google this, the pictures are just heartbreaking to see what happened to this beautiful little town. Walking through the town today, you’d never know there was a flood.
