We had an amazing time in Venice and the Cinque Terre. I’m kicking myself
for not booking an extra night in Riomaggiore, because I think it will probably be our
favorite place from the whole trip. The Cinque Terre has 5 towns set up on the
cliffs surrounding the ocean, and the views are endless.
Unfortunately they
had some mudslides in October, so we couldn’t do the 5 hour/5 town walk along
the ocean, but we hiked to the top of Riomaggiore instead. It
took a couple hours and we probably went up hundreds (thousands?) of stairs. The view at
the top was breathtaking!
The food here is incredible. I finally know what pesto is meant to taste like! Our town had a little center in between the beach and the cliffs, and there were several store fronts with little old ladies cooking pizza, pasta, foccacia, gelato, selling wine and fruit, etc. Twice we went to a place where you choose what type of pasta you want out of about 10 and then choose which sauce (pesto, meat, etc.) and she boils the water and cooks the pasta and sauce on the spot- then puts it all in a to-go container for €5. We think it would be a hit in the US! We also went to some restaurants in Venice recommended by our host Lorenzo, and the meals here are so long and thought out with several courses. We spent about 3 hours at one place our first night because they give you lots of free extra drinks throughout the meal (prosecco, different wines, etc.) and by the end the waiter walked out with homeade limoncello-about 3 shots each, and I thought I was going to have to drag myself home!
Chase and I want to spend a week
in Cinque Terre if we come back to Europe some summer because we decided it has
everything we want in a vacation, and there would be no need to visit any other
locations or cities. The best part is that our room with the unbelievable view and
breakfast was €100/night, which is probably equivalent to a Howard Johnson in
the Midwest. (It should also be noted that everyone has cats here!)
