Vernazza Italy September 20-21

Our Milano train took us to Monterosso and from there one short stop on the local train. Giuliano, our host, greeted us within 10 minutes. I was supposed to call him or text which I did, but I may have had the country code incorrect. He grabbed our extra bag and we followed and chatted all the way to his place. He is a very gracious and animated host!

The view from here is nothing short of amazing. My last visit was in 2010, and following year was the destructive flood that tried to swallow the town. Even Giuliano’s place was shut down for a year while he rebuilt it along with the pathways to reach it.

Vernazza from our patio

We settled in, unpacked and showered. That felt amazing! Next was a tour of the town ultimately looking for a place to eat. We were told all restaurants were booked tonight due to a lawyer inviting 500 people (lawyers) to a special event in the piazza. We found a spot on the water and enjoyed a shared salad and gnocchi with pesto. So delicious but way too much food. We will be sharing all meals in the future.

We stayed by the harbor to watch the sun set and let our dinner settle before… we ate gelato! Italy and gelato go together and we don’t want to leave any food experience out of our trip experience.

What a beautiful place! Vernazza is most peaceful when the “day tourists” head home.

After dark we sat on the patio sharing a bottle of Rosso vino and chatted about the day and the upcoming adventures, along with a little of the past.

The second day in Vernazza I found myself awake early with camera in hand heading off to the water before the sun was up. Morning light is the best for photos. The colors are so true and there are no people!

I needed a cappuccino so headed to Il Pirrata. It was so nice to see Massimo. I’m not sure he remembered me but other than less hair, he looked and acted the same as before. Every woman is greeted with “Hey Beautiful”, which is so fun!

Suzanne joined me shortly after and we had breakfast there. They make a delicious simple quiche and the pastries are impressive. Mine had a moist ricotta center but it wasn’t exactly like a pudding filling, just some deliciousness cooked into the center. The outside was the flakiest pastry, similar to a croissant with a crunch. Yum and yum!

It was now time to get our hike going which is an entire additional story posted on Facebook but I may add it to my blog for reference. It was… special!

After our trek up and down, we went back to our room to shower and hop on the train to see more of the five towns.

Monterosso old town is adorable. Sue liked it better or almost better than Vernazza. Not me! There were many shops and restaurants and gelaterias. The beach was crowded with people and umbrellas. Imagine the south of France.

The church in Monterosso

The beach in Monterosso

I tried on a few long skirts and pantaloons and said nope. Too much fabric for me. We were both starving but no one was serving food. It was the bewitching hours between lunch and dinner. We had our choice of what was in the case already prepared and enjoyed focaccia and a small beer. That did the trick however so we were happy!

Sue stepped into the sea and enjoyed a few moments. She wanted to swim but wasn’t willing to strip down, so feet were wet and that’s it.

We took the train to Manarola which was larger than I remembered. The trail between Riomaggiore and Manarola has not been open since the 2011 flood. Disappointing as I wanted to walk between the towns.

Manarola looking toward the sea

Finally back in Vernazza we picked up another bar of soap and small notebook for Suzanne and then headed to Giuliano’s restaurant Vultare for pizza. Outstanding! And finally back to IlPiratta for dessert!