After a very late arrival in Monterosso, we had to modify our original Saturday schedule. We started our day around 9:00, when I dropped off our dirty laundry at the local shop that would wash, dry, and fold everything for €15 per basket. I then walked to two highly-rated stores that sold focaccia to share for breakfast.
The morning view from our apartment in Monterosso.
According to Rick Steves, locals say the best focaccia in Italy is made in the Cinque Terre, so sampling some seemed like a must. The first stop was at Il Frantoio, a part of Monterosso’s old town, which was a short walk from the new town where we were staying. I bought an olive-studded piece of focaccia bread there along with slices of cheese and plain focaccia from Il Massimo della Focaccia, which was just a few minutes from our apartment.
Olive and onion focaccia at Il Frantoio.
We divided up the focaccia, along with a slice of quiche, and enjoyed it on the apartment’s glorious deck overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. After breakfast, we lingered until it was time to leave and catch a late morning train to Corniglia, the starting point for one of the region’s most famous hikes.
Breakfast with a backdrop.
Noah liked the focaccia so much he ate an extra slice of focaccia before we left for our hike.
Some of the stairs to access our Monterosso apartment.
The train ride to Corniglia was stress-free, as we only had a seven-minute ride with one stop along the way. We exited the station to what seemed like a thousand upward stairs to get into Corniglia’s city center, which made sense as it’s the only town in the Cinque Terre that was not on the water. After a brief stop to buy water, we entered the National Park and began the 2-mile hike to Vernazza, another Cinque Terre town.
Behind the scenes of the selfie.
The trail was both picturesque and challenging, with stairs and paths up and down as we made our way along the coastline between the cities. We broke up our adventure at the Bar il Gabbiano, which served fresh-made orange and lemon juice among other drinks and snacks. Amanda and Noah thought the lemon juice was far too sour, but I liked it alright.
Lemon juice at Bar il Gabbiano halfway through the Corniglia to Vernarza trail.
Lots of fresh-squeezed lemons and oranges were outside the Bar il Gabbiano.
The hike ended with a long descent of stairs into the picturesque town of Vernazza. While quaint, it was an apparently popular spot for tourists on Saturday afternoons, as the town was swarming with individuals and groups. Fortunately, the well-reviewed Pippo a Vernazza restaurant we’d picked for lunch seemed to be a bit off of the beaten path and we had no trouble ordering and grabbing a seat.
Vernazza was hopping at lunchtime!
We all sampled the trofie pasta with pesto, which is apparently the most famous pasta shape and topping in the Cinque Terre area. Amanda ate (most of) the rest, Noah had the same pasta shape with a red sauce, and I tried a black (squid-ink-infused) linguini with various seafood toppings.
Lunch in Vernazza.
Amanda’s knee was hurting after the first hike, so she took an incredibly-crowded train back to Monterosso to retrieve our clean clothes and attempt to relax a little at our apartment. After walking with Amanda to the station, Noah and I made our way through Vernazza for the next leg of our journey.
Amanda documented her ridiculously-crowded train.
Documenting a successful laundry pickup! Anytime wash, dry, and fold is an option when we’re traveling, it’s worth the money.
The hike from Vernazza to Monterosso was more challenging and a little less scenic than the morning hike. It started with a constant climb and ended with some slippery stairs down from some afternoon rainfall. The rain may have impacted our enjoyment a bit, but Noah and I still felt accomplished to finish the 4.5-mile jaunt from Corniglia to Monterosso.
Near the start of our hike, with Vernazza in the background.
At the end of the hike, in the old town of Monterosso.
Before returning to the apartment, I dragged Noah into a handful of stores in the old town area. He was happy to purchase a couple of bags of the trofie pasta to take back to Iowa but less enthusiastic to hang out while I had a FaceTime conversation with Amanda to determine which Cinque Terre print to purchase. We grabbed gelato near our place and then made the 120-stair climb to rejoin Amanda in the apartment.
Gelato with a nice backdrop.
Though we’d considered a dinner out, we figured we could save money and enjoy our apartment’s view by getting some more focaccia bread to take away. The closest, and our preferred, focaccia place had closed for the day so I ventured back to old-town for a slice of olive, plain, and pizza bread. Some anchovy-topped bruschetta and so-so salads from another Monterosso restaurant rounded out our dinner and the evening.
Our selection of focaccia for dinner.
Anchovy-topped bruschetta from Enoteca Da Eliseo.
A little late-night blogging to finish the evening.
Sure looks beautiful everywhere you have been.