Cinque Terre: Monterosso, Manarola & Vernazza

Another trip on the blog today - and this time, it's the Italian Riviera! Otherwise known as Cinque Terre (The Five Villages),  where candy colored houses and beautiful views from the hills line this Ligurian coastline. This region is especially known for it's famous sauce, basil pesto as well as foccaccia bread.

This UNESCO World Heritage Site includes Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. I got to explore three of the five and that was just enough. Read on to learn a little more about this beautiful place:

Hiking

One thing I definitely recommend for this coast is to do a hiking tour of a few of the towns. I loved hiking through all the mountains (especially in Manarola) and the views were STUNNING! Plus since its a bit of a climb, you will definitely feel proud of all the calories you burned off to earn your next pasta binge later in the day. 

Beaches
The beaches here are so beautiful. Monterosso was my favorite (and also favorite town of all the ones I visited) because it seemed to have the most options of things to see, eat and do. You can sit on the cliffs and swim in the Mediterranean, tan by some cute & colorful umbrellas and even take a boat tour of all the towns if you want.

Pisa Pizza
Ok so I know this is not in Cinque Terre but I just had to include it since it was so good! On our way to Cinque Terre (I went twice so this was round two for me and round one for Mom) there was a train strike when traveling from Florence. My Mom and I were basically stuck at multiple stations for a whole day while trying to get there - it was awful. One of the places we stopped in was Pisa. Since we were hungry and wasn't sure how long we'd be stuck there for, we went to a place only a short walk away from the station and at first glance it seemed a little rough. However, their pizza menu was extensive - more options then I think I ever saw in the country! We settled on a sausage and walnut concoction and it tasted better than I thought! The nuttiness of the walnuts and the saltiness of the sausage mixed perfectly together.

Cuisine
The food here was a little hit & miss, definitely not my favorite compared to the other parts of Italy I've been to but still good! The highlights were definitely the walnut cream ravioli after our hiking day and the chicken dinner we had at Ristorante Ely our last night. Both were heavenly - especially the crispy potato medallions on the side of the chicken, yum!!

Overall, I loved the beautiful views of the towns but since there wasn't a whole lot to do, I recommend just staying a night.

Ciao!

Wines, Meats, Cheeses & Oils - Oh My!

Hi everybody! I had the opportunity to go to the Chianti Region of Tuscany a few weeks ago and it was such a great experience!!

The trip consisted of multiple vineyard tours, a typical Tuscan meat shop, and a Tuscan town with a Chianti castle.

Here are a few highlights from wine tour, below:

First Vineyard: Tenuta del Palagio

During the first tour, we sampled a couple reds, vin santo and a few different types of olive oils - or "green gold" as its known in the culinary world.
One in particular, Moraiolo (black olive), extra virgin olive oil goes best with pasta and bread.

For those who don't know, Vin santo is a very sweet wine. When I say sweet - I mean SWEET. I like sweet wine but this was a little bit much for me. Priests used it for holidays and is typical of Tuscany, produced by farmers and in the countryside and would be used for guests when they came over. 

We also learned how to properly "taste" the wine. First, how to hold the glass.  Use the 1,2,3 trick  and count on your hand. Thumb and index should be on the stem and the middle finger should be on the underside of the glass, with the index and middle making a scissors.
Now that you're holding on to it correctly, tilt the glass over a white surface (napkin, plate, anything white) to observe the color & clarity of the wine. A dark ruby red indicates a good red wine, while a bright & clear white is another good sign. If the red is really orange, the wine is usually too old and not drinkable. 
Afterwards, smell your wine to get an idea of what's inside. Once you find something, swirl it and repeat to see if you find a different ingredient this time. 
Once you have a feel for it, take a small & quick sip to shock your mouth - it gets it ready for the alcohol.
For your second sip, "chew" the wine by swishing it around your mouth to take in the flavor.

On your third sip, swallow it and count for how long the flavor lasts in your mouth - higher numbers mean better quality wine.

Next Stop: Typical Tuscan (Siena) Meatshop

Here we got to taste mozzarella gelato with bits of prosciutto on top - actually better than it sounds! 

Definitely try it if you get a chance! After the gelato, we went to sample some of the meat. 

Tip: if the tail is left on the meat, it is a higher quality of meat & more expensive than the others offered. Such a nice stop for a little snack! We then got to "sample" different kinds of wine from the vending machines that were inside: you loaded a wine card with either $5.00 or $10.00 depending on how much you wanted to try. Once the card is loaded, pop it into the machine and choose/sample a couple wines - each sample is only a couple bucks! Some of the wine was pretty expensive too, such as Brunello, so it was a bargain to just try it for a few dollars.

2nd Vineyard

Hey there's me!

My adorable friend, Nikki, posing with the Chianti Rooster

This spot was wonderful. We tried a few Chianti and Chianti Classico wines, as well as truffle oil and grappa too! In order to bear the name "Chianti", the wine must be made of at least 80% San Giovese grapes and be made in the Chianti region. The Chianti Classico has one more step: it has to have the stamp of a black rooster on it as well. If a bottle says that it's "Chianti Classico" and does not have it - it's a knockoff.

What's the difference between Chianti & Chianti Classico, you ask?

Chianti Classico is a higher quality wine & more expensive but both are good quality - you can't really go wrong with either.

Next was the truffle oil - otherwise known as liquid gold or the diamond of the kitchen. The reason for the rarity of truffles are that only dogs (or pigs but sometimes they eat them) can search and find them. They also have a very short season, right in September where festivals are held in their honor. This is why both the black and also the white truffles are so expensive, however they will last you a while since you only need a few drops of the oil. It is quite strong and very aromatic. White truffle is harder to find & more expensive than black - white is mostly used in oil and cooked dishes while black can be used for spreads and also cooked & eaten on its own.



Lastly was the Grappa. I didn't enjoy this too much, - you take it as a shot and it tastes like moonshine. It is processed similarly to vodka but made of a particular grape instead.

Last stop, Chianti Castle

In the town, we found this cute little dog sign.

It means - "I wait for you here" and used for dog parking

Too cute!

One last tip I learned on this trip, but wasn't planned, was actually from another guest like me. A girl we talked to during the trip said that if you are starting to feel a cold or sickness coming, eat a clove of garlic. Make sure to eat it with something though since it can make you throw up if you have an empty stomach!

Well, that's all I got!

Overall, this trip was amazing and definitely well worth the forty-five bucks.

Still playing catch up with my posts since I have way too many things to share with all of you but expect some more posts soon.

Ciao ciao!