Liguria, the coastal region of north-west Italy.

Italy has always been the most important European country for me to visit and my wish came true this April. My husband and I brought Mema and Pop Pop to Florida to watch the kiddos while we whisked ourselves away for two weeks. We focused on Liguria, home of Le Cinque Terre, the five villages. They are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. This region is rich with culinary splendors and the local wine called Sciacchetrà, a straw wine, typically drank with cheese or desserts. They are fisherman villages, and wine villages, known for the best pesto and focaccia in Italy. As well, you must have the acciuga, anchovies, a specialty of Monterosso.

This region is also a part of the Cinque Terre National Park. There are walking trails connecting the five towns and the difficulty levels range from an easy stroll to a rough and physically challenging hike. The segment of the hike between Riomaggiore and Manarola is called the Via Dell’Amore (“Love Walk”). We enjoyed bringing along a little nosh to sit and enjoy during our hike. The towns are each unique in there own way, our favorite was Monterosso al Mare, it has two distinct sides, the new and old. We spent most of our time in Old Town at the Enoteca’ de Eliseo a beautiful little wine bar run by husband and wife, Eliseo and Mary. They serve bottomless bowls of the most amazing capers, they are huge in size and flavor.

This is where you can buy jars of the best pesto to take home and the little pasta called Trofie, Combine them to make Trofie al Pesto!

Trofie al Pesto

We also loved Corniglia. Unlike the other towns of the Cinque Terre, Corniglia is not located on the sea. Instead, it is on the top of the mountain, surrounded on three sides by vineyards and terraces and the fourth side descends steeply on the sea. We found a lovely place to stop for vino named Il Pirun, run by Mario. After you finish up with a drink downstairs, wind your way up the spiral staircase to the second floor for a wonderful meal.

Whatever you do, DO NOT leave here without buying several bags of the olive oil crackers they serve with the wine. These are addicting.

For now, Ciao!  I’ll be back with Venice on our next tour of our trip to Italy.

Filed Under: Food, Food LOVE, Life LOVE, Photo LOVE, Travel, Travel, Travel LOVE

Tanya

Hello:-) This is where I'm supposed to share with you a little about myself. Ok, here it goes. Born in NY, moved to Florida when I was 4 and grew up just north of Orlando in Altamonte Springs. I met my husband in 1994, knowing without question we were meant to be together forever, we got hitched in late 1996. We had a short jaunt in Las Vegas, NV, with his radio career and we conceived our first baby. This prompted us to return to Florida, landing in St. Petersburg. We've been back in FL for over 10 years now, kids are 10 & 8. My life can be summed up with family, traveling, life science, photography & fur kids. We currently have eight cats and two dogs and live on over 7 acres in Bradenton, a dream! I've combined my lifelong passion of photography & animals into turned them into my dream job in 2008, it's been wonderful & I Love every minute of it. I have a wonderfully supportive husband and two amazing kiddos and we're having a crazy good time together on this journey of ours! Cool beans.