The food situation could only go up from Venice. Venice food was over priced and pretty mediocre. The food there wasn't bad, but it is too big a tourist location without enough space for locals so you don't find a lot of real cooking that people are taking pride in. In Venice, I saw a lot of places only serving store bought pasta and sauces that probably were not made slowly from scratch. Thanks to Laura we realized the poor dining value in Venice and didn't focus on trying to get good/great meals there.
In Cinque Terre we found delicious homemade pastas, fresh seafood, and various raw and cooked fresh veggies. The food was very reasonably priced given it is such a tourist destination. Our two favorite restaurants were Belforte in Vernazza and Belvedere in Monterosso. Both had great food, friendly service, and views of the water.
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| menu with view at Ristorante Belforte |
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| limoncello to end meal |
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| sweet wine to end meal |
Apologies for not taking better pictures in Cinque Terre. I focused on getting the food in my mouth instead of taking my time with food photos.
Homemade Pasta:
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| trofie pasta with pesto - one of the best pasta dishes I have ever had |
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| black and white pasta with mussels |
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| fish ravioli with prawns |
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| squid ink pasta with seafood |
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| not homemade pasta, but I needed to try the bolognese sauce. when my brother spent 3 hours making bolognese, it was better. |
Fresh seafood:
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| grilled seafood platter |
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| fish soup |
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squid stuffed with seafood and zucchini
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Vegetables:
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| salad - apple and fennel were a nice addition |
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| caprese salad - finally some ripe tomatoes! |
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| boiled vegetables - not clear to me why someone would boil to death fresh veggies |
All the food was fantastic -- except for those boiled green beans and potatoes!
ReplyDeleteI think Tim and I saw "boiled vegetables" on the menu 2 or 3 times before we ordered them. I kept trying to veto the boiled vegetables but it became clear Tim needed to try them!
Tasted pretty much how you'd expect overboiled green beans to taste.
The homemade pasta was delicious though!
Looks like y'all are having a great trip!
ReplyDeleteI need some advice. I'm heading to Italy for a week in August. I'm starting at the Almafi Coast and working my way up to Bologna. We've been debating about whether we should take trains, rent a car or a mix of both. Any thoughts?
We have been doing only trains in Italy. It is pretty easy and traffic in the places we have been would be chaotic in a car. You might want to ask Megan about the Amalfi coast area. In my opinion, for Rome, Florence, Venice, and Cinque Terre, I would not want a car on a first visit or a subsequent visit.
ReplyDeleteI think a car might be useful if you are going through some smaller towns that don't have good rail connections.
What cities you going to hit up?
Good to know! We were leaning towards trains as well. This is our itinerary so far. I'm a little concerned we're trying to pack in too may places in such a limited time.
ReplyDelete- Naples 1 night
- Positano 1 night
- Almafai coast 1 night
- Rome 1 night
- Florence 1 night
- Tuscany 1 night
- Venice 1 night
- Balogna 2 nights (we're going for a wedding)
Too much? I feel like we might be in a rush the whole time.
In my opinion that is too much and you will feel rushed. I would think you want to cut city count and just do 2-3 nights in each city. You might want to do a day trip at some places, but it is a lot easier to stay in the same place as opposed to be moving all the time.
ReplyDeleteThis site has some good planning tips:
http://www.italylogue.com/planning-a-trip/italy-itinerary-the-perfect-two-weeks.html
So does the Rick Steves italy book.
You got to figure you are losing at 2-5 hours each time you move cities. That is either driving time or transport to, on, and from trains into hotels.