Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy

by docdivatraveller - 9/19/2017

After the tiring 365 steps up and 365 steps down to the village of Corniglia and back, we were at the station. We took the train to Manarola and started hunting for a restaurant to have lunch. It was already half past four and we were surviving on an early morning breakfast and gelato.

None of the villages were adjacent to the station like Monterosso. So again we had to walk quite a lot to reach the heart of Manarola.

Though actual sandy beaches are present only in Monterosso and Levanto, people have somehow managed to create swimming spots even in these rocky terrain. There are not even steps into the sea, just rocks. Reminded me of the Princes Island in Turkey. Sun bathers were lying all over the rocks and they looked liked insects from above.

We wanted to get a good view of the village of Manarola. Good views were always available from the trails and of course not from inside the village. So we took the Blue Lane or the Lover's Lane for a little distance to catch the view from a distance. I was dead famished but my partner convinced me to take pictures first and then settle for lunch..in peace. The views did not disappoint.

For lunch we scouted place to place. Every restaurant was beautiful but since it was five, half of them were closed. I wanted one near the sea or the fisherman's wharf. Finally liked a place which read La Scogliera Trattoria Cucina Tipica. I struggled with my freshly learnt Italian as no one understood English there.

The man attending us was rather grumpy. We wanted to sit at a certain place which offered beautiful views but he was not letting us sit there. It was a table for four. Even when the restaurant had no other guests, he was worried that we were spoiling two other seats. We were stubborn too. We sat there only. He came and removed the other two chairs and table from our side!

I really wanted to order sea food since we were in its haven. The last night I had the best meal of gnocchi with shrimps in Vernazza. So I ordered Sea Food Lasagne. Sea food meant a mixture of everything: Squids, octopus and shrimps. They are called 'Frutti di mare' or fruits of the sea. I first confirmed whether they would be finely chopped or whole. I did not want to eat octopus again after my Greek experience.. Hubs ordered a plate of spaghetti in pomodoro sauce. A young guy of African origin came to wait us. His English was really good. I did not have to struggle in my broken Italian anymore. Later we learnt that he was from Trinidad.

The lasagne was little in quantity but it was the creamiest, richest and tastiest lasagne I had ever tasted in my life! The chopped sea food imparted their distinct flavours but I was drowned in the creaminess of the cheese. Hub's spaghetti was equally good.

Now when the bill came, we were taken by surprise. It was 5 euro more than the expected. The restaurant took cover charges for eating ie 2.5 euro per person. No we had heard about cover charges or copperti on the web but did not have to pay it neither in Rome nor Vernazza. Lesson learnt. We decided to ask about the copperti before we took the decision to eat!