Isn't Bellagio great, marty?
I could have stayed there indefinitely, but unfortunately....
The little restaurants are so cute and we had found one on a little
side street where you had to walk down into a cellar like room
and it was so cozy and the owner of the restaurant sat with us
and let us try all kinds of different cheeses and he also taught us
to dip tarty hard cheese in honey, which tasted just divine.
One of these days, I'll be back!
That sounds so wonderful. I love stories like that.
I want to tell you about the Cinque terra too but after awhile I get tired of hearing myself talk. Our stay in Manarola was by far my favorite.
CJ, that is what I love about small towns in Italy. Finding these gems and wonderfully friendly people.
I've been in a bit of a whirlwind since I've gotten home...laundry, kids wanting my attention, and work. The Cinque Terra was by far my favorite. Bellagio was beautiful too but I'll definitely be returning to the Cinque Terra. We stayed in a cute hotel in Manarola that had a great breakfast and very clean rooms. The stairs to our room were pretty steep though but the service and the breakfast outweighed that. The weather was nice enough that we went to Montarosso and spent a day on the beach. Also, the towns weren't overcrowded with tourists which made it nice. Our first night we checked in and dropped off the bags in our room to go back down to town center for dinner. On the way to the restaraunt we passed a cantina where some local men were outside playing guitar and singing Beatle's tunes. They were really good. While finishing dinner my friend said we definitely need to go to that bar for a drink. That we did and ended up getting invited to sing along with them. One played guitar and the other a mandolin. We were the only guests there, everyone else were locals. So after a few songs and lemoncello's I asked to hear an Italian song. They called over an older gentleman who had the most amazing voice and sang with passion. It was beautiful! We had such a great time the owner asked if we'd be back the next night.
Day 2--we trained over to Vernazza for some sightseeing and shopping as well as some shopping in Montarosso. Found a wine shop and tasted some wine and had a case shipped home. Still waiting. After diiner we went back for drinks and more singing. It was so much fun! The cantina owner asked us if we'd like to have a really good authentic Italian meal. How could we pass that up so the next night we were to meet him at 830
The next day we went to the beach and then I went hiking while my friend explored the town. We met our new friend and he drove us to Porta Venna for dinner. When the waiter came he said something in Italian and the food and wine just kept coming. It was so wonderful, it was a beautiful night and we ended our vacation with fond memories.
Mrs Walter had styed in that region for a week - one month ago.
So I "know" where you have been :wink:
