Dining in the Cinque Terre

I sure love this place! As wonderful as Tuscany and all of our previous stops were, it's good to get back to water! Seafood! Boats! 

We stopped for lunch in Monterrosa, the northernmost of the 5 towns. 

I had anchovies with lemon, an area staple, with a side of vegis. This is also the region where pesto was 'invented', so George had minestroni soup (broth based) with a huge dolop of pesto. Best he's ever had! 

Then, for dinner, as I suspected....all stops were pulled.






All the local specialties. Mussels, crab, pesto, an incredible seafood stew, rabbit, anchovies, vegis, and SO much more! A local white wine complemented it all perfectly...crisp with just a little spicyness. The abundence here is astonishing! What better end than homemade limonchino!
Yes...Scrat helped us celebrate a group birthday (Jen) and an anniversary (Mike and Sheila). 

Sated, we went for an evening beach walk while it lightly sprinkled. So far our weather has been nothing short of perfect...75-80 degrees evey day, with humidity high only during the first few days. Now that we're on the Med, wouldn't you know it....there's a 40% chance of thunderstorms tomorrow! We'll take whaever comes! So, for the first time this trip....no alarm, no plans tomorrow...just enjoy the beauty of the area however we want!!! I'm so happy!!