We'’re out of it! A summer 14 “MAGICal” Med adventure Day 14/Aug 05 updated 05/05

[jedijill]

oooh, that food looks amazing! I've been to that town...when I was there they were having a lemon festival! I had mussels in pesto that were amazing!

Jill in CO

 

[dizneeat]

Karin, the view from where you climbed is absolutely stunning. And I love the photos of the church.

The shops in the village are adorable and enjoyed taking that "walk" with you.

The coastline photos are spectacular.

It was worth every minute and every drop of sweat that we shed while climbing up there.
And the boat ride was just awesome.

Love those fabulous pictures of the narrow walkways. Boy it sure seems worth having a guide. I will definitely do it different next time I go That last village must have been Vernazza, right? I loved it there but all we tried was pesto

I never regretted booking the tour. Umberto was so knowledgeable and he was so fun to listen to.
I "think" that village must have been Vernazza. I lost track a bit. But the one we were heading to was Monterosso and that is where WE had pesto. Umberto made sure we tried the regional speciality!

How did Tom like the Beer?

He really enjoyed it and said it was very good. He loves to try different kinds of beers.
I got him an "international" beer advent calendar which has 24 different international beers. So far he has been quite happy with it.

Loving the hats advent calendar, too!

I am glad you do!

oooh, that food looks amazing! I've been to that town...when I was there they were having a lemon festival! I had mussels in pesto that were amazing!

Jill in CO

Oh Jill, that food was sooooo good. We just loved the fried anchovies and the fried squid. And those little finger sandwiches and the cheese - oh well, all of it was yummy. As was the wine - we made sure we took some home.

A lemon festival! I would have loved that .... and the pesto we had lateron was really good.

 

[MEK]

If you want to see "all" of the island take one of the trolley tours - they are fun. (Don't book on the ship, their first stop is right at Mallory Square)
I would recommend visiting Hemingway's House - there is such a lot of history in there. It is easy walking distance, no problem. And while you are in the area, climb up the stairs in the lighthouse - AWESOME view of the whole island.
Shopping - best to do in Duval Street, which runs across the island
Don't miss the Southernmost Point, which is a huge barrel and photo spot and while you are there, walk a few more steps and have lunch at the Southernmost Cafe at the Beach - another AWESOME location, with a great view. And btw, the hotel next door, the Southernmost on the beach is the hotel we LOVE to stay at.
Don't forget to try the Key Lime Pie on a stick. Kermit has the best ones!

That's what comes to mind while writing here, but there are lots more interesting places. I am going to put together a few other great things for you during my Christmas Vacation - please remind me, if I don't post it.

Thanks Karin! These are great suggestions! I want to do it ALL!

 

[dizneeat]

Thanks Karin! These are great suggestions! I want to do it ALL!

Just DO them all, perfectly doable. Oh, and don't forget to watch the sunset when you sail out!

 

[Leshaface]

The views from the church are beautiful!

I love seeing the streets while you're walking around and seeing how close the buildings are too each other. Fabulous!

Wow, quite a spread of food! Looks so yummy.

 

[jenseib]

My stomach is literally growling looking at that food. I guess I better go and find some lunch now. Sadly it's going to be a disappointment after seeing that!

The views and landscape is just amazing!

 

[dizneeat]

The views from the church are beautiful!

The views from up there were even more beautiful in reality. The photos don't do them real justice.

I love seeing the streets while you're walking around and seeing how close the buildings are too each other. Fabulous!

They definitely used the space they have really well. The little towns are beautiful and so charming. We will definitely go back in the near future.

Wow, quite a spread of food! Looks so yummy.

It definitely was VERY good. It was awesome sitting out there at the side of that square and munching away.

My stomach is literally growling looking at that food. I guess I better go and find some lunch now. Sadly it's going to be a disappointment after seeing that!

The views and landscape is just amazing!

It was so good, Jen. And we were so surprised when we came back and saw what all was waiting for us. It definitely was a table decked out for foodies.

Oh, and I hope your lunch was wonderful as well.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 5, July 27

Cinque Terre for foodies …… - Part 7

There was no way we would find a spot to sit upstairs, so we all settled with window seats downstairs for the short ride to our next stop.
About 15 minutes later we had arrived at Monterosso and Umberto took us on a walk around the city.



We walked through some of the narrow, winding streets,























visited a church or two



and even were allowed into a tiny but ever so beautiful private garden.





The tour had taken about 30 minutes and then we had another hour and a half to explore on our own. We walked through the main street and explored some of the shops before deciding that we had another local delicacy to try. They make delicious pesto in the area and we all wanted to try it. Umberto had given us recommendations, letting us know which were his favourite restaurants



and when we walked by one of them where we were able to sit inside we were sold. The four of us were quickly led to a table at the back where it was a bit cooler and handed some menus. We all ordered some drinks and our main courses and while we waited for them to be ready we were offered some wonderful



bread, some olive oil for dipping and some butter. Around that time I realized that the other party in the restaurant was the one of Mr. FB. But they were just finishing their meal, so we were on the save side. It didn’t take long and we were served our late lunch. Tom had ordered



Spaghetti al Pesto, while I had chosen the



Gnocci al Pesto. Bobbie and Connie shared a portion of Spaghetti al Pesto and were brought two smaller plates of the dish. And it tasted just as good as it looked, fresh and vibrant. After we had finished our lunch we had a quick restroom break before we headed back to the port to meet with Umberto again.



He then took us on another walk around Monterosso.

To be continued ..........​

Advent calendar ALERT!!!!!!!!!

Tom has been busy and has created two new advent calendars - hope you are going to take a look every day!

Funny hats calendar

Food calendar​

 

[GoofyFan1515]

Okay, did I miss it? Why ARE the buildings so high and narrow???
(Never mind, I see MEK took a guess and you filled us all in already…………….)

That first picture of the church in the distance reminded me of Colonial structures from early US history, that were made of logs with the lighter and darker colors of the alternating layers of wood and plaster. Of course once your pictures were a little closer………..

The Mediterranean is such a beautiful area! I would love to see it in person one day. Until then, your pictures are certainly helping me appreciate it. And yes, the coastline IS stunning!!!

I don’t know about small village, but those streets are Umberto really set you up right with all that food! Looks yummy! And how can you beat that bread and the pasta with pesto? They look scrumptious!

A little late to the party I know, but I still need to check out Tom’s Advent Calendars.

 

[KatMark]

More beautiful pictures, Karin.

Lunch looks very yummy.

 

[dizneeat]

Okay, did I miss it? Why ARE the buildings so high and narrow???
(Never mind, I see MEK took a guess and you filled us all in already…………….)

Glad you found the answer to your question!

That first picture of the church in the distance reminded me of Colonial structures from early US history, that were made of logs with the lighter and darker colors of the alternating layers of wood and plaster. Of course once your pictures were a little closer………..

The Mediterranean is such a beautiful area! I would love to see it in person one day. Until then, your pictures are certainly helping me appreciate it. And yes, the coastline IS stunning!!!

You really need to come over and see it for yourself. Europe is really beautiful and there is so much history everywhere.
And you really need to go and see the Cinque Terre! Such an awesome place.

I don’t know about small village, but those streets are Umberto really set you up right with all that food! Looks yummy! And how can you beat that bread and the pasta with pesto? They look scrumptious!

It was a reminder of how they used to have their villages centuries ago and all those winding paths were really great to distract intruders.

Pesto originates in that region and it was the best we ever had. So fresh, so tasty and creamy. It would be worth returning for the food alone.

A little late to the party I know, but I still need to check out Tom’s Advent Calendars.

Hope you enjoy them. They are so fun to open every day.

More beautiful pictures, Karin.

Lunch looks very yummy.

I am happy to hear that you enjoy the scenery, Kathy.

All the food we had all day was so good, but the Pesto we had was out of this world.

 

[LuvEeyore]

Great update Karin!!

 

[dizneeat]

Great update Karin!!

Thank you! More to come shortly!

 

[JKSWonder]

Gnocchi is my favorite.....I would have ordered the exact same thing. Looks wonderful.

 

[dizneeat]

Gnocchi is my favorite.....I would have ordered the exact same thing. Looks wonderful.

I just love them too and these were just sooooooooo good. They just melted in your mouth and the Pesto sauce was so fresh and tasty.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 5, July 27

Cinque Terre for foodies …… - Part 8

He then took us on another walk around Monterosso.







We walked through an underpass and then up a wider road. About halfway up the road we stopped for some wonderful ice-cream which was included in our tour as well. I chose the



Cinque Terre ice-cream, which had different kinds of nuts and dried fruit in it and I think my second choice was Malaga, Vanilla ice-cream mixed with rum raisins. Tom’s was the



Cinque Terre as well, but he topped it with Stracciatella. Once we all had our cups of ice-creams in hand we slowly went further up the street.





Then there were quite a few steps and we finally made it up to a wonderful viewpoint, high above Monterosso.











We stopped there for a while to catch our breath and finish off the ice-cream, before strolling back down to sea level. It was a beautiful and scenic walk down















and then we finally headed to the railway station to catch a train back to La Spezia. We had to wait for a few minutes, then we climbed into the train, found seats and were back to La Spezia within half an hour. Bobbie and Connie were still looking for an ATM, so Umberto walked us back through a pedestrian area in hopes we would find one. It took quite some time until we found one, but once we had accomplished our mission, Umberto said his goodbyes after telling us exactly how to get back to the harbour. But Tom and I still wanted to do some shopping, so we were still searching for a grocery store. And finally after walking for some time we found one. We had lost our scissors somewhere in our room, so we got one of these, then we got some Italian beers that Tom enjoys to take on board the ship, some Diet Coke and ….. an air freshener for our bathroom. The smell in the bathroom was not really heavy, but it still had that faint sewer smell and since the door would not look properly and pop open ever so often we needed something to help “change” the smell. We quickly found what we had needed and soon enough were on our way back to the shuttle bus that took us back to the ship. And soon enough we opened the door to our stateroom and were greeted by a bottle of Prosecco sitting in an ice-bucket and a







cheese plate. Only when we saw it, did we realize that we had been asked what Platinum cruiser treat we had wanted and that we had asked for it to be delivered that afternoon. Score. Unfortunately there had not been enough ice in the bucket and the Prosecco was just not cold enough, so Tom decided to have some of the



red wine we had gotten at the Aspasios while I stuck with Diet Coke, while we nibbled on all the wonderful cheeses. Today’s show was Villains Tonight and since we both had seen it before we were in no hurry, so after we had showered we picked up our Fish Extender gifts and headed out to hand them out.

To be continued ..........​

Advent calendar ALERT!!!!!!!!!

Tom has been busy and has created two new advent calendars - hope you are going to take a look every day!

Funny hats calendar

Food calendar​

 

[perfectmatch300]

I can't believe that it has been more than 2 weeks since I have been here! Where does the time go? I'm all caught up - again, and loving my virtual trip through the Med.

Now I have to go catch up on your other TR and Tom's advent calendars. At least I'm not as far behind with Tom's calendars.

 

[dizneeat]

I can't believe that it has been more than 2 weeks since I have been here! Where does the time go? I'm all caught up - again, and loving my virtual trip through the Med.

Now I have to go catch up on your other TR and Tom's advent calendars. At least I'm not as far behind with Tom's calendars.

It happens to all of us. Somehow, 24 hours don't seem to last as long as they used to.

Yeah, for being all caught up on the calendars.

 

[MEK]

That ice cream looks amazing and those views - just stunning! Thanks for all the lovely pictures! Just perfect! :good vibes

Nice cheese plate treat! Looks like that hit the spot!

 

[RGirl]

Hi Karin! Getting caught up again - off work for two weeks so hoping to keep caught up for a bit and maybe even get my own TR moving along.

I so loved reading about your foodie tour. The sights were amazing, and getting to try so many yummy foods as well. Perfect!