(Sestriere, Italy)

My last dinner in Vernazza was an adventure.  I went to a local restaurant called Antica Osteria il Baretto that specialized in traditional cuisine.  However, the traditional specialties here are seafood (particularly acciughe, or anchovies) and pesto.  Those of you who know me will appreciate that a garlic-laden sauce such as pesto is not something I typically enjoy.   While I will eat shrimp, fish and chips, and perhaps lobster or crab, I really don’t eat much seafood at all.

However, I was determined to eat local and decided to order a fritto mista (mixed fry) of local seafood.  This consisted of deep fried squid,  anchovies, and some kind of miniature octopus.  The sum total of my previous experience with those foods was having a couple of pieces of calamari on one occasion.  Before I could reconsider my choice, the plate was on my table.  Armed only with a large wedge of lemon, I dived in.

I felt like “Mikey” from those old TV commercials for Life Cereal.  As it turned out, the anchovies were not the harsh and salty ones to which North Americans have become accustomed.  They were actually quite mild and went well with the lemon.  I completely cleaned the plate, save for a couple of anchovy tails and a lemon rind.

Being somewhat proud of my achievement, I decided to try the Sciacchetrà dessert wine that had tasted so good in my gelato a couple of days before.  It was served with some biscotti (for dipping!) and was an absolutely delicious way to end my adventurous meal.  If you enjoy white port, you will almost certainly enjoy Sciacchetrà.

Evenings are quiet in the Cinque Terre, in the off-season at least, as relatively few tourists actually stay in the towns.  In order to capture the tranquility of this time of year, I took some photographs from the harbour as the sun went down:  there is one at the top of this post.

The next morning, I went to the local bakery and loaded up on pastries and focaccia.  It was going to be a long journey from Vernazza to Sestriere:  I would change trains in both La Spezia and Torino before transferring to a bus in Oulx.

I was expecting some drama on this odyssey, as my train into the Cinque Terre had been more than 2 hours late.  However, the train journeys ended up being uneventful and on time.  There was some mild excitement in Oulx as the bus ticket had to be bought from a coffee shop and there was no information on which bus was actually going to Sestriere…but it all worked out in the end and I enjoyed being the only passenger.

In Sestriere, I am staying in the Palace Residence 2:  I liken it to going on a week-long cruise on a very large ship.  There is entertainment every night, a bunch of social activity organizers, reserved tables for meals…the only thing differentiating it from a cruise is the fact that I will be skiing during the day instead of taking shore excursions.

This is also the point where I met up with my ski posse for the next week.  We’re all very happy to be skiing again in Italy and are all looking forward to some extensive slope time over the next six days.  Let’s hope the weather cooperates!