Chiavari - Carasco - Cogorno

This week proved to be hectic for the Walking Ladies and so, Annelies and I were left to carry the torch and blaze the trails alone. After marching through the Cinque Terre on Sunday I was left without much inspiration or energy to climb, thankfully, Annelies wasn't so into it either. After a lovely cup of coffee on her terrace facing the sun complete with the aroma from the bakery wafting up we forced ourselves to get up and to walk along the Entella in the direction of Carasco. 
The river, as rivers do, has quite fertile banks and along the trail on both sides there are many "orto"/vegetable gardens, some quite humble and others comical... like this door to lock out those who might be tempted to steal a cabbage or two. 

 

We reached Carasco, hungry and thinking that maybe we should  be on the look out for eats, after all the whole point of this exercise to be fit and reward our hard work with a yummy lunch. I knew that there was a nice osteria "Settembrin" just on the other side of the pedestrian bridge, but, unfortunately, it burned down a few months ago. As we took a moment to admire the view, out of nowhere I get grabbed from behind! There was Marco, on his bike, as always cracking a joke. We asked him if he knew a good place to eat and he pointed us to Cogorno and a trattoria that overlooked the river. Score. For 10 euros each, we had, ravioli, spezzitino for Anneleis and porchetta for me. Dessert - an excellent homemade chocolate cake with nuts and a hint of cinnamon, wine, water, coffee and even - lemoncella to top it off. Again, all that for 10 euro!!! The trattoria is called Ma - Pa and is owned by two former cruise ship employees who couldn't wait to speak English with us. The food was delicious and all homemade, the service friendly and the trattoria is small, but it also has an outdoor terrace which overlooks the river. Good spot to remember for the summer. I didn't get any photos of our lunch, but trust me... It was mmm mmm good.This is the life. Walking with a friend. Sharing a moment and a meal. The simple things that keep us going. Good friends. Good food. And, finding beauty in where you live. 
Ta ta till next week. 

Dagje 5 Torri

Joanne heeft al een prachtig verhaal geschreven over onze wandeling. Voor hen die geen Engels lezen hierbij mijn NL'se herinneringen aan een prachtige dag.

Woensdag 12 maart werden we getrakteerd op een prachtige lentedag. Mooi lag de sneeuw op de Ligurische bergtoppen in de verte. Op de dag voor onze wandelingen beginnen we te mailen met elkaar wat te doen en we waren het er allen over eens: we hadden zin in zeezicht vanaf Leivi. Leivi ligt hoog boven Chiavari, is een klein dorp wat nu ontdekt wordt door de rijke Milanesi en Torinesi. Santa Margherita Ligure en Portofino zijn duur geworden voor 2e huizen en hierdoor wordt Leivi aantrekkelijk.

We gaan een deel van de 5 Torri route wandelen. Aangezien we enigszins aan de luie en haastige kant zijn rijden we met Krista naar Curlo wat ons een hoop geklim bespaart. We parkeren bij de kerk en trekken de wandelschoenen aan. We lopen in een uurtje of 3 langs smalle, nog kale bospaden met best akelige afgrondjes, langs mooie villa's met blaffende waakhonden, een huis waar moeders de vrouw haar zonen of man toeschreeuwt voortaan de dingen te doen zoals zij ze wenst en we belanden in een prachtige wei met zicht op zee en de kerk van Leivi. We genieten weer net als altijd. Terugwandelend naar de auto dreigen we nog te verdwalen omdat we op de heenweg meer hebben gelet op sneeuw en bloesem dan op de route.

We lunchen in een trattoria heel dicht bij mijn huis: Buono e semplice (eenvoudig doch smakelijk, vrij vertaald).
En dat was het. Een buffet met pasta, risotto, salade, vlees, vis, fruit en taart. Je mag zo vaak opscheppen als
je wilt. Veel Italianen die in de kantoren van Chiavari werken lunchen hier. We eten hier voor 10 euro p.p. De baas vond het wel apart die 4 Engelssprekende dames in zijn restaurant en hij vond het heel apart toen we vergaten de wijn te betalen. Die rare buitenlanders toch.......... Tja, na zo'n mooie wandeling vonden we ook de wijn Buono e Semplice.

Leivi

This Wednesday the sun was shining and spring was in the air so the four of us set off to walk part of the Cinque Torri hike through Leivi, above and behind our town, Chiavari. I walked the complete trail with my dad a few years ago and it took us five hours. We didn't have that much time so we drove up to Curlo and walked a three-hour loop from there, then drove back down to Chiavari for lunch. I would say we did the best part of the Cinque Torri trail: we skipped the first, uphill part, and the last part where you're walking on ungroomed trails through shady forest then down steep steps back into town, but we did all the part with the best views over Chiavari and the sea on one side, snow-capped mountains and river valleys on the other.
Spring appears to have sprung and the trail was dotted with wild primulas, violets and daisies, and we encountered mimosas and cherry trees in blossom.

We worked up quite an appetite on our walk and so back down in Chiavari we stopped for lunch at Buono e Semplice in Largo Casini (where the Green Cross is). The best thing about this restaurant is the €10 all-you-can-eat lunch buffet: appetisers including cured meats and insalata russa, a choice of pasta, risotto and/or minestrone, then chicken, meat or fish with lots of cooked vegetables, salad, fruit and jam tart for dessert. Nothing elaborate, but plenty of plain good food just as Mom would make it: as the name says, good and simple!

Rainy Wednesday

Last Wednesday we ladies agreed that it really was too rainy to walk and headed straight to lunch at a new restaurant in town: Le Griglie. The restaurant picks up on the fad - several years old in North America but not common in Italy, at least in small places like Chiavari - for cooking in visible kitchens, with a grill behind a plate of glass (though most of the action seemed to be going on behind closed doors in the other part of the kitchen). The décor is international contemporary. Sure, we do get tired of the checked tablecloths and flasks trattoria atmosphere, but on the other hand I found it somewhat disorienting to be in a restaurant that could be anywhere in the world, visually speaking: it reminded me of the Red Tomato off Broadway in Vancouver, and reminded Krista of any number of restaurants in Montecarlo...
The lunch special is a bargain at €14, offering a choice among several pasta courses and secondi (both meat and fish). Portions are plenty big enough, at least for us ladies! The wine list is quite extensive.

Let me slip in a quick word about another new restaurant in Chiavari: Taj Mahal in Piazza Cademartori, which I had occasion to try the other night with Krista and a gang of girlfriends (unfortunately it does not open for lunch and is therefore beyond the scope of ladies who lunch). It may not be up to par with the Indian restaurants of London, Vancouver or other places with a tradition of international cuisines and a large population from the Indian subcontinent, but it makes a refreshing change when you get fed up of choosing between pansoti alla salsa di noce and trenette al pesto and want to try something truly different. The set menus are a bargain, with more than you can eat for €15 in the vegetarian version, €20 in the meat-eaters' version, and the Indian ice creams are tasty. You even get an opportunity to taste Indian wine, though I will refrain from expressing an opinion on that until my nose is less stuffed up!!!

 I am a little late to the party... but, here are my reflections on that picture perfect day.

What a nice way to spend a morning. Walking and talking with friends. How lucky are we to have such a beautiful place to explore and when do we ever find a bad place to eat? 

Though I led you the wrong way down the path, we ended up in the same place.  The Piazza in Portofino. Next time. We climb to the top of Mt. Portofino! Believe me, your butts will thank me.

Where to next ladies? The Cinque Terre!

Krista