Dining in Cinque Terre

Take a break from hiking and sit down to eat at one of Cinque Terre’s charming restaurants! The towns are well known for their fresh seafood, and their pesto sauce is the best I’ve ever had. At the end of the day, my group and I stopped in Riomaggiore for dinner and I ordered a dish of spaghetti and shrimp. You should be aware that when the menus say “fresh,” they mean fresh! The waiter set my food in front of me, and there were six whole, untouched shrimps staring up at me from my plate! I had to break them open myself, which took me a while, because I had never done that before. The shrimp were delicious, and I tried my friend’s spaghetti with pesto, which, of course, was also perfect. For lunch or dinner, order seafood or pesto and you won't be dissappointed!

If you decide to go for dessert, I would recommend gelato or tiramisu. We went to a gelateria (ice cream shop) for a snack, and found out what an Italian milkshake was like…definitely not what we expected! It’s basically chocolate milk, so don’t order a milkshake if you’re craving something cold and creamy. Stick to gelato!

There's nothing like actually being there, but here are some great pictures of Cinque Terre.