My wife and I arrived in Florence by Bullet Train from Rome on Sunday, March 23rd. A well appointed king suite on the 5th floor of the luxurious Hotel Berchielli would be HOME for the next 4 days. Hard to beat that view of the picturesque River Arno ! We had a couple of day tours planned while in Florence and had engaged the services of our fav limo tour driver Martin who knew the ropes around here better than most. And more than that Martin had become our good friend since we first used his services 18 months before when he drove us from Florence to Bologna via the scenic route. On Tuesday Martin picked us up out front at 9am to begin our trip to magical Cinque Terre . . THE ITALIAN RIVIERA !
LIGHT RAIN ! We bought tickets for the train trip at Cibiamo Station and were seated on the train by midday. After a quick look around cute little Riomaggiore we jumped back on the train to Manarola. BREATHTAKING SCENERY ! My wife and I had never seen anything like the colorful cliff top dwellings looking down on the narrow pedestrian only streets. LUNCH ! At around 1.30pm we decided it was time for lunch and Martin picked the perfect spot. From the moment we walked inside Rancel the stylish manager and sweet server Jasmine made us feel right at home. FIRST UP ! We needed to recharge our batteries after so much walking so I ordered 2 x double shot cappuccinos.
In the meantime a glass carafe of cool water and 3 glasses arrived promptly. WHOO HOO ! Before we knew it Jasmine also the barista brought us 2 spectacular looking cappuccinos. OMG and they tasted even better than they looked . . . super rich and very creamy ! After checking out the menu it looked they served a lot of seafood so that is what we all ordered . . . 1 x Mixed Seafood Grill, 1 x Fried Calamari, 1 x Grilled King Prawns and 2 serves of French Fries. Everything came out fast, hot and tasted totally delicious. My perfectly cooked Fried Calamari was spectacular. We thanked Rancel the manager and Jasmine our amazing server / barista for looking after us. THIS PLACE IS GREAT !
