amylouise

Dear Dln,
Thanks for the advice! We will definitely go to that restaurant. I haven't had time to check out your Fodors entry yet, but I will in the next couple of days.

dln

I hope you do eat there, amylouise. It's a bit of trouble to find it--Trastavere is a real rabbit's warren of streets, but it's worth it. We found out about it from an article my parents sent us from the Boston Globe newspaper, many years ago. When I described the meal we had in my trip report, another poster said she had the same, and loved it too. Small world that we should both seek out the same little place!

You might enjoy reading an unusual guidebook called City Secrets Rome, edited by Robert Kahn. Amazon carries it. It's a collection of notes, essays and descriptions of places in Rome, written by artists, architects, historians. The volume is tiny enough to slip in your purse and bring with you. We found so many treasures in Rome thanks to this book that many tourists overlook.

amylouise

Thanks! din: Thanks for the info on the restaurant. Would we have to make reservations if it were a weekday?

IdyllicItaly

I think you would enjoy the hike from Manarola to Volastra where you can reward yourself with a fabulous lunch at Gli Ulivi. (We had lunch there twice in our 6 days in Manarola in early June and I'm still savoring my spaghetti ai frutti di mare with a light tomato cream sauce, accompanied by the house Cinque Terre white wine. The broiled fish with potatoes looked spectacular, too.)

Alternatively, you can take the Cinque Terre shuttlebus to Volastra and hike back down through the vineyards. The hike is along a stone path with stone retaining walls in places.

Make sure to eat at Marina Piccola, too, our favorite hotel and restaurant in Manarola. It is right on the harbor front with a terrace and glassed in dining room. I love their curried shrimp pasta dish (a cream, curry sauce), their spagetti alle vongole, and broiled Branzino (sea bass).

Suzy Kane, http://www.idyllicitaly.com