Scrumptious seafood @ Ristorante Portivene 1, Portovenere (Italy)

Hi from Malaysia! We've been here since Friday for my cousin's wedding in Kuala Lumpur, and we're now in Kota Kinabalu for a short side trip before heading back home to Hong Kong. This was a great opportunity to introduce baby girl to relatives who haven't yet met her, and apologies to the bride because baby girl almost stole the limelight from the her. I will have more photos to add to my ever-growing backlog of photos for this blog. Speaking of which, here's a post from our trip to Europe last summer.

When we were in Portovenere, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at a small restaurant that prepared local dishes featuring seafood caught off the Ligurian coast. Portivene Un Mare di Sapori is currently ranked #1 on tripadvisor for restaurants in Portovenere, and it definitely was a good choice for sampling the local specialties. I loved the nautical-themed decor, and the simple and relatively short menu made it a breeze to make our choices for a quick lunch.

The entrance into Ristorante Portivene:

The blue nautical interior of the restaurant:

Trio of fritters (5&euro, called "pancakes" on the English version of the menu), featuring locally caught seafood - salted cod, anchovies and mussel:

Rustic Pizza with Mussels (7.50&euro) - delicious and done right on a tomato base without cheese:

Linguine Byron (7.50&euro) - with squid, fresh tomatoes, olives and pesto. The squids were tender, and the tomato-based sauce was yummy:

Towards the end of our meal, we noticed Carpaccio di Tonno Fresco (tuna carpaccio) written on the daily special board, so we ordered one. Fresh and very enjoyable (though I had to limit myself due to the fact that I was 5 months pregnant at the time, and was concerned about the mercury content):

Fresh seafood and good quality ingredients are what you'll get at Ristorante Portivene. This gets my thumbs up!

Ristorante Portivene 1
Via Capellini, 94
19025 Portovenere
La Spezia, Italy
Tel. +39 0187 792722

Boat trip to Portovenere

There is nothing more blissful than a boat trip on the Mediterranean Sea enjoying the beautiful midsummer's blue sky and the gorgeous views of the Cinque Terre. The final destination of that boat trip was Portovenere, a town located south of the Cinque Terre. We disembarked at Portovenere for lunch and some sight-seeing before taking the return ferry and train back to Levanto where we were staying. This UNESCO World Heritage Site has beautiful ancient architecture, and there are plenty of opportunities for photography of both the natural and cultural landscapes.

Doria Castle and the Church of St Peter, as seen from the boat on the Mediterranean:

The Church of St Peter, seen from the boat:

The Doria Castle and the colourful narrow buildings in front:

At the grounds of the Church of St Peter:

Doria Castle as seen from the Church:

A panoramic view from the top of the stairs to the Church of St Peter (click image for larger view):

Hanging out in the streets of Portovenere:

And enjoying some delicious local gelato:

Corniglia from a different angle to the ones taken in the morning. This was the only Cinque Terre town we didn't set foot in because of its elevated location that required either hiking up or catching a bus. Also visible is the windy road up to the town from the train station near the sea level:

Approaching Monterosso, the northernmost Cinque Terre town. Visible in the shot is the start of the hiking trail we took on previous day:

We wandered a little through Monterosso, and briefly stepped inside the Church of San Giovanni Battista:

And then it was time to head back to Levanto for dinner and bedtime! Stay tuned for more!