Daytrip to SCILLA

Our Fiat was leading us up and down the mountains on curvy and narrow streets, on the old national road towards Scilla. This small pittoresque town is located on the Straits of Messina, just before Reggio Calabria, the toe tip of the Italian boot.

After Nicotera, above Palmi, on Monte Sant'Elia we made our first breath taking pitstop. From 600 meters above sea level you have 180 degree sea view with the Calabrian coast line underneath and Sicilly in the South. You can't tell where the sea ends and the sky starts. It feels like flying.

A few kilometers further South we finally reached Scilla.
To find a parking spot at an Italian sea side village in the middle of August is like winning the lottery. Especially because our Italian family has grown to a party of nine in two Fiats.

Having lost and found sight of half of the group and having solved the different priorities, like visiting the old town, having lunch or finding a beach, we visited the town by strolling down one small aley at the Marina to finally jump into the refreshing sea at a small beach near a small church.


It happened that we met a local gentile signore who not only gave us the same hint for the restaurant we got from another amico, but he also gave my son a collection of shells.

The recommended restaurant 'Glauco' was only 50 meters from our little beach and made us all happy. When we climed up the stairs to the restaurant, I was overwhelmed by the terrace 'sul mare' and its beautiful view of Scilla on the left and the coast on the right.


I immediately had to think of the movie 'The big Blue' where Enzo (Jean Reno) had to eat Mama's pasta on a similar terrace.

To top my impression, Dino, the owner of the restaurant, gave my son a few more shells.

I ordered spaghetti Glauco - they come with a sun dried tomato sauce and pine seeds - and had some white wine and was happy for the rest of the day. (photo left: linguine cozze e vongole)


(Maybe I should also mention, that the restaurant was all ours, as it was around 2.30 pm when we arrived from the beach.)

Back home, I realized that I had lost something to Scilla...
The red pants of my son, he jumped in the sea with, that are still drying on a fisherboat.

*******
RISTORANTE GLAUCO
via Annunziata 95, Chianalea
89058 Scilla (Reggio Calabria)
Tel./Fax +390965 754026

open from February to end of November

Antipasto Misto Mare 8,00 Euro
Spaghetti alla Glauco 12,00 Euro
Linguine Cozze e Vongole 12,00

The Renovation of the Facade goes on and on and on

Some might wonder about the progress of the renovation work.
Is the house livable yet?
No!
We have not continued with the interior.
They are still working on the front facade - since a couple of months... on hourly rate... (please don't comment on this).

Here, part of the photo documentation sent via mail from Italy over the last couple of weeks:

Repair of the 'stones look'.

Renovation of the window frames including new window sills.

Balcony beam reconstruction (first, they were too short like shown here in the pic).

Water access (forgot why here)

New stone plates will be added.

* * *
I will be visiting the site tomorrow.
However, I will not have Internet access for a couple of days.
Happy holidays!
Until soon.

"Cool Travel Guide" about Calabria

Remember the travel writer team that was looking for an accommodation in Calabria with Internet access? Lara and her partner Thierry have been travelling across Calabria end of May and early June to research, write and photograph this Southern Italian region for a new English guidebook.

Although the guidebook is not published yet, I have some of Lara's thoughts about Calabria ... because she is blogging about her travel writing at Cool Travel Guide.


She has "10 Reasons to travel to Calabria" to read in part I and part II.

Pizzo is one of them!
And other than in the usual travel guide books were everything is seen from the bright side, Lara writes in her travel blog also about the other side of the story.

Here Lara's description "Pizzo: with elegant palazzi perched precariously on steep cliffs overlooking the ocean and a charming old town that's a tiny tangle of pastel-painted houses, narrow lanes and steep stairs reminiscent of Positano. Unfortunately, tourists outnumber the locals at the gelateria tables on the main piazza, and one too many shops have given over to tacky souvenirs, however, wander the pretty backstreets where life goes on as ever and you'll smell the mouthwatering aromas of lunch being cooked and find women hanging out washing over their balconies."

Her comment about Pizzo make me remember, that Pizzo has some potential for improvements. Different from her comment (above). And I am looking forward to my next trip to Pizzo (soon!) to meet some old and new friends, some Pizzitani, who think alike. I will try to keep you posted!

During the weeks Lara and her partner have spent crisscrossing Calabria to research the new guidebook they were relieved to find the southern Italian region to be such terrific value. They consider Calabria: Europe's best value destination

And here is the link to all of her posts about Calabria

At the moment, Lara and Thierry are still in Italy, right now in Milano, to further research and write for a travel guide book about Northern Italy. She has posted some interesting observations about Italians as well, here and here!

Calabrian Textiles by Bossio

Last February I discovered a shop at the airport in Lamezia, that was selling beautiful textiles from local craft men.

I was fascinated from a white cotton bed cover with a simple red but decorative local embroidery pattern. I liked the shop and started to talk to the sales woman. She gave me a business card from the textile producer with a website address.

Some business men passed by, well dressed in dark suites, on their way back to Rome. One stopped at the shop and said to his colleague: "Look, this is what I used to have in my child's room. This is typical embroidery from my area. My Mamma used to have a lot of these...."

I was impressed. Although I used to come since several years to Calabria, I never saw them promoting local textiles. Of course local products are promoted, like local ceramics and above all local specialities like pepperoncini (chili), Vecchio Amaro del Capo (a herbal liquor that is served straight from the freezer), tuna, onions from Tropea, tartuffo ice cream from Pizzo etc.

Back home I thought I have lost the business card of the shop and all google researches never brought me back the factory name. Only a couple of weeks ago, in a side pocket of my trolley, I discovered the name card and now, I can present the name:

BOSSIO, fabbrica tessile
in Via P. Mancini, 3 - 87060 Calopezzati (CS)
(near Sibari)
www.fabbricatessilebossio.it

I wish I would have taken a photograph from the beautiful bed cover, because the website is not very professional. The pictures are too small and not very attractive. It looks a bit old fashioned (I guess it is) - but this need to be changed!

I think the shop at the airport, that presents some of the textiles is a good step forward. I wish I could be a little helper.

In the meanwhile I will post some of the pictures I have chosen from BOSSIO.

No Special China

I did not do it.
Palazzo Pizzo will not have special china ware.

However, you asked me once to keep you posted what design I would choose.
So here (above) are my two favorites. I would have done 12 dinner plates for each version.

But as usual, I am doing things last second. The shop confirmed, they could do it in a few days and deliver tomorrow, so it could be packed in the container. But when I saw the draft that they send me via email... I thought, it is not the way we like it. It is too accurate. Hand painted though. Of course I could have gone back and explain again - or even go to the other store that develops a chop and print it for 1 kuai per plate. But I am running out of time now.

And maybe it is for the good. I was not really convinced to have special china ware for the house. Maybe I am also a bit tired of the house renovation at the moment. My head is not there right now. - But of course, I will be back soon in best form to blog again more. Especially when we start our summer holiday - close to the project (it is still not livable). I hope I will not be too disappointed about the slow progress. They are still working on the facade. Oh, I hope the architect will not feel offended... it is of course also due to our financial situation that things are slow... no money, no ho(use)ney...