Sun, beach, food and family
With this trip we’re breaking a tradition as unlike last times it did not start with a phonecall from one of the sisters from Vladi but with a visit to our favourite pizzeria. One of the cooks over there told us about direct flights from Düsseldorf Weeze to Crotone with our (not so) favourite Irish Airline.
When we checked the prices they were simply too good to be true and completely in style with our previous two visits I spontaneously booked a flight for some sun, beach, food and of course family visits. (Oh, and perhaps a Campari Spritz or two).
The second Italy trip from this year had been planned and unlike our first trip to Florence, Bologna, Venice, Verona and Padua we decided to do things at a much slower pace and just enjoy our time in Crotone…
So on the 2nd of June, after a lazy start of the day we drove to Weeze Airport, parked our car and checked in for our 2 3/4 hour flight to Crotone. Although it wasn’t a long flight I felt uncomfortable at the end due to the Ryanair (not so) comfortable seats. It didn’t matter as we landed in Crotone on scheduled time, picked up our luggage and went to the taxi that Vladi had arranged.
At B&B Dame we were welcomed by the caretaker, left our luggage and went the the nearby gelateria for a liquorice icecream. Priorities first! Next we strolled over the Lungo Mare and enjoyed our first Campari Spritz of this trip.
As we still had some time before going to the restaurant where we had booked a table we spontaneously decided to visit Gabriella, Vladis sister, who was working at the Ginis, the hamburger restaurant of her son Danilo. It was nice to the both of them again and Vladi had some time to catch up.
Next we went to Anima Urban, which, according to good Italian tradition, was closed on Mondays, in spite of my booking. Well it’s Italy after all so we returned to the Lungo Mare for dinner at Il Gambero Rossi, Crotone’s oldest restaurant, which was built over water. We enjoyed some wonderful seafood after which we had one final Campari-spritz before going to bed. It had been a long day…
Next morning we woke up at 8:00 and after a lazy start it was time for another tradition. Cafè e un cornetto con crema in a local bar. The only way to start a new day when in Italy.
Next was the most important thing of our trip, a visit to the grave of Vladis mother who passed away 52 years ago, far to early. It was a special moment for Vladi to pay his respects once more and for me to say hello to a mother in law I was never fortunate enough to meet.
Then Vladi took me on another trip through memory lane, the old centre of Crotone where many memories were revived and stories told, some I had heard before, some which were new. It was a great walk but when we returned to the old harbour both of us decided it was time for the first Campari Spritz of the day.
Next we enjoyed a light lunch at the seaside, and it was by then we realised the atmosphere in Crotone was so much different from our previous visits which were more in the high season… It felt more like a sleepy town, ready to wake up for the crowds to take over the now quiet Lungo Mare. A wonderful atmosphere but for us it was time for a well deserved afternoon nap…
We woke up a couple of hours later, just in time to meet with Vladis niece Theresa and her husband Pasquale. I did not understand a lot what they were talking about but it was great to see Vladi happy with his family.
After we said our goodbyes we went to a La Scaletta, a restaurant which many moons ago was called la conca d’oro, and belonged to the father from Vladi. A lot of things have changed since then but the food still was excellent. After a typical Calabrian starter a dish was served which I had been looking forward to to for a long long time. Spaghetti with sea urchins. It was simply beautiful with a taste soo intense of the sea I had never experienced before. Magic!
After dinner we returned to the lungo mare for a final Gin & Tonic and then it was bedtime. What a wonderful day it had been!
Next morning started with a sleep in, after which we went to the bar around the corner for breakfast. Next we decided to go to the beach for a couple of hours. As it was still early in the season there were no beach beds and parasols for rent so we just put our towels on the sand and relaxed for a while.
Early in the season or not, the sun was shining hard and as we did not want to get sunburned we returned to our room after two hours to leave our beach stuff and head to our favourite hangout at Crotone Lungo Mare, Alexander a Mare. There we enjoyed a light lunch on the terrace where Vladi decided he wanted to buy new sandals.
That did not turn out to be a good idea as by now it was three o’clock and in Southern Italy that only means one thing… Siesta! With all shops being closed we returned to our room for a well deserved nap. The best thing to do was to join the locals with their siesta time.
It did us well and after we woke up again Vladi received a message from his nice Maria-Theresa to meet at the pizzeria where she wanted to book a table for the next evening with the whole family.
It was the beginning of a wonderful evening which spontaneously turned out to having dinner together. Both her son Rafaelle and husband Pasquale tried their best to speak English with me and I felt very welcome. Most important though was that Vladi was having a good time as I had booked this trip with just this in mind. From what I could see he was certainly enjoying himself
This trip to Italy could not have been more different from the last one which was action packed. Again we enjoyed a sleep in, and went to the bar around the corner for a cafe e un cornetto con crema. Starting the day like this I’m really starting to feel like an Italian and will certainly miss this tradition once home.
We returned to the market to enjoy the atmosphere and then continued to some shoe shops to buy new sandals for Vladi. Unlike yesterday they were opened but we did not find anything to his liking so we continued empty handed.
Back at the lungo mare we walked to the end of the pier to enjoy a different view from Crotone and then returned to our apartment to pick up our books. We should have skipped that as once at the terrace of Alexandra a Mare we just talked and talked. The books? They were left untouched…
We decided for a light lunch, well, at least for Italian standards it was light. Off the menu we were served sardella with bread. Vladi ordered a selection of cut meat and formaggio, we shared two bruschetta with sea urchins and as the oysters I had a craving for were not available I ordered tartar of tuna, With the fish being caught this night it certainly was a delight.
Then we returned to our apartment for a siesta and an attempt to start a book on the Medici I tried to read this trip, unsuccessful so far as we were to busy doing nothing…
Later that night we met a large part of the family and as most of them we had not seen this trip it was a wonderful reunion. It was truly a very special night as all sisters and brothers from Vladi who live in Crotone were present, as well as their partners, as were some of the children and grandchildren. It does not happen a lot the whole family gathers for a nice meal and for us it definetely was the first time for us.
The best thing was to see Vladi being really happy and although I did not understand a lot of what they were talking about I was happy, very happy. After dinner we went for a stroll over lungo mare and enjoyed a liquorice ice cream at a local gelateria. the perfect ending of a perfect evening.
Next morning started as usual, with a sleep in. At our favourite bar we had a coffee, and a calzone, a lovely fried bread stuffed with tomato and then went for a leisure stroll through a part of Crotone I had not seen before. Obviously Vladi entertained me with stories from his youth as the whole area was common ground for him.
A refreshing drink at a local bar, another stroll and miraculously we ended up at Alexander a Mare where we ordered the compulsory spritz. It was accompanied by tramezzini, olives and popcorn and as we were not really hungry there was no reason to order anything else for lunch.
Then it was time for our usual siesta, a welcome break before the next part of the day.
Another magical night somewhere in the narrow alleys of Crotone. A fantastic meal with great company at a special place. We would never have found this bistro located at a small piazza filled with tables so we could enjoy al fresco dining.
I loved it but was happy when the friendly waitress finally stopped bringing more food…
It was a short night as we were being pickup up for what would be one of the highlights of this trip. A few days ago when we met Vladis niece Maria-Theresa and her husband we shortly talked about Tropea and they spontaneously offered to join us there. It was a 150 kilometre trip which took longer than two hours driving through a fantastic south Italian landscape. The last hour or so when we drove on a narrow coast above the coastline it simply became spectacular.
We found a parking spot for our car and walked towards the centre storico. Having seen pictures from Tropea my expectations were high. And beautiful it was indeed, thanks in part to its stunning location, high atop a cliff, a photogenic centro storico, snow-white beaches that contrast brilliantly with the azure sea and the magnificent view of Santa Maria dell’Isola… Tropea is the absolute jewel of the Costa degli Dei, the Coast of the Gods!
During a stroll through the centre storico when we saw a sign at a gelateria serving Tropea onion and N’duja icecream we could not resist these unusual and slightly bizar flavours. Both were nice though I preferred the n’duja.
We found the stairs leading down the cliffs towards the beaches but before going to the beach we climbed uphill again to visit Santa Maria dell’isola. Unfortunately the church closed by the time we arrived but it did not stop us from enjoying the spectacular views of Tropea high on the cliffs.
So back to plan B, back to the beach. As it was still early in the season the azure blue and clear water was still a bit chilly but once used I truly enjoyed it. After we covered ourselves with a factor 50 sunscream we laid down on the sand and I even managed to fall asleep for a while.
Before we returned to Crotone we made another stop in Pizzo, the birthplace of the famous Tartuffo ice. And indeed, it was one of the best tartoffo icecream we had so far.
By the time we returned in Crotone we were tired but extremely thankful for such a wonderful day out. I had crossed out one of the places on my bucketlist and the long dat has been absolutely worth it. Thank you Maria-Theresa and Pasquale for a fantastic day!
A quick shower to wash off the salt water and we returned to lungo mare for a small bite to eat. Neither of us were really hungry but how to resist the temptations served at Alexandra a Mare. The perfect ending of a perfect day…
After a good night sleep, like usual we returned to our favourite bar for a freshly baked cornetto con crema and a coffee that does not know it’s equal in Germany.
The perfect way to start our final day in la Bella Italia del Sud. It was going to be the warmest day of our stay but the first beach bar had opened its beach with sunbeds and umbrellas for rent.
We returned to our apartment, packed our books and EarPods, all ready for a lazy and relaxing day. By two o’clock however it became to warm to endure so we left to Alexander a mare for a light bite. I should have known better as no such things exist in Italy.
We were offered linguine con Zoccola, a rare kind of manta shrimp from the region. The poor animal was still alive when we ordered it so our dish could not have been fresher. It was delicious indeed and extremely extraordinary.
Next was a refreshing shower and a well deserved siesta. It’s amazing how the art of doing nothing can be so tiring. When I woke from my nap up I felt more tired than ever but we still had agreed to meet Vladis sisters for our final farewell of this trip. It was really nice but by this time I realised how much I felt sorry not to be able to speak Italian, in spite of all my efforts. Still somehow it didn’t matter as I could same how happy Vladi was.
We returned to Alexander a Mare for a wonderful bottle of Calabrian white wine, And then had a short stroll on the beach before we enjoyed our final drink of the day.
Traditionally we started our last morning with coffee con crema, did our last minute shopping (calabrian food essentials) and then returned to our appartment to pack our suitcase. Then we relaxed for a bit and brought our suitcase to Alexandrer a Mare where the staff had agreed to store it until departure.
One final walk though town, another cafe at a local terrace and then we returned for a final lunch at Alexander a Mare. This time they offered us linguine con vongole, which was cooked to perfection.
Just after three we were picked up by Pasquale and Maria-Theresa who brought us to the airport. Check-in and flight were uneventful and we landed according schedule. By the time we arrived at the luggage belt I already saw our suitcase passing by, something that has never happened before.
We picked up the car, drove home and tired, but also very happy we fell asleep in our own bed. It doesn’t matter where we travel in the world but there is no better place to sleep than our own bed.