Matera, Italy

Brief notes with photos for now. Started our drive to San Terenzo, Angela's apt in 2 cars. Overnight in Matera, a stone city, pretty amazing place.

Stopped at fruit and vegetable stores to get some local produce.

We stayed in a hotel built into the stone walls. This is the view from our "balcony" and the inside of our room (three of us shared)

Walked to town center in the evening, there was a celebration of lights going on. Sat in the piazza for drinks, ordered my favorite limoncello fritz; Debi had the aperol fritz.

We all met up for dinner at a restaurant built in a stone cave. Fritto misto for appetizers; after dinner walked back to the hotel.

Leaving Marcellinara, Dinner in Tiriolo

Today marked the end of the week long birthday celebration. We had breakfast at the local cafe near the center of town, got rides with our bags to the bed and breakfast Piano del Monaco where we relaxed at the beautiful pool, and had a sumptious lunch. Lots of little sandwiches (held together by cute skewers with EU flags), cheeses, fruit and of course wine. Some guests left after lunch to catch flights back to Brussels and other airports in Europe and Canada.

A few of us stayed an extra night and will drive the next morning, north to San Terenzo where Angela has an apartment. The drive will take us about 3 days. We will be visitng a few scenic places along the way. That evening, we had dinner at a very nice restaurant, Ristorante Due Mari located in the ancient hill top town of Tiriolo. The restaurant was built into the walls of the town, with beautiful views of the countryside.

We ordered several antipasti to share. I enjoyed the local appetizer, cipolla di tropea in agrodolce (sweet red onions from Tropea), mashed and served with seasoned bread chips.

I like liver, and decided to order this primo spaghetti al fegatini di pollo. Oh wow, it was so good! I wish I had the recipe for it. Someone in the group ordered a ravioli with red onions and said it was also very good.

This was an incredible night ending our time in Calabria.

Birthday Party, Marcellinara, IT

We arrived in Marcellinara, a small town (or village) in Calabria where my former colleague from NATO, and long time friend, Angela was born. It was quite an event when the big bus, bringing about 30+ of us from 11 countries, arrived just outside of town. The bus could not drive through the narrow streets, so our luggage were transferred via cars and minivans to the different bed and breakfast locations as there were no hotel large enough to house all of us. We all then walked to the town center where we were welcomed by the deputy mayor in the town hall.

Angela's birthday party was held at the Agriturismo Piano del Monaco, a beautiful bed and breakfast place on top of the hill. It was a very festive event, lots of food, wine, music and dancing amidst the Italian countryside setting.

Tropea, Calabria, IT

We stayed 2 nights at the Sentido Michelizia Tropea Resort. It was a very modern hotel with different buildings and two lovely pools. The ocean was within walking distance, this was a touristy area with a lot of shops and visitors. We had a boat tour of the coast, swam in the clear waters, had aperitivi and wine while waiting for the sunset.

Here are some photos on the stores and street vendors