Day 17 was another gloomy day. The clouds were dark and ominous and the wind whipped up the sea so that the waves crashed violently to the shore. It sounds dreary but it actually made for a relaxing day. It also challenged me to look around and find different points of interests. No one was on the beach or boardwalk – I think they were worried about rain – but the weather report wasn’t calling for any so I ventured out. I sat on one of the benches, between taking photos of the turbulent sea, and just relaxed, contemplating life. In our ever busy lives, it’s hard to just stop and take time for oneself. It’s important for me to remember to do this when I get back home because it brought me so much peace.
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Turbulent Sea
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Turbulent Sea
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Turbulent Sea
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Turbulent Sea
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Crashing waves
On my walk about, I found some great treasures.
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Rock Face - work of art
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Stone washed onto the beach
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Board washed onto the rocks
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I’ve walked passed this point 2 weeks and just saw this Madonna in the rocks today
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Public Phone - remember these?
I also found some lovely plants; some planted and some that grow wild throughout Calabria. If you drive along the roads, you will see plenty of these. They’ve become quite invasive and are removed when they start to encroach on the road.
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Leandra flowers
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Cactus on the beach
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Wild Plants seen throughout the region
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Wild Plants seen throughout the region
Day 18 was another cloudy day. The sun made a quick appearance in the afternoon but it was short-lived. Another opportunity to walk about and discover some fun architecture, a store owned by a fellow Canadian and the work of art in the back of Frank’s lido that he created to hide an electrical panel.
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Apartment on the beach
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Home Store - owners from Montreal
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New Apartment Building with interesting balconies
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Lido Mediterraneo closed for winter
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Electrical panel hidden in this work of art created by my cousin and made artistic by his wife Silvia and their artist friend Sandra
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Close-up of mosaic
Because the weather was somewhat better, the fisherman were taking advantage of the perfect fishing conditions. This boat was out there all day. I hope they had a good catch!
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Fishing boat
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Fishing boat
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Boats on the beach
In the evening, my cousin Fabio hosted a dinner for all of us. He is feeling so much better and his wife Sisi and son Lorenzo made a wonderful Milanese dinner of risotto and “carne a la Milanese” which is tender pieces of beef and sausage in a white sauce topped with some grated lemon. It was very tasty and a great way to end the night.
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My Family at dinner - the empty chair is mine😁
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Lunch of pasta with broccoli made by Frank at the Lido Mediterraneo
Tomorrow is going to be an adventure as my cousin Frank and his wife Silvia are taking me to Pizzo and Tropea, two jewels of Calabria. The weather is supposed to be fabulous so there will be a lot of photo opportunities and, of course, great food to eat. Ciao for now.