Exploring Calabria and Living “la dolce vita” - Day 11 and 12

Days 11 and 12 were spent quietly, living life as a local. A lazy day yesterday at the beach where, once again, Frank created a beautiful pasta dish with zucchini flowers, shaved zucchini and shrimp all tossed in olive oil freshly pressed 2 days ago (called olio verde). His second cat, Pacchito, was a special guest today as he graced us with his portly presence. His brother Pietro was no where to be seen. No one on the beach but us and another family😀.

Yummy pasta with Rosé
Pacchito
Graffiti lives everywhere
Local Wedding Dress designer

Today the weekly visit to the Friday Market for some more fresh vegetables, fruit and a treat – chestnuts! They are ripe and ready to eat here. It feels a bit strange eating roasted chestnuts in 30 degree Celsius weather but that’s the plan for tomorrow after they finish their 24 hour soak. Roasted chestnuts – yum 😋

Friday Market
Chestnuts and Olives
Salted fish
Cured Meats
Breakfast of Champions!

After a breakfast of cheese and grapes, I had to handle some affairs from home – you can’t truly get away from everything – so it was a late start to the beach. And, I missed lunch with Frank! A couple of hours on the sand and all the stress just disappears and I’m once again happy, happy. Dinner out at Brezza restaurant that offers only seafood dishes but is geared towards a healthier lifestyle. I had an incredible mixed salad of greens, fruits, almonds, roasted peppers, topped with deep fried fish nuggets all tossed in a peperoncino (spicy pepper) sauce. Then a serving of friselle – crusty bread, spread with stracciatella (creamy fresh cheese) and topped with grape tomatoes, bergamot, raw baby shrimp and drizzled with a wonderful olive oil. All this followed by a dessert of bonbons – dark chocolate covered chocolate ice cream balls. Are you hungry yet? I would definitely recommend this restaurant to everyone. Thanks Frank and Sylvia for a truly great evening😘.