Started the morning by going to the Friday Market which had so much of everything!
Artisan cookies, typical of Calabria made with honey (mazzazoli), locally grown organic garlic, cheese – so much cheese. I bought fresh eggs, fresh ricotta that was still hot, the famous red onions from Tropea (I’m going to share with my cousin because no way I need them all), fichi d’India (so called because Christopher Columbus believed he had discovered the Indies rather than Central America) otherwise known as prickly pears, fresh buns, a fresh burratta and dried figs. You get the idea – everything was fresh and locally grown/made except for figs, though they were dried from this year’s crop😀.
The photo on the right are what prickly pears look like after they’re peeled and, beware, the outer skins have needles invisible to the eye so you have to peel them very carefully using only a fork to hold and knife to peel away the skin. I am happy to say that no needles got me today! After breakfast, I went shopping for a new luggage. And here she is….
She wasn’t cheap (163 Euro) but hopefully she won’t suffer any damage during the rest of my travels. It’s a she, by the way, because she’s pretty. So pretty. I didn’t make it to the beach today as I spent the rest of the afternoon working on plans for the next stage of my trip and then it was siesta time. In the evening, my cousin hosted a big dinner with 9 of his close friends and I got to tag along. What wonderful food and people. The restaurant was a very old house in Davoli that got converted. Davoli is an old town known as the City of Portals due to the beautiful stone work surrounding the entrances of many of the homes. The ambience in the restaurant was amazing and authentic. Donna Elena’s of Davoli is worth a visit.
Food was presented so beautifully!
That’s all for today!