I recently returned from our Italian adventure and boy do I have a lot to say. Calabria did not fail to deliver exactly what I was looking for. A beautiful low-key resort away from the crowds and with a very foreign/exotic feeling partly due to the lack of English being spoken. I love that when I’m travelling to another country as it makes me feel like I’ve really adventured “somewhere”. Our luxury boutique resort was populated mostly by Italian guests sprinkled with a few French and one Dutch family. No English being spoken on the beach – super fun because you can listen in on other people’s conversations and if they catch on you can say in all honesty you have no idea what they were talking about. Well, at least my husband can claim that – I understand Italian abbastanza bene and French comme ci, comme ca, but my speaking is not great so I think they would believe me.
Anyway, it was great to sit there in “The Lulu” shirtdress or “The Diane” kaftan (thank you for the long sleeves and hood as the sun was INTENSE) hear the chatter, scope out their high end resortwear and bathing suits and take note of what they are eating and drinking. As I am a champion napper and swimmer I managed to nap at least 3 times/day and swim “laps” in the ocean. Not a shabby way to spend one’s time. There were a lot of lifeguards employed at this particular resort, but they all had their backs to the ocean when they were on the beach– never figured that one out. Perhaps what was going on at the beach bar was more dangerous…hee hee.
While the food at the resort was excellent, we did venture into the town of Le Castella (yes, there’s a castle!) which was adorable and authentic and we ate a gorgeous seafood dinner at Vista overlooking the castle. I wore “The Dayna” kaftan without the feathers because I imagined all kinds of fishes and red sauce and oil on the agenda and I tend to get excited and spill things. Frankly, I looked divine and managed not to spill anything - miracle. The Calabrian people and the resort staff were charming and welcoming so I really couldn’t have asked for anything better. Speaking of anything better:
Jumping off the yacht with a luxury Pareo as a parachute
The boat trip, as usual, did not disappoint. We flew from Lamezia Terme in Calabria to Palermo Sicily where we were whisked to the boat parked in Trapani. We were greeted by our generous hosts and old friends Milena and Dutch, new friends Tiziana and Marco, the Captain, Carlo, mates Jacopo and Giulio and the amazing chef Camilla. We’ve gotten to know the crew over the years so it’s sort of like being at home only better because, well, forget it there are too many reasons….. Carlo and the mates made sure I didn’t get run over by a boat when I was swimming/frolicking/not paying attention and Camilla made sure I and everyone else had the most delicious things to eat and drink all day every day. The rest of the time was spent chatting about subjects important and ridiculous, napping, sliding down the scivolo and swimming.
One day I had this idea that I wanted to see if Tiger and the Monkey shawls/pareos would work as a type of parachute or like Superman’s cape so I jumped off the second story of the boat into the water to test it out. It didn’t work but it was a blast and made for a good picture and slo-mo video. Side note: The scarf survived fully intact and was dry within half hour – how’s that for impractical and practical??? The same day Milena decided she should do the Saturday Night Fever dance pose in the Dayna kaftan and Tizi fell in love with the Gabriella bambula and was just being her gorgeous glamorous self in it. Dutch found this all interesting enough that he agreed to photograph us. As Dutch normally “prefers not to” I felt a burst of joy and pride when he agreed. What a luxury. We were at sea most of the time this year – which I love – however, we were in port one afternoon and went to the hilltop town of Erice – absolute stunner of a place. Again, heard zero English and only one German voice, the rest were Italian. On this occasion, Milena was advised by Tizi who is from Sicily and knows this place, to buy 10 tons of Sicilian pastries including Cassata which is Dutch’s favorite. Milena obeyed.