Our very first Easter in Italy has come and gone. The weather in Scalea was not the best, not overly cold but was expecting more, especially after the lovely weather in March. We were told that April will be really warming up. Well maybe it is generally, but there has been a lot of cloudy, cool and rainy weather. Not impressed.
So, as we didn’t feel the need to go out and about, we painted our bedroom, at least we could get rid of the blue splodges on the walls. This was the same effect the previous owners did to the lounge, but blue instead of the horrendous orangey brown. As the room was suffering from condensation and therefore mould on the walls, we had to have special paint applied, which is antimould and has a certain amount of water resistance. This was applied to the spare double bedroom too as it has the same issues. Unfortunately, as the fumes were pungent, we could not sleep there, so we moved the bed into the lounge for two nights. I never slept so well weirdly, but John couldn’t sleep at all.
This coincided with a small trip away. We caught an early train to Rome to watch Jack Savoretti in concert and spent the following day wandering around the beautiful city. But as we had to leave home early, we left the bed in the lounge. Also, I was a little worried about the five-hour journey each way, so I brought my Kindle and made sure music was downloaded to Spotify, just like I used to do on my 90-minute commute to work back in England. But they were not needed. I just looked out of the window, lived in the moment as they say and watched the world go by.
Once through all the tunnels, of which there are quite a few, seeing the beautiful rocky coastline from Scalea through towns like Maratea and up to Salerno was just mesmerising. The train avoids the Sorrento Peninsula and the Amalfi coast, going slightly inland, passing the dominating Mount Vesuvius volcano before stopping at Naples. After a little wait, it was then onto Rome passing quaint hill towns and the vineyards near Frascati. The five-hour journey just flew by and then, when we arrived in Rome, I was shocked how quickly the journey went.
We stayed just outside Rome near the venue, Atlantico, a small all standing venue. We managed to get very close to the stage, which was great. The concert was fantastic, but my legs and feet were killing me as I had to stand my ground because everyone basically wanted to get a closer view too.
Our accommodation was just a few minutes’ walk away thank goodness. It was called Greta e Prisca, basically a room at the bottom of the owner’s home. It had a separate bathroom, a small kitchenette and an outside space to relax, have breakfast or any meal outside. Mirta the owner was so friendly we felt like we were visiting friends. It is about a 10-15mins walk away from EUR Fermi metro station which goes into Rome on the B line. So, I would definitely recommend.
The weather in Rome was better than Scalea, about 24-28°C. It was not too hot to walk around either. It was busy though as we were there on Good Friday. We have visited Rome twice before over the years, so we have already seen the main sights. We just walked for miles around the city and found lovely bars and trattorias to relax and eat. It was lovely not to have to queue for anything and just wander around the not so busy areas.
Photos of Rome
We returned home in Scalea at about 8.30pm on Easter Saturday, we bought some nibbles in Rome to eat on the evening after having a lovely large lunch. When we arrived home, the first thing we did was to move the bed back into the bedroom. So glad we had our lounge back. We then relaxed with the nibbles and a glass or two of wine.
We just chilled on Easter Sunday, ate the delicious Italian Easter cake Colomba and went to our local restaurant Il Corsaro in the evening which we love and have become regulars.
On the afternoon of Easter Monday, along with Tony and other people that he and now we know, we went to the restaurant at Villa Brazzano which a hotel complex nearby as they were having a special menu starting at 1pm. It was an experience. We were there from 1pm until about 5.30pm with lots of food and drink provided in the price. Also, there was entertainment; a DJ and then a karaoke, which was hilarious to see. No, I did not get up to sing, if you are wondering. But I actually got dragged up from my seat by a man from Milan, (who did sing a hell of a lot during the karaoke), for basically their version of the Conga which ended up with the YMCA. I could not believe I was doing the YMCA in the south of Italy. I reckon that song is known literally everywhere.
It was not everyone’s cup of tea, but I thought it was an hilarious fun way to spend Easter Monday, maybe the all-inclusive wine helped.
Finally, we sampled the famous Tropea red onions (cipolla rossa). They are fresh and in season right now. People have told us in the past that we had to try them and that they are so sweet that you can eat them like apples. So, we bought some to go into a salad.
Yes, they are very good indeed and yes, they are a lot sweeter than normal onions but, I personally could not eat them like an apple, we shall keep to salads and cooking them. But they are definitely worth a try, you may enjoy eating them like an apple.
Until next time, when we will see what happens in May.
Ciao.
It’s been a good Easter,