Proscuitto, cheese, focaccia with ham and cheese, sundried tomatoes in olive oil, fresh squeezed OJ, cappuccino, and the best thing you will ever eat, trust me, a croissant filled with creme de pistachhio. If you see it in your store go buy it, I'm talking out of this world good.
Breakfast on the terrace with my lovely wife; Siracusa in the background.
After about 2 hours waiting for the ferry, we picked the wrong damn one, do your research first instead of just hitting the port and going with the signs, we loaded up the ferry and made the short, 45 minute transit across the Straight of Messina. Well, we loaded up after the local ferry employee jumped in our car and took us about 4 blocks down the road to find the embarkation point, kinda funny as he couldn't understand anything we were saying so we went with the flow. Good thing there was a Bar near the point, we enjoyed a granita and an espresso while waiting.
The Straight was calm, the water even in the port was crystal clear, it was nice.
Upon arriving in San Giovanni we headed south to Reggio Calabria for a one of a kind museum exhibit, the Riace Bronzes. They are 2500 year old bronze warriors that are just incredible to view. These are the hidden treasures that you have to research when planning a trip of this kind, do your homework. The museum entrance was a very low 6 Euro and it was immaculate and new, a pleasure compared to the one in Siracusa. Entry to see the statues is controlled by quantity and time, and also by cleanliness. Yes, you have to be sanitized before entering the exhibit by being closed in a holding room for 3 minutes while air is pumped through to cleanse the contaminents as best as possible. These statues were found off the coast of Italy in 1972 and they are an absolute treasure, down to their bases being earthquake proof resting on large ball bearings and springs (the photo below shows how the marble base is seperated housing the springs and ball bearings). I'm here to tell you they are worth the trouble, absolutely phenomenal. My pictures don't do them justice; I believe they are more impressive than Micheangelo's David; Kathie does not agree.
After our viewing we proceeded north to Tropea, a coastal/beach town and a good stop over after a long day of driving.
We enjoyed our walk through Tropea, noticing that many had TVs outside showing the Euro Cup Soccer matches. We stopped for dinner at a pizzeria and enjoyed most of the France/Albania match with the locals, downing a liter of house wine, proscuitto and mozzarella de bufala, and a pizza. France won 2-0, scoring late but really dominating the second half.
Eat this:
Tomorrow we are doing nothing but coffee, some beach time, some wine and some food; dolce far niente.
Ciao for now!
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