We met our new neighbors last night in our favorite restaurant. You got it. 500 kinds of pizza. Once again on a monday very few options. We first went by the place I've been longing to try, La Pentola D'Oro (The Pot of Gold) and of course it was closed. So on to Eduardo's Pizza Heaven. I sent Depoti on in while I looked to see if another place just round the corner was open. Course not.
As we walked down past the main piazza we had found Cristian in this car with a friend and we stopped to talk a moment as well as ask for an alarm clock that we'll need tomorrow night to get us up and on the road to the airport. Can you believe that a weeks already passed. Gone by too quickly. Here's D with Eduardo.
Both of us got the usual rousing greeting from Eduardo. He's such a character. Didi, the Transylvania kid was there and seemed glad to have some to practice his English on. Sure enough there was a couple inside and we got to talking with the German folk and a Belgian couple that showed up as well. All four spoke good English and even used English amongst themselves for our benefit.
Our neighbors have been married for just one month and we're traveling through Sicily and Italy until the warranty ran out on the marriage. The Belgian couple had just bought a house some 8 KM from Tropea and were closing today.
Dinner was a quattro formaggi pizza for D and a Fruit of the Sea antipasti platter for me. Excellent as usual.
So this morning as I was pulling in some laundry from last night we got to talking with them again. Seems the gentleman had had a stroke and quadruple bi-pass surgery a year or two ago and they had just decide to travel and have a good time doing it.
Finished up laundry by noon and we decide to walk down the hill and give D a chance to explore the old part of town and do some aerobic exercise.
Finished up laundry by noon and we decide to walk down the hill and give Depoti a chance to explore the old part of town and do some aerobic exercise.
Being after noon, we did find a couple of restaurants open, which I thought strange, I put them on the back burner till we got some exercise. We walked thru the entire old quarter, saw the churches hidden away on side streets, the view from the Duomo piazza of the port, watched some sewer line excavation at the municipal building, you know the drill, all the things you'd do on vacation.
Took the big steps from the piazza by Eduardo's down to the beach and spent some time watching the waves roll in. Bigger surf today for some reason. D nearly got swept away as I told him, "Just one more step back, buddy" (wink, nod)
Continued the "Whip Mr. Thin Blood" into shape tour around the base of town where D got lots of shots of Tropea. (You'll see them when he gets home.)
We walked over to the port and along the sea wall and back before heading up the "Stairway to Heaven". 189 night steps that were designed just for the purpose of burning D's thighs and quads. While we walked, look who came jogging by. Cristian the distance runner, we'll have to ask tonight when he drops off the alarm clock what he's training for.
For those who haven't seen it before on this blog:This is the "Staiway to Heaven"
I counted the steps out loud for psych out value, but D, a veteran of the Taormina hill climb marathon, cruised up the stairway. Okay, well maybe cruise is a little generous, but his shape has whipped right up.
Doesn't he look relaxed and fit here?
Well deserving a break after a couple miles and 189 stairs we headed over to La Pentola D'Oro for something to drink and maybe an appetizer. Instead we both ended up order pasta dishes. These Italians know how to cook that pasta. Perfectly done. D had pasta with pomodoro sauce and chiles. Spicy stuff.
And i had the Pasta of the Day " Spaghetti with Little Fishes". Yummy.
Hey look, I'm wearing shorts, it must be nice. (Compare me to "Mr.Thin Blood")
Due to his compulsive shopping binges in Sicily, D thought that he probably would need an additional bag to carry it all out. We found a clothes shop, one of the few things still open during the 12 to 4:30 close down. Plenty of great chinese goods (clothes, shoes, jackets and bags) but D thought the price was too steep so I suggested that he might want to "practice pack" so he could get an idea of what size bag he would needed. We headed up the hill towards the "villa" when I remembered another store on the way.
We stopped in and the price was right at this joint, so D bought a backpack for the loot and we ran up the hill to finish off our workout. No really, we RAN. (It's my story and I'm sticking to it.)
Did mention that all the clerks at these stores were Chinese. Interesting hearing them speak Italian. Why no Chinese food here? Inquiring minds want to know.
It was just the end of a good day and another Italian sunset sans Stromboli.
Ciao for now. Tomorrow's D's last day here so we've got to figure out what to do. More torture's what I'm thinking.
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