And the award for the best breakfast in Italy goes too …

Over the last few weeks we have experienced a range of breakfasts from a range of hotels. Some have been buffet, some al la carte, but all have been excellent quality and vast in the range of items they include.

But now we need to get serious and pick the best. There can be only one winner.

After much deliberation the winning breakfast goes to Hotel Barocco and their fine al la carte effort. The coffee is superb, the welcome treats of fruit, cakes, cheese and meats are delightful and the eggs with whatever you wish to accompany them are delicious.

Only a whisker behind is the breakfast is Eden Roc Hotel where our friend Tony runs the show. Tony has looked after us so well – with special treats each morning and a Prosecco to start the day. He has also made sure we left every morning with a package of pastries “for later” at Casetta Arienzo.

The last breakfast

Today we had our last breakfast at Eden Roc before we leave tomorrow hosted by the lovely Tony. It involved everything from Prosecco to poached eggs with Tiramisu and sweet treats added in there as well.

What a great way to start the day.

Colazione – “breakfast” doesn’t do it justice in Italy

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day – well it certainly is in Italy.

In most hotels it consists of a massive buffet featuring everything from pastries through to fruits, fruit juices, cheeses, cold meats, multiple types of bread, eggs whatever way you want – including cold hard boiled eggs, bacon, did I mention cold meats, and all washed down with multiple cups of cappuccino.

There is a massive staff that constantly keep things replenished and who can also cater to special requests – like “cappuccino decafinato con latte di Mandorla” – which is Jeans current coffee of choice.

Our favourite hotel in Camogli is no different with a room that seats around 100 people serving breakfast from 7am to the very civilised time of 11am.

We are well acclimatised to Italian time now as we barely make it in before 11am and today we were the last in the room with everyone very politely packing up around us.

At the request of my editor

Apparently this blog never features a picture of me. So says my editor who insists that I include a photograph of me just to prove that I’m actually on the trip and not sitting at home making all this up.

And if you’re wondering why I’m looking so damn smug it’s because I’ve just finished that most Italian of breakfasts – bacon and eggs – at Buca di Bacco, on the beach at Positano.

Colazione like no other

Breakfast We ventured to the hotel for breakfast last Friday. As always we were made welcome by the effervescent Tony.

He told us that Thursday was “his day off so today he was relaxed”. As a result we were spoilt – special pastries to start, four types of quiche all of which were delightful, scrambled eggs and as many cappuccinos as we could manage – all delivered to our table so we had no need to use the buffet. The meal was topped off with small slices of chocolate gateaux.

Now, gentle reader, I hear you say – gateaux for breakfast? Well why not – it complimented the coffee superbly and after a few minutes very little of it was left on the plate.

Many thanks to Tony – it was a colazione not to forget. Grazie mille.

Breakfast

Those of you who have stayed at Eden Roc Hotel will know Tony and the experience of breakfast.  When we were staying in the hotel, we would stumble down to breakast – usually late – and be met by Tony’s smiling greeting across the restaurant and cups of his famous Cappuccino.

I am not a coffee drinker except for Eden Roc and only because of Tony.  My record is 3 cups by which time I was bouncing off the walls.

When we booked the villa we were told we would have full use of all the hotel facilities – including the ability to pop down for breakfast.  While this has proved to be the case we were a little nervous as we wandered down the road to the hotel the first morning.

We needn’t have worried.  When we arrived Tony was nowhere to be seen but within a minute we heard his traditional greeting “good morning sir and lady” across the restaurant and he arrived at our table with two cups of his famous cappuccino.

He then proceeded to ply us with croissants (the last two kept just for us), watermelon (fresh from the Eden Roc garden), toast (toasted both sides – past guests please note) and slices of breakfast pizza/quiche all prepared especially for us.

We don’t normally eat breakfast so working through the mountain of food that arrived required concentration and complete disregard for the effect on our waistlines.