After many restaurant meals it was time for some comfort food. Camogli has a fish and chip shop and a couple of days ago we lined up and placed an order. As with all good fish and chip shops it took 5 mins to cook before we were able to see what we actually had ordered and whether it was worth the 37 Euro we paid.
We ordered salted cod in batter, stuffed anchovies, focaccette with cheese and chips – or 4, 5, 7 and 10 as it said on the menu. When it was ready we sat outside the shop and ate them – washed down with a beer and a glass of wine we had bought with us.
It tasted great, so great that 2 nights later we were back for more.
Siena used to be our local town when were in Italy in 2011. Our cottage was an easy 10 mins drive from the town and we visited often.
We love Siena. It is unique with its Campo, Duomo and multiple contrada who compete in the Palio horse race each year. Historically it may have come second to Florence but in our minds it’s number one.
Our friend Tina has rented an apartment near by and so we set off from Radda to visit her and spend a day walking the narrow streets, shopping, of course, and sitting in the Campo watching the world go by.
Despite there being a break in the hot, hot weather in Tuscany, it was still warm so the walk into the town was spent moving from shaded street to shaded street and resting when possible. The ideal place for that being Al Mangia bar in the Campo. I set up camp there while the girls spent time shopping and looking, and shopping. For lunch we moved to the shaded side of the Campo – along with many others.
It has been a few years since we last visited and it was great to experience the sights and sounds of the Siena again.
Saturday was a travel day starting at 9am in Positano and ending at Relais Vignale in Radda in Chianti at 5:30pm. The bulk of the travel was by train from Napoli to Firenze followed by driving through the Tuscan countryside in our zippy Ford Puma rental.
One of the highlights of our holiday is to eat at Adamo e Eva, the restaurant at Eden Roc Hotel. This year we were lucky enough to be seated on the panorama terrace – with the best view of Positano providing a backdrop for dinner.
The food was superb and the service impeccable. We even got a complimentary glass of prosecco to start and some chef’s treats along the way. We worked our way through the meal starting with avocado and tomato tartare, with black Venere rice, salmon, and basil cream, and crispy cannelloni stuffed with lime-scented raw tuna, ground pistachio and mango.
The main courses were sauteed sea bass with lemon-scented potatoes puree and herb-scented bread which we both had. We finished with a shared pistachio mousse in a fondant crust, stuffed with Dubai chocolate.
Many thanks to Carlo and the team, it was an unforgettable night.
Avocado and tomato tartareCrispy cannelloniSauteed sea bassPistachio mousse
We were so impressed with the beachside restaurant Da Adolfo when we visited it with Jake and Lauren that we went back a couple of days later. The mix of dining and swimming seemed a perfect match for us, as one of us – Jean – loves eating, drinking and swimming in the ocean and the other – me – loves eating and drinking.
As always, the hardest part of the day was capturing Jean on camera.
Positano from the Da Adolfo boat
Arriving at Da Adolfo
Starwatch – we did see someone famous at Da Adolfo – not sure of his name – an English actor chap – any suggestions?
Li Galli is situated about half way between the village centre and Casetta Arienzo. It has both an inside and outside area which are split by the main road through Positano so serving has the added excitement of dodging traffic. The outside bar and dining is spread along the footpath and has the most spectacular views of Positano and the bay. Stopping for a drink is a must do.
It is also the perfect place to take a break on our walk home and on a hot day, it’s a life saver. Ice cold beer and Gin Tonica are the best way to beat the heat.
We have grown to know the team over many years – Gio, Ciro and Giuseppe – and as we stagger up the hill, hot and sweaty we are spotted and a table is ready so we can collapse into a seat. Orders are known and drinks arrive as if by magic.
We’ve also had dinner there a few times over the years. This time it was special. Great food and wine and that beautiful view of the village at night. I would challenge anyone to find a better bistro meal in Positano.
The starter was salmon on bread cake (the description doesn’t do justice to the dish and, of course we ate it before we photographed it) followed by a main course – mixed seafood grill – which showcased the best of the coast, everything from langoustine through to sea bass with squid and baby octopus thrown in for good measure. Molto buono.
Jean was also tempted away from her usual Chardonnay with a local white that embodied all the best of the coast, ideal drinking for a warm summer night and a seafood meal. It was so good I even deserted beer for the evening.
One thing that makes our trips special for us are the connections we have made. And I think we can call the team at Galli our friends. In fact the lovely Gio and his partner have a standing invitation to stay with us if he ventures as far as New Zealand – plus a choice of Porshce to drive. It would be lovely to see them at our place.
Gio kindly gave us a gift when we left – an excellent bottle of red wine – which we will now take home. One evening over summer we will open it and enjoy it on our front verandah looking out across Wellington harbour – reminding ourselves of our trip and our friends on the other side of the world.
To us that is the essence of travel, and why we return.
One of the challenges at Galli Bar – working across the main roadMixed Fish Grill – deliciousDinner at GalliThrowback to 2011 – the view from Li Galli
The last few days have been hot. Very hot and very humid. So getting around has been a challenge but returning home from the hotel a few days ago things changed. We were offered a ride in the hotel Tuktuk.
We arrived in Positano on Saturday and have settled into villa life. The jet lag is pretty much gone and we’re feeling human again. The last couple of days have been spent in and about the hotel pool dealing to our winter whiteness, and even after a couple of days we are both a little browner and a little more able to fit in with the locals.
One thing we were expecting – the crowds – were much reduced on two years ago.
The last time we were here Positano was packed. Mid August is peak season and the combination of the village population trebling as hotels and Air BnBs fill up, and the day trippers arriving by the coach load, meant the village could barely cope.
Good news – this is not so much the case this year. Everyone we have talked to puts this down to a combination of economic uncertainty (particularly holding back American visitors), global unease and shifting travel habits with more visitors earlier and later in the season. In fact one local said with some shock, that some hotel rooms were available at 24 hours notice which, for the last few years has been unheard of.
Day trippers still mean the village is crowded between 10am and 3pm but much less so than in the past.
And the hotels are finding that they are booked longer into the shoulder season. Eden Roc Hotel closes at the end of October which is traditionally when bookings have dropped dramatically but this year they are fully booked right to closing day.
It’s August and our Italian holiday has started. The lovely people at Cathay Pacific are transporting us from a cold and dark New Zealand to a warm inviting Italy. The flight was broken up by a 4 hour layover in Hong Kong which meant an 11 hour first leg skirting around Australia and then north over the Philipines and a 12 hour second leg across Asia and Europe.
There is no feeling quite like waking up to a sunrise over Kazakhstan as your plane zigzags between war zones.
This trip we flew Cathay Pacific. They are a great airline and their Premium Economy product is pretty good. For us the added legroom is the key attraction but priority boarding and an upgraded food offering is nothing to sneeze at.
But we still rate Emirates as having the best Premium Economy product in our experience. It just feels special and is more “business lite” rather than Cathay’s “economy plus”.
One more thing that Cathay does right is the electronic check in and automated baggage process at Auckland Airport. It is brilliant and removes all the queuing and angst of the traditional approach – plus they have enough helpers working the kiosks to make sure everyone who needs a bit of help gets it.
Both girls love being on the pillow in the study – but when one gets there first (Bella) the other (Ellie) gets as close as possible hoping for the best.
Lately there have been quite a few bad weather days in Wellington. Here’s a better one – taken from our balcony overlooking Evans Bay on a calm autumn morning.
Saturday night we dined at the hotel. They have made major improvements to the restaurant in the last few years and it’s paying dividends as the patronage has increased considerably.
One new addition to the facilities is Terrazza Paradiso, a terrace sitting above the rest of the restaurant, open to the air and with a spectacular view of the village and sea below. The lovely Carlo, who runs the Adamo ed Eva restaurant at the hotel, managed to get us a table on the Terrazza for a magical dinner which ended with two drunk kiwis being driven home afterwards.
This meal was also the debut of one the dresses Jean bought in Sorrento when we visited on Friday.
Italy – and other parts of Europe – have had a warm summer. Each day this week the temperature in Positano is reaching around 39 degrees. That is warm.
It means that life has to adjust accordingly with more time spent doing very little and more time spent in the shade or in air conditioning.
Yesterday was a case in point. We were planning to have lunch at Casa Bottega in the village. It was a walk of about 1km down hill to get there so we geared up with water and hats and the minimum amount of clothing we could wear without being arrested. Casa Bottega is a small cafe with great food and air conditioning. But it is shut Mondays, something we only found out when we arrived at the front door. It was about 1pm and it was hot, really hot.
New plan – Jean has spotted another cafe on the walk which we returned to called Ohimà. It had both an inside and outside area. The kind waiter asked us “inside or outside” with a wry smile already shepherding us towards the inside with its cool air conditioning.
It took us 10 minutes to recover from the heat – to take in water and for our clothes to dry off.
Lunch was great and an excellent way to wile away an hour or two with great authentic cuisine and wine – before we head out to take on the heat again – walking up hill to our place.
Luckily mid way between the restaurant and home there is Li Galli Bar. It has spectacular views across the bay and friendly staff we have come to know. It straddles the main road through the village with the kitchen on one side and the tables on the other. So every drink or meal or chair or umbrella has to run the gauntlet of the road. This is expertly managed by the staff and we have yet to see a casualty of any sort.
It is the ideal place to break the walk home – but yesterday the heat meant a short stop – just sitting still in the shade was exhausting. The staff even suggested we head somewhere cooler after our drink, no “altro giro” today.
With the same weather forecast for the rest of the week it will mean more days by the hotel pool and less exploring the area. No great sacrifice there.
Hot!Delightfully cool Ohimà restaurantRavioliBeef and onion jam pastaGelatoKilling time in the air conLi Galli BarLi Galli Bar
Every time we visit Tuscany we make a pilgrimage to Siena. It was our local town for 6 months in 2011 and we take the chance to revisit some old haunts whenever we return.
Siena is famous for the Palio – a bare-back horse race that occurs twice a year (July and August) when local communities or contrada can enter a horse in the race with the victor having the honour that comes with winning. We have mixed views of the event – the drama, excitement and passion around the race is infectious but horses can often get injured or even killed during the event.
To prepare for the race, the central piazza in Siena – the Campo – is turned into a race track with a layer of clay laid down over the tiles and cobbles and gradually compacted over the weeks prior to the event.
Temporary wooden grandstands ring the Campo so the large crowd that attend the event has somewhere to get the best view.
When we arrived on Wednesday the track was down and all the bars and restaurants that ring the Campo had their tables and chairs set up on the track. Because of the temporary grandstands, they also have to squeeze their tables into a smaller area to allow people to walk past.
And once a day, at 3pm, the bars and restaurants have to remove all their hardware as the track is watered to help the clay compact. No one is allowed on the track so the Campo comes to a standstill.
Once the clay has dried enough – after about 2 hours – the tables and chairs, and people are allowed back on the track and Siena’s Campo returns to normal.
The Campo at 2:55pmThe Campo at 3:05pmThe “home straight” wateredSiena as the sun sets
Toscanakiwi 