Relaxing in and around Rossano

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There is a dearth of detailed information about travelling in Calabria so I would like to share our recent two-week experience centred in Rossano. However, if you are are familiar with the basics of English grammar and syntax you’ll have to brace yourself - in order to get through this as quickly as possible I intend to ignore all the rules. This will plunge you into the spirit of driving in Italia where the rules of the road are simply a suggestion. I am not endorsing the products/businesses mentioned here but only want to share what worked for us. We are old(er) and in Italy for relaxation; if you are looking for adventure travel ideas the following will be tedious.

We arrived in Rome from North America about 11 am September 25, 2015 and it took about an hour to finish the paperwork on our rental car as the car rep tried her best to upsell the contract. We loved our experience with the gutsy, fuel-sipping Panda diesel last year in Matera and managed to rent the same this time. We were then disappointed to learn that the Vodafone outlets at FCO were both behind security which made them now inaccessible. We would have to contact our apartment host from a payphone at one of the numerous truck stops on the highway. A warning: the Italian bureaucracy obviously loves photo radar with the only problem being that there are few posted speed signs. Oddly enough the infrequent signage is usually found AFTER the radar. Four hours later we attempted a call but the host did not answer; 'siesta' was obviously not over. For those of you unfamiliar with Italian business hours please be aware that everything shuts down around 12 or 1 and does not reopen until around 4 or 5. Pranzo (lunch) and lottery establishments being the exceptions. Three more driving hours we took the exit to Sala Consilina, a Vodafone office was found in Trinita on the west side of the street and my husband negotiated the contract while I searched for another payphone to let our host know we were on our way. No pay phone was found but about three blocks north there was an internet cafe where I was able to finally contact our apartment host. The Vodafone business concluded with the knowledge we were still mobile-phoneless as our passport information had to be approved by the bureaucracy before the phone was activated; we expected this to occur within a few hours.

We arrived in Rossano about 9 and found our host had misspelled the name of the street on which to meet so our Garmin GPS Navigator was useless. Finding a payphone, I was treated to an earful of Italian attitude before learning our key had been left at a late night pizza joint. Finding our home-away-from-home in the dark was a process of having the police remove barricades to allow our car to traverse the narrow alleys through crowds being entertained by a music festival in the central square. This is to be taken as a positive experience - the police and the crowds were extremely accommodating. If we hadn't been so tired we would have gone out and joined them. To continue our luck, the shower hose was broken so the water did not come out the shower head and that which dribbled down the wall was unable to drain quickly through the lovely 1/4 inch Italian plumbing -the memory of which is purged from my mind after every trip.

Saturday, September 26

Woke around noon and drove to Rossano Stazione (Scalo) to the Vodafone office after finding our phone had not yet been activated. Office was closed so we found the only WIFI spot for miles around at Aldo Moro 1 Galleria and made a few calls to ensure a few people back home knew we had arrived safely. Found a grocery store and a couple variety stores still open on Via Margerita where we purchased a new shower hose and wrench to make bathroom repairs. This might seem odd but I do want to make readers aware that things are not always what one expects and the proper/easiest way to deal with such situations is simply to roll up your sleeves and fix the problem. We were reimbursed for the purchases. At 4:30 when the Vodafone office reopened we were told we had to wait longer for the 'Holiday Plan' to be activated. After thanking the employees for their help but leaving plan-less we drove back to Rossano Vecchio, ate some of our purchases and stored the rest before going for a walk around the outskirts of the town which took about half-an-hour from one end to the other. Went to bed without a shower as there was no water.

Sunday, Sept 27

Woke at about 9 to find water working again. Showered, skipped breakfast and drove into Scalo in faint hope that the Vodafone office would be open and some English speaker could tell us why we still did not have an activated plan. Naturally it was closed so we drove past Alto up Highway 177 through Paludi, Cropalati, and Destro to Longobucco. The road was extremely twisty and none of the towns were worth the effort of the drive. There was a modern road being built in the flats but the only section completed was between Destro and Longobucco; the entrance at Destro was marked only through a sign with an arrow pointing to 'Ortiano.' As we were following our GPS we drove the whole way on the twisty road but did take the new highway back, taking the #531 to the coast at Mirta stopping at the pretty little village of Crosia. Drove the #106 back to Rossano, up Via Margerita just to see if the Vodafone office was still closed (it was) and through the south entrance into Rossano Alto. The parking area was closed by a posted order from the city which puzzled us but just shrugged and found another spot down the street. We then walked down to a restaurant which, according to their posted hours would be open, was closed. More shrugs, a walk to the take-away pizzeria for an at-home supper of calzone, wine and grappa. After awhile watching the BBC (the only channel in English) we discovered the reason for the parking ban: right below our balcony there was a church procession. Bed about 9:30.

Monday, Sept 28

Our host's father visited about 10 am to inform us that the city water in Rossano is frequently shut off around 9 or 10 at night but our place had a reserve tank which ensured access all night after rerouting the plumbing by turning off the city main, adjusting two valves near the hot water tank and switching on a pump. Easy-peasy. Drove into Scalo to find the Vodafone office open!! With the help of an Italian photographer who had worked in Germany, my husband was able to use his limited German to have a three way communication with the Vodafone unilingual Italian service rep. We found out there must be a 30 euro credit on the account for the Holiday Plan to be activated. The few calls home before realizing activation had not taken place reduced the credit on the account below this amount, therefore we had to place another 18 euros and wait again for the Holiday Plan to become active. Rates are expensive in Italy but this plan provided sim card, activation, 300 texts, 300 international minutes and 2G data all for 30 euros. In summary: sim card was bought at 4pm and activated 24 hours later, we mistakenly believed the Holiday Plan was activated at the same time so our account was being charged for our calls at the regular expensive rate which dipped our credit below the necessary 30 euros. Two ways to prevent this from happening - pay extra to the amount of the plan or deactivate the data function. After a round of thanks for translation services and the opportunity to pay even more for our phone than expected, we left to find a place for pranzo and ran into host's dad on the street. He insisted on taking us for a drive around the town to point out his favourite restaurants. After this tour, groceries were purchased at the large Conad and we stopped by Drago for a pranzo of tomato salad, mixed salad, grilled vegetables, mixed seafood platter, gnocchi, risotto and tiramisu. Our bill was mistakenly totalled to 8 euros more than it should have been but there was no trouble having it adjusted to the correct 40 euros. Shrugs all around. Back to apartment in time to listen to Obama's UN presentation. Went for a walk as sun was setting about 7pm and ran into some delightful children wanting to practice their few words of English. Ended up being invited into their house for coffee where we attempted communication with about seven related women at least two of whom were named Rosie. Walked for about another hour, sites included men making wine in huge vats in their basement/garage/street level room. Remain constantly amazed by the intimacy of Italian life - there seems to be no desire for privacy as exemplified by the undies hanging shamelessly off a balcony in the main piazza. Tried to shower around 9 but city water was off. Used new plumbing knowledge to tap into the reserve tank, and newly purchased LED lamp to read in bed.

Tuesday, Sept 29

Rose at 8, breakfasted and headed south to the quaint town of Caloveto. Campana was next but not worth the drive. It reminded me of the story about a tourist returning from an Italian vacation and asking her born and raised Italian neighbour why he had left charming Italy and immigrated to N. America. The thoughtful answer... you cannot eat charm. Campana reminded me of this story as it provides proof one can eat charm - the residents obviously ate all of Campana's as there is none left. Scala Coeli is a lovely village and the drive absolutely beautiful. Mandatoriccio was plain but the encircling road makes for spectacular viewing of the countryside and the Piazza Duomo was fairly cute. Now for a warning - do not attempt to drive through Pietrapaola unless you have a death wish. Seriously. Do not trust your Garmin GPS which will lead you into an alley from which there is no return. This is a walking path not a roadway. The 'roads' are extremely steep, narrow and worn. My duty done I must admit the town is fascinating; abandoned cave dwellings, breathtaking vistas, tiny alleys overlooked by a ~200 foot rock protruding up from the centre of the town. Managing to exit with our car intact we found an internet cafe at the HWY #106 turnoff (Mirta) to Longobucco but it was closed. Went for chana at Villa Pizza & Restaurante where we ordered, over loud Italian radio noise, their anit-pasta platter, salads and pizzas. The platter included 4 pieces of sausage, 5 of sundried tomatoes, one small piece of cheese, half-dozen micro-sized green olives and two dollops of unidentifiable tomato based goo. Pizza was worth a trip back, salads were not. In bed by 10 after city-supplied water showers.

Wednesday Sept 30

Light breakfast and explored Rossano till 3. Luxuriated in sun on balcony with grappa until 4. Made gnocchi for supper, evening walk until 9. Remain puzzled by the Tweenies playing in the public squares - don't they know about the internet? There is something dreadfully unnerving about kids who can amuse themselves with a stick. More grappa and BBC until 10. No city water.

Thursday October 1

Omelets for breakfast and out by 10:30. Internet at Mirta was open but not working; apparently there were too many clouds (??) Bought a PFOA free pot and some tea towels next door. First town was Calopezzati; LOVELY, very few 'For Sale' signs, well looked after, beautiful views up and down the coast. Terravecchia also had beautiful views but not much else; there was a restaurant called 'L'Orizzonte on the way into town that had a seating area overlooking the coast that must be a spectacular location in which to have dinner but I have no idea if the food would be decent and the drive must be death-defying in the dark. Cariati was very small but again very quaint and well maintained. Despite the normal afternoon business lull there was a gelateria open by the town's bus-stop where we indulged in both a cafe-crema and a gelato. They had a large sign advertising gluten-free gelato. Crucoli was similar - not seeming worthwhile on the single lane drive into town but the centro was surprisingly charming. MUST DO: walk to the park at the very peak. Stopped in at Mirta on drive home but internet was still unavailable. Arrived home at ~6, used new pot to make veggie combo of bell peppers, zucchini, garlic, green beans, parsley and dried chili while hubby fetched pizzas from Tommy's. BBC/grappa and reserve tank showers at 10.

Friday Oct 2

Fruit breakfast and out again by 10:30. The Amarelli liquorice museum was closed but we made a reservation for Monday. Tours are Mon-Fri 10 and 11 am. and are free but reservations must be made in advance to ensure a guide is available. Drove into Marina di Schiavonea to the Misiker Internet Cafe which has 7 phone booths and 10 computers available. One must provide a passport to set up an account and internet costs 3 euros per hour. The owner is a very nice young man with limited English. As he was just closing we drove up to Corigliano Calabro for the afternoon. The beautiful castle is worth the 5 euro entry fee but the rest of the town is bland. There is some restoration work in progress but mostly the old town is unremarkable, abandoned or simply poorly maintained. Back to Misiker's but owner was half-an-hour late in reopening so barely had time to drive back to Rossano and get tidied for dinner out at Byzantina. The menu was already limited and then we were informed our chosen entrees were not available; antipasta platter was wonderful though. Reserve tank showers.

Saturday Oct 3

Didn't do much besides walk the town - discovered the road that had washed away during the August rainstorm. At Cafe Tagliaferri in Piazza Santi Anargiri we swooned over an ambrosial cafe crema given life in a blender with fresh cream and gelato.

Sunday Oct 4

The sound of a cannon woke us early (now defined as anything before 8) and we had a light fruit breakfast before heading down highway #106 south to Crotone. Blended in with the post-church crowd to have an unremarkable pranzo in one of the beach restaurants, then walked up to La Castella which hinted at offering some interest but was closed. We found Crotone to be a rather unkempt charmless town of graffiti and litter so we left quickly and headed inland on HWY #107 to Cosenza, then turned off through the valley and National Park to approach Rossano from the south. This drive proved to be more varied but a bit longer at two and a half hours rather than the two it took to get to Crotone along the beach highway. The afternoon sun provided spectacular lighting for our approach into Rossano and we spent a fair bit of time taking pictures. Our evening walk was pleasantly interrupted by the Rosies who were driving by; grand-daughter in lap of eldest Rosie - safety standards brought by the same people who have yet to discover toilet seats. We handed over the few Canadian coins we were carrying for the children and made it back to the apartment in time for another church procession. No city water at 10.

Monday Oct 5

Arrived at the liquorice factory in time for our private tour at 11. I thought it would be dull but turned out to be quite interesting. Bought a bottle of liqueur for ourselves and gifts for the travel-challenged back home. Pranzoed at Ristorante Il Graticcio di Rugna in Rossano Stazione which turned out to be a very nice family operated seafood restaurant. The dad did the fishing, the mom prepared/served the food and the son communicated with us in English. Our meal was a bit pricy but perfectly prepared and presented. Late afternoon walk included another fresh cafe crema and shot of the house label Eliser D'Herbe. Savoured the views from the balcony awhile before bed; city water still available at 9:30.

Tuesday Oct 6

Another day of discovery by car started with the non-descript towns of Villaggio Frasso, Cantinella and S'Agata. Terranova da Sibari had a very picturesque old town and views; Spezzano Albanese was very commercial with no real old centro. We did get lectured here by a barkeep about not speaking enough Italian and bought fruit at a very appealing produce store. Sofia d'Epiro looked lovely but we were becoming frustrated with the twisting roads, decided to retreat to Rossano and simply blew through the promising Acri. Took more amazing pictures of the backside of Rossano, no city water at 10.

Wednesday Oct 7

Pranzo at Borgo Antico started with a substandard anti pasta but followed with a jaunty tomato salad and deeply satisfying smoked salmon and cream pasta. After packing for our next day departure, our last passeggiare had us repeating our now familiar buona seras with the old-men-on-the-bench, pizza-to-go employees and other neighbourhood commonality. The widow on the corner came out to invite us in for coffee; she had that sweet transcendental mixture of sadness over her fate of solitary habitation and pure exuberance over having lived a life of family and community. City water at 9.

Thursday Oct 8

Time for the Italian Grande Prix on the Amalfi coast. (oh, for goodness sake - don't Google the race, this is only to describe the driving skills required. Why do Italian drivers speed at twice the posted limit oncoming 5 feet into your lane? ....Because they want to!)

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