Hotel Villaggio Riviera Athragon Tropea

... warn you about the various dangers and legal issues, dress codes, etc. We booked tours through NCL for this trip. I'm glad we did. I've spoken with three women who booked through Travelocity, and did not get what they were promised in Rome. They have no immediate recourse because they booked through another entity. I hope Travelocity will back them up.
The weather has been perfect. Even with the high winds(force 7) we briefly encountered leaving ...

... was enough to get my toes a tappin'!
He took me to Tropea, where in the summer the roads are so congested with tourists and locals alike you have to park your car on the mountain and hike to the beach. He drove through the winding roads down the edge of the mountain as I fought back nausea. I'm still not used to the winding roads, and it of course doesn't help when everyone here speeds like their back ends are on fire. Take the letter 'S' in your mind and ...

... Anna came to pick me up. When I was staying in Casamaggorie with Greg he showed me a few recent pictures of his parents and sister, so I was staring at this man who was looking about the train station almost in a panic, we spoke at the same time, Ah Benita! Zio Ciccio!! He was barely able to contain his excitement as he hugs me 6 or 7 times in disbeief that I am actually here. Anna pinches my cheeks and cries ...

... with impressive old aristocracy town houses and numerous churches. Its beautiful lanes and squares with many street cafes and restaurants invite for taking a stroll. Tropea offers everything that makes up a perfect vacation for me.

After a few days relaxing at the sea I decided to discover the region and realized that the places of interest in Calabria are as numerous as the beautiful beaches on the Tyrrhenian and Ionian sea. Since the ...

... of teenage girls sitting in their chairs outside their homes doing lacework just chatting away and we couldn't help but comment about how young they were. We expected to see older ladies sitting there doing that, but we suspect tradition is fully imbued in their normal daily activities in San Giorgio. We walked all of the way up to the medieval castle at the top of the town and noticed an incredible amount of construction work. It seems as ...

... of tourists but they weren't all dressed in black and gold and silver - it was families and couples and young people, the buildings were charming but had seen lots of wear and tear, and there were a whole lot of new taste sensations - the famous red onion of Tropea, 'nduia, a type of spreadable paste made from salami, and hot chillies everywhere. We had a wonderful meal one day in a cave-like stone restaurant, all based on local seafood. Our final stop in Calabria was at ...

... the weather was just perfest for swimming. What an amazing place! Also fortunately it isn't one of the places in Italy taken over by tourists so the town is very down to earth and not full of all these flashy hotels and restaurants like we found on Capri. While we were driving along one day we saw a sign saying this way to the site where Jesus appeared in 1932 and again at ...

... town of Tropea, a charming medieval town right by the sea. Tropea lies on the same latitude as the famous Aeolian Islands. Italians affectionately refer to Tropea as the "Pear of Calabria". Tropea was built on a 42 m high rock and never fails to charm everyone with its romantic, winding streets. Here you find unspoilt natural landscapes with lush green vegetation, forming a ...

... a highly cultured and refined language, and immensely stimulating for foreigners taking an interest in Italy, for study purposes, family traditions or just out passion. Never before has Italian and the image of Italy been so highly acclaimed, figures reveal there are about 200 million people in the world who either speak, are ...

... directions. I was almost playing charades with three Italian gentlemen just to figure out how to get there. When we arrived, the hotel had a "Shining" vibe to it and it was no surprise given that we were there during the low point of the tourist season. We also figured out we had no hot water and after a half hour or so figured out how to heat the room we headed back out to Tropea for dinner now that we knew our way around.