My brother and I arrived at Rome airport within a half hour of each other.  He’d flown from Melbourne, and I’d come from Oslo, just a few hours away, with a loose plan to take the train down to Sicily where the boat is stored.  We had a week, so would stay at a few different towns along the way.  We had no accommodation or transport booked, but it’s still early in the tourist season, so we weren’t too concerned.

As our arrival was quite late, we stayed the night in Fiumicino near the airport with a plan to take the train to Naples the following morning.  Over a very late dinner at the Old Wild West Steakhouse, we booked train tickets and found an apartment not far from the city centre of Naples and close to the beach. 

Over my many years of travelling I’ve learned what to avoid when searching for accommodation, so can only blame tiredness for overlooking the one big flaw with our Naples apartment … there was no lift. It was on the top floor of a lovely building in a quiet street, near the beach and close to shops and restaurants. It was perfect except that we had many steep flights of stairs to climb with our suitcases.

Once we’d overcome that hurdle, we went to find somewhere for lunch and to check out our new neighbourhood. Unlike the centre of Naples, the area seemed quite affluent.  The surrounding streets and buildings were well maintained and across from our apartment was a large house on a huge parcel of land with a beautiful garden … not what we’d expected to see in this inner-city neighbourhood.

After lunch, we walked across to the beach.  It was Sunday and the weather was warm and sunny. The small beach and surrounding rocks were packed with people sunbaking. Families wandered along the foreshore or rode on small cycle-cars, children tore about on hire bicycles and roller skates. There was a group of musicians entertaining a crowd that had gathered around them. It was a lovely atmosphere.

To get to the beach we’d walked through a rather derelict park with a beautiful old rotunda. It was fenced off as were some other once grand buildings.  The lawn areas were mostly overgrown with weeds. Regardless of the lack of maintenance, it had a rustic charm.

That evening we looked for a bar to have our first aperitive for the trip. We saw the familiar orange glow of Aperol Spritz on many of the tables at a local bakery/bar and settled in to order our drinks and watch the passing parade. Friends greeted each other as they passed by, many stopping to join friends for a drink and a longer chat. Later that night we ate at a nearby pizza restaurant.

The ride from our apartment to the train station the next morning was quite an experience.  The apartment owners had organised for Salvatore, a local driver who clearly knew his way around the busy inner-city streets of Naples, to pick us up. We watched with wide-eyed wonder (and a little fear) as he expertly tore around the streets, dodging and weaving among cars, scooters and the odd tram. There were no lanes marked and cars wandered back and forth across the width of the road, squeezing into the tiniest of spaces.  I felt like I was a passenger in Mario Kart, a game I sometimes play with my grandsons. Thankfully, no one crashed or bounced off walls like they do in the game.

We arrived at the station to find that our train was delayed an hour.  We settled into a café to drink coffee and eat lunch.  The delay stretched out to ninety minutes.  We kept an eye on the board for our platform number to appear.  When it did, they were still reporting a delay, but we decided to head there regardless.  We were surprised to find the train on the platform, getting ready to depart.  There’d been no announcements or boarding notice.  It was just pure luck that we made it, and a lesson for future train travel in southern Italy.

I’m not sure why I chose Cosenza as our next stop. We’d visited a few coastal Calabrian towns when sailing last year and I was curious to see more. This part of Italy feels very authentic and is not yet overrun with tourists. For this reason, we had no trouble finding inexpensive, last-minute accommodation and booked two nights in what turned out to be a palatial apartment. It had stunning marble floors, a designer kitchen, huge bedrooms, two bathrooms, and balconies that gave us a wonderful view of the surrounding hills. The owner lived across the hall and was the perfect host.  When I asked if she knew somewhere I could get my hair done, she made me an appointment with her own hairdresser, and accompanied me there the next morning to interpret my requirements.

Cosenza has a long main pedestrian street that is lined with shops and restaurants. Every evening before dinner, the locals walk the length of it.  This walk is known as a ‘passeggiata’ in Italy … a leisurely evening stroll for the purpose of socialising. Some people dress up for the occasion and all members of the family are there.  Children join their friends to play and run about, teenagers congregate to gossip and flirt, young couples stroll along arm in arm, and groups of elderly men and women meet in small groups to socialise. It’s a beautiful tradition that happens all over Italy and other southern European countries. 

On our second day, we walked through the old part of town. In most Italian cities this section is generally a thriving tourist attraction. We’d naively expected it to be the same in Cosenza. While some areas looked maintained and lived in, much of it was dilapidated. Houses were vacant, and windows and doors were boarded up. As we walked up the hill towards the old church, there were some signs of tourism with a few museums and a beautiful old theatre that was being renovated. There was also a large old government building with amazing views to the nearby hills. It was a fascinating walk and we were pleased to have made the effort.

We reluctantly checked out of our beautiful apartment the next morning to catch the train to Tropea. The journey was easy and the owner of our new apartment had organised a car to pick us up from the station. Once again, we were blown away by our good fortune when we arrived at the new accommodation.  It was on the top floor of a small holiday apartment building, with stunning views across the old town wall and to the sea. The effort of dragging our suitcases up the stairs was well rewarded.

Unlike Cosenza, Tropea is a very well-known tourist destination. The town sits on a cliff overlooking the water with views across to Stromboli, one of the Aeolian Islands. A long, stone staircase takes you from the town to the sea. The weather was warm and sunny and the beautiful sandy beaches were busy.

Although it was hard to tear ourselves away from our stunning view, we took many walks throughout the town, exploring some of the quieter back streets and discovering some charming little bars and restaurants. We ate at one of these restaurants on our second night, enjoying some very delicious local dishes and the opportunity for a quiet dinner away from the noise and bustle of the main tourist strip.

Aside from its stunning location, Tropea is also known for the local produce. Everywhere you walk there are shops selling strangely shaped onions (cipolle), jars of preserved chillies, and nduja (pronounced noo-ya), a spicy salami spread that is also becoming popular at home. Frittata di cipolle (onion omelette) is a local specialty that is on most menus. 

Like many towns in Italy, the evening aperitivo is almost always accompanied by a complimentary tray of food. This is commonly a few small bowls of crisps, peanuts and olives.  Sometimes there is more, including crispy bread spread with nduja, slices of salami and mortadella, and wedges of pecorino cheese. On our first night in Tropea, we were given so many snacks that we had no appetite for dinner.  

One of our walks was down to the marina, which could be seen from our balcony. I wanted to check it out as a potential stop for future sailing holidays. Although not overly large, it was the most well-serviced marina I’d ever seen, with a mini-mart, ice-cream shop, gymnasium, pool, beauty salon, café, bar, laundry and pharmacy. There was also a boat yard nearby where we could potentially store Izabela over the winter months. For many reasons, Tropea was quite a find!

Again, we reluctantly checked out, not wanting to leave that beautiful view.  The last two apartments were going to be hard to beat. We’d booked a train from Tropea that would take us down the south-west coast of Calabria, across the Messina Strait and along the north coast of Sicily to Cefalu. When we arrived at Villa San Giovanni station, the train was driven onto a very large ferry, where we were able to get off and walk around. The crossing took about 30 minutes, then we were back on the train and driven off the ferry to continued our journey to Cefalu.

We stopped at Cefalu for a few days while sailing last year and so I know the town quite well. I’d booked a small apartment in the heart of the old town. It was basic but had everything we needed and the location was perfect. Over the next two days I revisited favourite places and discovered some new ones.  The town sits on the waterfront and the views across the water are spectacular, especially in the evening as the sun is setting. 

Each evening, we went to the Piazza del Duomo and sat at one of the many outdoor cafes to drink Campari Spritz and take in the view of the ancient cathedral and massive rock that sits behind it, as the sun was setting on them. Again, our drinks were accompanied by complimentary snacks, this time small brioche rolls filled with Bolognese sauce and mini herb pastries.  

While walking in one of the back streets, we saw a small crowd gathered around an arancini shop. A woman in the window was rolling them by hand as people watched and took photos.  Those outside had already ordered and were waiting to collect their arancini. They looked too good to resist and so we went in to check out the selection of available fillings. I ordered a Ventricina, filled with spicy sausage and smoked cheese. It was delicious!

Today we leave Cefalu to make our final train journey to nearby Termini Imerese where I will meet my good friends and co-owners of Izabela to begin the process of preparing for this year’s sailing adventure.