Glasgow Girl on Tour #2!
Holidays can be exhausting; the heat, the getting ready in
the heat, the queues at the airport, all the eating, the swimming and of course
having to rub on sun protection. It’s exhausting. However, at 12.10pm on Friday ‘morning’ I had
The Mary banging on my door excited to hear about all of my shenanigans. I’d
only had 12 hours sleep for goodness sake!
You see, she lives her life vicariously through me and it’s
very hard to make things seem more interesting than they really are but I do my
best.
The Beauty of Savoca with
One of my favourite tunes
Speak Softly Love!
One of the highlights of my trip was a visit a to Savoca inSicily. This is the location where scenes
from The Godfather, were shot. It’s been restored beautifully by the owner Lorenzo
and they will soon be opening a boutique hotel on site. The Mary asked if I met
Al Pacino but I said he was away foraging. She chortled because she thought it
was a sexual thing and I had to explain, in simple terms, that he was ‘hunting’
for herbs and mushrooms.
“Changed days,” she said, “from his Dear hunter days and
that time he killed awe they gangsters.”
Oh dear Lord, even talking about the bloody holiday is very
tiring. It was going to be a long morning.
Savoca is in the Province of Messina in the Italian region
of Sicily and is about 170 kilometers east of Palermo. We were staying in
Messina and no matter where you looked the views were so inviting and tempting.
From one terrace in our apartment you looked up to Taormina and from the other
the view was of Etna was magnificent. So, even although we wanted to relax and
lounge at the beach we were seduced by the beauty and power of the landscape.
Savoca is perched high above the sea and has the most
authentic atmosphere which gives a taste of the past a world away from the
tourists and bustle of its overdeveloped neighbor Taormina. I was there to
visit Bar Vitelli and after the stress of the hairpin bends on the steep,
narrow, winding road up it was a relief to get out of the car.
Bar Vitelli is situated in an old, Sicilian, neoclassical, two
story building dating back to the 1700s. It’s located on Piazza Fossia and you
can savour an aromatic coffee with one of the best Cannolo I have ever tasted on
one of the most famous film sets in the world. The lightness of the filling in
the sweet was a delight and Lorenzo explained to me how they did this but I’m
afraid if I tell you I might get garrotted.
After going for a stroll we went back for a light lunch which
consisted of fresh and cured meats, light fluffy mozzarella and a mixture of
local cheeses and a variety of sott’oglio.
The present owner Lorenzo and his wife have restored the
building with love and care and he, very kindly, took me a tour. There is the
most beautiful wine cellar and an enchanting terrace looking over the mountains
which they use for private parties. The rooms upstairs will be open by November
and I’m hoping to be one of the first visitors to stay.
When I look up The Mary’s mouth is dripping and she looked
as if she was about to lick my face. I decided on Monday we would not be going
to any Italian place. I couldn’t risk the thought of having to painfully relive
my holiday.
I decided book Ushas West at 2 Byres Road which does Indian Street food and
what a delight it was from the minute we stepped in the door. The very charming
Mac greeted us at the door and it was me drooling this time. He is both
handsome and charming and said my name properly.
We ordered, lamb bhuna, lamb saag and buttered chicken with
a portion of rice and naan bread. Our order was taken by the equally handsome
and very efficient Dylan. He was so nice, as was Ashu who cleared our cleanly
licked plates.
What I really liked about this place was that the staff
seemed genuinely interested in us and made us very welcome.
After we had finished eating the owner Kieran cannon came
over to say hello and he actually hurt my eyes he was so dashing and, I must
say, the best groomed dude I’ve come across in a long time. When I asked him
where he came from, guess what?
He only said his family were originally from Sicily and that
set The Mary right off. “Tell him about your holiday!” she said.
Although Taormina is touristy it is also very chic and has
designer shops on every little, quaint niche and I thought Mr. K. Cannon would
fit right in! The streets are narrow and
it’s the type of place where the very rich go to party and the tourists go to
gawp at the Mafioso with gilt shoes. No kidding…I saw a guy with Gold Brogues
and a facelift so tight his diamond earrings were nearly in line with his eyes.
Anyway, if you’re looking for great food and want to gawp at
the staff then then Usha'r is the place for you. In the meantime, I need to
think about my next holiday and choose somewhere with history and culture in
order to keep The Mary entertained.
It’s a hard life right enough!
Till the next time.
Glasgow Girl!
Or you could try making your own!
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