Ristorante Vecchio Frantoio - The Old Olive Mill - Diamante

 

If you fancy a short walk before and after lunch this restaurant fits the bill.

Park in Diamante under the SS18 near the bus park (NOT the bus station) and then follow the red tiled path up the side of the river.  It’s about 1 kilometre but it’s very easy walking on a footpath and will take about 20 minutes depending how often you stop to survey the scenery.

The trail leads you past some spectacular cliff formations as well as some very pretty landscaped areas.  Even in summer there is always plenty of water in the river – but in the winter it can be very fast flowing and turbulent.

You arrive at the restaurant over a rickety rackety looking bridge, conjuring up visions of Billy Goat Gruff living underneath!

The restaurant is set on the side of the river with a large car park to the side of the wedding area.  If it’s a nice day eating outside at the tables set amid the trees is very relaxing.

Should you choose to eat in the restaurant, it’s a light and airy building retaining many of the features of the old mill.  It has been converted in a very tasteful way and has some quirky artefacts around the walls.

Even the toilets are a delight to visit. They are very clean and modern.

The menu includes all the normal dishes of the region, all of which are cooked and presented beautifully.  My personal favourite is the local sausage. The flavours are fabulous.  They have a novel take on chips here which may look odd at first but are delicious.

The beer served is Birra Morretti, which makes a nice change from Nastro Azzurro.  The wine is local and again very good.

The people however are just as important as the food and they present a very warm welcome whatever time of day you arrive.  They are attentive without being intrusive and strive to ensure that the whole experience is as perfect as they can make it.

If it’s night time, or too hot to walk, the trip in the car takes about 10 minutes on a rough track. You arrive slightly shaken and, if you’ve been foolish enough to forget to close the windows, dusty!

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Our Home Away from Home

It has been 2 short years since we first visited Scalea. After somewhat impulsively deciding that 'life is very short' and that I wanted to buy a holiday home in Italy (having never visited the country before, I might add), I engaged in a lengthy email exchange with Tony, the proprietor of Calabria Property Consultants, sharing with him my dream of a property centred around my love of beautiful surroundings along with Mediterranean food and wine!  My budget was small, however a weekend was arranged for viewings, and I was very excited!

When we arrived in Scalea, we were greeted by Tony, despite it being past 11pm, and accompanied to our B&B.  The following morning, our 1 1/2 days of property viewings began, and I soon fell in love with a small apartment in Centro Storico with a little balcony taking in the sea views; bliss! 

Three months later I returned for the final purchase of the property.  On this occasion I traveled alone, but was warmly welcomed into the fold of other property owners (residents and holiday home owners) and enjoyed many social gatherings!  These continue, and every time we visit we find our social life is far more vibrant than when we are in our home town in the UK. Indeed, every day we bump into someone we know.

We have made some improvements to the apartment, including a little plumbing, decoration, and installing louvred shutters to improve the ventilation to the property. There is still some decoration to be done, but somehow the DIY doesn't detract from the holiday?  The weather has mostly been kind to us, even during December,so I can only think those wonderful rays of sunshine are responsible for our good mood when working.

The apartment is now a home from home.  When we visit, we find the steps up to the property a challenge for the first couple of days, but it does at least give us an excuse for our over-indulgence at the excellent local restaurants and bars, and of course, the views more than compensate.  

Our neighbours always wave and chat across the balconies.  We are taking Italian classes in the UK and each time we return, we understand a little more and can be a little bolder with our attempts at the language. With our limited Italian, and a heavy reliance on actions and sign language, we muddle through with much laughter along the way!

Mostly when we visit, we fly from Stansted to either Lamezia or Naples and take a beautifully scenic train ride to Scalea. The fare can be as cheap as €9 when booked in advance, and the station is only a 20 minute walk from our apartment. Scalea is a well serviced town, everything you need is within walking distance of Centro Storico: the beach, the bars, the countryside, the restaurants, supermarkets, fruit and veg stalls, hardware stores, and the market on a Monday provides a multitude of goodies.  A short drive away are some wonderful towns, beaches, adventure sports and historical attractions providing enjoyable days out too.

The last two years have flown by and our love of Scalea has grown.  My impulsive purchase has given us more pleasure than we could have imagined; just waking and opening the shutters to the magnificent view warms the heart.  And the apartment is there for the long term, for the enjoyment of our friends and family as well as ourselves. 

- Jane Boor

If you would like to find your own home from home, visit Calabria Property Consultants where you will find something to suit your needs.