tarquinia lido

we're under the pines in a grove of them in a campsite on the sea front at tarquinia lido. The beach road is 'sensio unico' and we followed it until it gave way to sand and potholes and there was our destination! the drive from pozzuoli had been tranquil, leclerc only tried to lose us once! the sun shone and the traffic was light after we got out of naples.

this town and the other further south are the weekend retreats for the people of rome who, presumably, rent or own the many chalets on this site. Several italian camper vans have arrived since we did but our pitch is still very quiet and away from the other inhabited caravans etc. the rough guide tells me this was an etruscan town but only the necropolis remains. Too sad to visit! we have just had a good meal in the rather eccentric restaurant. a circular affair with fancy wooden columns that have hidden lighting and a cabinet full of assorted bottles of grappa and a tv tuned to csi hollywood dubbed into italian!

lou opted for a pizza that was enormous when it arrived and i ordered fritto misto which was advertised as having calamari, prawns and mixed fish. the fish arrived looking at me! enquiries to the waitress as to what the small fish were called were not forthcoming so she got the chef to come out to explain. A suave italian who fancied himself and had told me earlier when i was registering that he had spent eleven years in the uk working from leeds to brighton by way of sheffield, blackpool, nottingham....

anyway he said i had eaten a small cod and a small halibut. they were very small! lou is sceptical but i shall look them up on the web to see if i really did! the calamari were tender and not the usual elastic band texture i dislike! but the tiny octopus went towards lou as i could only manage a few of the poor things! :) naughtily i had french fries with it and then a pannacotta while lou resisted temptation. the 'regime' will start when we get back to gagnac! earlier i went down to the beach while lou 'rested his eyelids'. the sand is black and sparkly and the sea looked muddy and full of seaweed so I contented myself with a paddle and a sunbathe on one of the sunbeds provided and read my book. out of season has an air of sadness but so much quieter than the high season when the sand burns your feet and it is a fight for a parasol and a bit of much needed shade!

on to sestri levante tomorrow but we may try the campsite nearer the town centre so we can explore the place a bit more than on the way down.