We truly hit the Italian pavement running. We arrived on Monday, tired and ready to go. We all got settled and had a pre planned weekend escape to the ocean. We decided Kailee had her weekends off, so a little road trip to places never before explored seemed perfect. It was also a pre-birthday celebration for Smartie. We booked a quaint Airbnb condo with direct access to the ocean in Scalea. The drive took just over 4 hours. The scenic ride was truly beautiful. The mountains, the valleys and just all of it made the hours pass.
We had a small terrace off the studio condo. It provided the most gorgeous sunsets nightly. The sea was a deep blue, teal color. The location ~ The Tyrrhenian Sea, which is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It was truly magnificent. It reminded me of a pebble tech pool finish at home, a deep lagoon color. Chunks of rock set within the sea made it the most picturesque spot.
We had purchased snorkel masks to use and Mike absolutely enjoyed these. I had ordered them off of Amazon, he gave a 10+ review. Mike and Kailee ventured out to do some snorkeling, while I enjoyed just sitting, taking in all the beautiful scenery. I ended up going in the water, which I normally don’t do. It was beyond refreshing! It was not as salty as our Atlantic ocean in Massachusetts and Florida. It left your skin feeling tight, but not that grose salt feeling. It was hot hot out! We had to climb about 100 steps back to the condo, but no regrets! Something this beautiful must come with some work right.
Italy is one of the countries with the most active volcanoes in Europe. We found the black sand beach to be simply beautiful. Big chunky pieces of black sand would stick to your feet. Such a different feeling. It was extremely hot to stand on, so water shoes would be beneficial. But, the black sand only added to the beauty of this special place.
Another bounus for this trip was meeting such wonderful new friends. When I started my search to purchase in Italy, one of the first people I came across was Chris and her husband Pete. They go by Super Savvy Travelers and have a youtube channel. Chris is a realtor in California and purchased property down in Calabria. She started a wonderful FB page “All About Italy”, I have met so many wonderful new friends through this site. Our condo was in Scalea and just a 15 min drive to Santa Domenica Taloa, brought us to where Chris owns her property. On Saturday night we were invited over to another sweet woman, Bonnie’s house. She was having a little get together and it was so lovely. We sat on her balcony meeting new friends, many expats living in Italy now. Some looking to purchase a vacation home like us. It was a perfect evening. The view was amazing. It was wonderful meeting new friends in SDT.
What a wonderful little escape. One of our hopes in purchasing our home was to do so much traveling. Italy has so much to offer from north to south to central. Our location is definitely ideal for this! We can be pretty much anywhere in 3-4 hour car ride or train ride. We are so blessed to have this opportunity. If you are on the fence, go for it! I can tell you, you will not regret the decision to experience a new culture. Italy happens to be where we decided to explore. However, it opens up all of Europe for us. How exciting is that!!
Pictures from our weekend in Scalea, Italy.
“It is all a gift” ~ Blessed is she.