Domenica.......a day of rest!

Just what we needed.......a true day of rest! We surprised ourselves by sleeping almost 10 hours......and almost missed breakfast!

Breakfast was great and we feasted on the buffet.  Afterwards we went back to the room and napped on the terrace........then napped again inside.  

We finally felt recharged by about 1:00 and headed out to explore the town of Porto San Stefano.  The weather was being quirky, with periods of sun, then clouds, then a sprinkle.......but the ride down through the hills offered spectacular views.  We took a bit of a back road to stay close to the sea, which had quite a few challenging turns and washed out pavement.

Porto San Stefano was much larger than we expected.  It is a major fishing port and has an active industry of boats and marinas.  It was wonderfully quiet on Sunday afternoon......people here do take advantage of a day of rest!  We wandered around and ended up at a cafe/bar where we had a tremezzino and a glass of wine......which put us in the mood for another nap! so back to the hotel we went. 

The history of Porto San Stefano is quite interesting. During WWII the Ortebello lagoon, just next to Porto San Stefano, was headquarters for the Nazi's floatplanes and the town of Porto San Stefano was a logistic headquarters for the Wehrmacht. In 1943, the town was heavily bombed by the Allies, incurring more devastation than any other locale in Italy, with the exception of Cassino. We came upon this monument by the beach, in remembrance of the local citizens killed in the bombing. A sign nearby noted that in rebuilding the town, rubble was bulldozed into the lagoon and that to this day, debris is still often washed up on the beach. We searched the beach but in the end, just found 3 "striper" rocks for Addie, Grady and Boyden. It was very moving, especially so close to the upcoming significant anniversary of D-Day, to realize just how horrific the war was for so many innocent Italians.

We probably have not said enough about this hotel.  It is quite spectacular in terms of its location and character.  It has been built around the ruins of an old castle tower, which was constructed in the 1400's.  To say that the place is remote would be an understatement, but that's what makes it so special.  

We had a great room that you reached over an ivy-covered bridge.  The terrace was amazing with views out to the sea and Mount Argentario.  After we returned for the 'afternoon' nap, a storm came in with heavy rain and strong winds......quite dramatic.  During the storm, there was a knock on the door and Andi went to answer it......and the next thing we knew a man came running through the room to take down the umbrella on the balcony.  Fortunately I was in my underwear.......but nothing was stopping him.  He apologized profusely and ran out.

After the rain we went down to the restaurant for dinner.  The food continued to be amazing.  Andi had a vegetable tempura (totally wonderful!) and a baked ombrine (local fish) in a lime/arugula sauce.......and I had vitello tonnato (sliced veal in fresh tuna sauce) and grilled octopus in a fresh violet/potato puree (indescribable). After a millefoglie with fresh frutta di bosco dessert, we escaped to the room and collapsed.