Day 4: Orbetello
We get a late start this morning...it is raining and the room is dark. After breakfast and hanging out in the room for a while until the sun comes out, we get in the car and head for the small fishing village of Talamone, just to the north of Orbetello. We drive to the mainland on the most northerly of the three causeways...it is lined on both sides with beachfront houses, hotels, beach clubs and camping areas and we don't catch a glimpse of the water on either side for the entire length (6 miles) of the route.
Talamone is set above a pretty harbor filled with boats at their moorings.
We drive up to the top of the town and right back down again...there isn't really anyplace to park up there so we put the car in one of the lots near the harbor and walk back up. The Piazza Garibaldi has a statue of Garibaldi and a plaque commemorating the time he spent in Talamone with his army in 1860 before heading south to Sicily.
We continue up to the top of the town---dominated by a large Spanish castle with nice views over the water to Monte Argentario, the island of Giglio and the Maremma National Park.
Our trip is nothing if not research so we stop at one of the hotels in town to pick up some brochures, and then wander up and down the few streets looking at store windows and checking out restaurants. We then head back down to the harbor, sit on a bench in the sun and watch the boats for a while.....
....before heading back up the hill to have lunch at the Locanda dei Mille (named for Garibaldi's army).
Lunch is okay...the restaurant is pleasant, the house white wine very drinkable but the food is not particularly noteworthy except for the delicious small clams on my spaghetti alle vongole, which are outstanding. Diana has crepes with zucchini and cheese and we share a plate of fritto misto--fried calamari, shrimp and small fish. (The menu lists the crepes as being with carciofi - artichokes -however, it was zucchini instead. We had seen carciofi growing in the fields and have had an eye out for them on menus. Next time, perhaps.)
After lunch, we head back to Orbetello and, after hanging out in the hotel room, take a walk around the rest of the town. We walk the length of the main drag--the Corso Italia--stopping to window shop and people watch. We pass the Duomo and stop for a glass of prosecco in the main square in front of the old Spanish palace.
For dinner, we decide to return to the same place where we ate the night before--the Vecchia Cantina. Since it is Friday night and it had been very busy on Thursday, we call for reservations, which turn out not to be necessary. We do get a warm welcome from the staff but the meal is only 2/3rds as good as it had been the night before. The pasta dishes are a letdown but Diana's grilled beef and my filet of scorfano steamed in foil are both excellent. Diana has a couple of glasses of the very nice local red wine--Morellino di Scansano--and my white wine--a pinot grigio--is also excellent. We have very tasty fresh strawberries for dessert.
Tomorrow we are planning to visit the hilltown Capalbio and explore the Maremma national park.
Talamone is set above a pretty harbor filled with boats at their moorings.
We drive up to the top of the town and right back down again...there isn't really anyplace to park up there so we put the car in one of the lots near the harbor and walk back up. The Piazza Garibaldi has a statue of Garibaldi and a plaque commemorating the time he spent in Talamone with his army in 1860 before heading south to Sicily.
We continue up to the top of the town---dominated by a large Spanish castle with nice views over the water to Monte Argentario, the island of Giglio and the Maremma National Park.
Our trip is nothing if not research so we stop at one of the hotels in town to pick up some brochures, and then wander up and down the few streets looking at store windows and checking out restaurants. We then head back down to the harbor, sit on a bench in the sun and watch the boats for a while.....
....before heading back up the hill to have lunch at the Locanda dei Mille (named for Garibaldi's army).
Lunch is okay...the restaurant is pleasant, the house white wine very drinkable but the food is not particularly noteworthy except for the delicious small clams on my spaghetti alle vongole, which are outstanding. Diana has crepes with zucchini and cheese and we share a plate of fritto misto--fried calamari, shrimp and small fish. (The menu lists the crepes as being with carciofi - artichokes -however, it was zucchini instead. We had seen carciofi growing in the fields and have had an eye out for them on menus. Next time, perhaps.)
After lunch, we head back to Orbetello and, after hanging out in the hotel room, take a walk around the rest of the town. We walk the length of the main drag--the Corso Italia--stopping to window shop and people watch. We pass the Duomo and stop for a glass of prosecco in the main square in front of the old Spanish palace.
For dinner, we decide to return to the same place where we ate the night before--the Vecchia Cantina. Since it is Friday night and it had been very busy on Thursday, we call for reservations, which turn out not to be necessary. We do get a warm welcome from the staff but the meal is only 2/3rds as good as it had been the night before. The pasta dishes are a letdown but Diana's grilled beef and my filet of scorfano steamed in foil are both excellent. Diana has a couple of glasses of the very nice local red wine--Morellino di Scansano--and my white wine--a pinot grigio--is also excellent. We have very tasty fresh strawberries for dessert.
Tomorrow we are planning to visit the hilltown Capalbio and explore the Maremma national park.
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