Tuesday 21 July 2015

The Italy Diaires: Metato & Camaiore


This is a view I could never tire of. My parents and I headed back to Italy to the lovely hills of Metato which is nestled in a hill (mountain?) in Tuscany. With a population of just 63, it is the idyllic mountain village that people tend to picture when you say the word Tuscany. We stayed in a converted farm house in a small cloister of other holiday villas/houses. Whilst there are other holidaymakers in the area it never feels overlooked, the houses all have their own outside areas but there is a handy cantina which has extra wine and other items that works on an honesty system.

Next to this cluster is a B&B named Salvia e Rosemarino (literally Sage & Rosemary). This looks like the perfect place for a romantic couple of days (and that seems to be what Italian couples use it for) and they serve an excellent dinner each day. For £25 you get an antipasti, pasta, main and dessert course plus coffee and wine. Whilst the menu is set (though I’m sure they’re accommodating if you have specific dietry requirements) the food is fantastic. Last year, I’m pretty sure I had the best lasagne ever and this year on my final night we were there at the same time as a big family gathering for a golden wedding anniversary. This meant we were treated to a seven course fish based meal, featuring an amazing risotto and delicious sardine bruschetta.



The nearest town to Metato is Camaiore. This is a fairly large town when you include the beach resort of Lido di Camaiore, but the town centre itself is relatively small. It is, however, packed with cafes, bars and restaurants in addition to numerous small shops. We didn’t venture to the coast, as most of the beaches are private and regimented. It is great for breakfast, and whilst I completely forgot to make a note of the cafes we visited (bad blogger), you’d struggle to find a bad cup of coffee or pastry. I'd recommend anything with custard in or sugared croissants.

In the evening, having drunk some excellent prosecco and been plied with canapes (a lot of bars in Italy include a small buffet of antipasti with the price of your drinks) we headed to Osteria Cecci (I believe that’s its name-it has no website because it had only been open a grand total of four days). We had a lovely meal, with excellent service and whilst I’m pretty sure I won’t be trying raw meat again after this holiday (tartare seems to be a go to in some antipasti) the seafood gnocchi that I had was truly delicious and I hope this restaurant stays around for a while.


Notes
You can have a nose at the houses in Metato here and my parents booked our first stay through Essential Italy (this year we were in Terrazinno)
It's pretty essential to have a car (with some engine power) to get to Metato, although there is a bus service from Camaiore it's pretty limited.
Camaiore is a 45 minute drive from Pisa International Airport and a bus service connects the town to Viareggio and its train service  

Amy


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